Leghorns that aren't white?

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Cab

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Pondering getting two new hens, one being perhaps a brown partridge leghorn (from here: http://www.jessieshens.co.uk/Our-Hen-Range.html)

Had two leghorns previously, both white. Lizzie laid five or so eggs early on, mostly soft shelled, and went into the house every day thereafter to lay a phantom egg. After a nearly a year she became rather a bully, having all the energy of a young, pushy hen who isn't laying, so she had to go.

Then we had Charlie, a prodigious layer from the day we got her (looked close to point of lay, didn't know she was THAT close) to the day she randomly died hours after laying (no symptoms before, no sign of why afterwards) a year and a half later. She was nice enough, a bit stand-offish. But a good member of the flock.

So I'm not clear I want another white leghorn - are the other leghorns any less flighty? Are they as over-burdened with personality as the whites?
 
I have a brown leghorn hybrid, quite flighty as might be expected, but a beautiful bird and a good layer. The gold colours round her hackles really glow in the sunlight, contrasting with the browns in her plumage. Having never kept a white leghorn, I can't comment on relative amounts of personality, but I think I prefer the brown one to a white on appearance, more interesting. She gets on oK with the others, sort of middle of the pecking order, no problem really. Fairly similar to the one in the pic in your link, though the pic wouldn't do mine justice.
If you have a chance to get one of the Columbian Blacktails they are advertising as 'Tippy Tails' (why would they give them a daft name like that?) I would say go for it. I was very disappointed that they had sold out of them by the time I got to Chalk Hill Poultry yesterday - somebody had got there first and bought the whole batch. Outstanding little hens, very industrious, fantastic layers of really large eggs for a little bird who doesn't eat much. Mine has been going nonstop for two years now, no time off even for moulting, must have laid up to 700 eggs and still going strong. Very tatty by now, shells getting thin, and if I were more sensible I would cull her, but she has earned her retirement.
 
Can't find anything like a tippy tail locally I'm afraid :(

Its not that the leghorns we've had have been poor members of the flock - but they've undoubtedly been flightier than the other hens.
 
The so-called Tippy Tails are on the link you posted, where you said you might be going, Cab. On looking again at the pic the bird seems to be heavier than my Columbian Blacktails, more of a Sussex build, so maybe not a Columbian at all.
All leghorns or leghorn hybrids are flighty, no getting away from it, they're a lightweight Mediterranean breed, but very beautiful and good layers.
 
On 22nd of June this year, again, the fox burrowed in and massacred my laying flock, including my enormous and and beautiful Croad Langshan, Suki.
Once again, I knew I wanted to replace my girls, I eventually found someone with 10 hens nearly POL, and bought 5 Columbian blacktails, 3 white Leghorns, a hybrid white Sussex, no pure ones available, and a black who is very large, and is a Sussex hybrid, but barred like a cuckoo.
In the defence of white Leghorns, my two previous ones were much flightier than any of these girls, who come running to meet me if I go anywhere near the pen, they are also stunningly beautiful and I think will be friendly girls. One of them I think is going to be head girl, but in a very nice way.
They all settled in together from day one - about 4 or so weeks ago, and I have only had a few "lite" hen fistifcuffs so far.
They are a pleasure to watch from the kitchen window, the Columbians glow, the Sussexes are impressively large and lively, and my lovely white girls give me so much pleasure, and some nice little white eggs to boot!
 
Hello Marigold and thanks,
yes, as far as we were concerned the run was once again fox proof, he burrowed in under the fence at the top of a neighbour's bank, in a space of no more than about 5" taking two and leaving 9.
Luckily I had a holiday to the Orkney Islands with a friend I seldom see booked, so not a great deal of time to moan and bewail and mourn as I was away on 28th June.
I simply looked forward to replacing my girls on my return.
 
I have a lot of time for white Leghorns, I think as long as you accept that they don't want to be handled and leave them to come to you they can be friendly birds and are great characters, mine were always happy to hand feed. The more you try to pick a bird like a leghorn up the warier and flightier they will be around you. No difference in temperament between the brown and white varieties to my mind Cab. Sorry to hear about you fox attack Valerie, glad you have some nice new birds.
 
Dinosaw - I think you are right,
I have left my three beautiful girls to come to me, and they have over the few weeks they have been with me, they have become trusting and friendly, skittish and a bit aloof, but with such beauty as they have I don't complain. My fat and friendly Sussex hybrid - Phyllis, is at my feet the moment I open the pen door, also the cuckoo one with silver head has the same sort of temperament as her. I'm so delighted with them all, they are such great characters. Today I was rewarded with 4 eggs!
 
Cheers for the advice folks!

Got a partridge brown leghorn - whites are beautiful birds, but talking to the chaps at Jessies Hens their partridge leghorns do seem to be a calmer lineage than their whites. So for a bit of a change we went for the partridge one.

Also got a lilac splash sussex, who is an extraordinary looking creature with amazingly soft feathers. They and our existing birds are being given a while to scowl across the garden at each other before integrating. Fingers crossed... :)
 
Here's Peggy, the partridge leghorn, she's maybe a couple of weeks ahead of the Sussex...

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This is Katie, lilac-splash Sussex. As I say, maybe a couple of weeks younger than Peggy...

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They're within glowering distance of my other girls. Oddly it was Mary, the goldline and second-bottom of the pile who has been most vocal in her 'criticism' of the new girls. Edie the cream legbar, bottom of the pecking order, looks most likely to want to find some way of surrendering to the newbies. She's a total coward :)

Bess and Tilly don't seem much put out - Bess (speckledy, top hen) wandered past and she and Peggy donned their fighting trousers and did 'big chicken' at each other for a bit, but they'll remain separated by wire for the next week or two.
 
They look like nice birds, I wonder if the partridge leghorn has some extra non leghorn genes in there which makes them less flighty.
 
Dinosaw, yeah, maybe, they were cagey about the specific breeding. But I think also different lineages will have some variation - and I'd hope that a reputable dealer would know about their birds and how they act.

Early hostilities yelled across the garden have subsided and conversation between the Peggy Leghorn and my other birds are now being held in more fitting inside voices. Which is nice. Lots more of the sort of 'I want to be over there with you' noises from both sides, although I think Matilda Rhode Rock has only just this morning started to comprehend whats happening so she's getting chattier.

Mary Goldline has calmed down a lot, might let either her or Bess Speckledy (boss hen) out on the lawn to say a closer hello to the girls in the old run, see how they get on this evening.
 
Peggy leghorn laid her first egg on Saturday, her second one yesterday. Perfect little white eggs :)

Pecking order is becoming more clear, will try to integrate on Friday night. I've gone with letting them in with the new girls one at a time in addition to letting them stare at each other, I think this is a good transition method after they've stared at each other for a couple of weeks. Bess stays top, then Matilda. Mary has been let in to the old run with the new girls and put Peggy firmly in her place, but Edie my cowardly cream legbar pretty much slots in below Peggy leghorn. The big question now is whether the young Katy sussex or Edie cream legbar goes bottom, and how hard a time Mary will give Peggy. Something to look forward to...
 
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