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Extracted from
Breeding Leghorns
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 Blue
Leghorn Bantams
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 The Beautiful Blue Some people contend that the Blue Leghorn is the most attractive of all the varieties in the breed, and is perhaps, one of the most difficult to produce. This is certainly true regarding the breeding, for how often do you see a lovely cockerel on the show bench, true to type, displaying the desired even colour outwardly, but when handled is snow-white underneath. The yellow-legged Blue in any breed of poultry can be produced in many ways, however, the most common appears to be from the original cross of Black over White, or vice versa. Progeny from this mating will throw a surprising variety of colours, dependant on which parent is dominant and which is recessive, however don't be daunted by the result. Upon maturity, select the best male or female Black, Blue and Splashed, and in turn they can be bred to either parent. Whilst one would expect to mate blue to blue, experience shows that without an outcross of black every other season, there is a decided deterioration in the colour pattern, and in some cases a fading out to a very pale shade, which is unacceptable on the show bench. |
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One of the most prominent breeders of Black and Blue Leghorns this country has seen, the late Jock Salmond, always stressed that the best way to maintain the desired even colour of pigeon blue, was to mate a pullet breeding black male over a blue female of exhibition quality. Care should be taken to ensure that the female was sound in colour and under no circumstance show any white in under-colour. A common fault in the Blue Leghorns shown today is lacing on the breast. This is not acceptable and can be easily eradicated by use of a carefully selected pullet breeding black male, showing not slight, but abundant snow-white under-colour. The desired effect of ridding the lacing problem, can be achieved by use of a white cockerel provided he has abundant yellow pigment in the legs, beak and skin. The third option open to you is to mate the flea-bitten back to the black parent, producing 100% blue chickens, usually of a light shade, however rarely displaying lacing. To overcome the problem of white under-colour and white in the tails of the cockerels, use a blue female with willow legs instead of the accepted yellow leg. However it should be stressed that the willow leg must be matched by a yellow pad with a degree of yellow showing through the willow. Avoid at all costs a willow leg with green pad devoid of any yellow. As you will appreciate the blue colour, being in a way delicate and vulnerable to strong sunlight, necessitates that the birds be protected from too much sun and so they must be provided with shade for the greater part of the day. The various grades of Sarlon Shadecloth are ideal for this purpose. There is no doubt that this attractive member of the Leghorn family is not given its rightful place with its more illustrious relations, the Blacks and Whites, when one considers that it is called upon many times when one looks to correct faults in other varieties. On many occasions an infusion of Blue into the Black has eradicated that troublesome purple which shows up in many Blacks shown today, and again, it can be used as a corrective measure in taking the brassiness out of the Whites. A nice pen of Blue Leghorns is an asset in any Leghorn fanciers yard. by courtesy of Peter Chowne, Monterey, NSW .... |
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