Leghorn chickens have Italian roots and have been bred for high egg production. Russian white was obtained by crossing Leghorns with local varieties.
Leghorn chickens are the most highly productive and popular breed of chickens in Russia. Russian White was obtained by crossing Leghorns with local populations adapted to Russian conditions. Both those and others are distinguished by high egg production and extraordinary productivity.
Leghorn chickens
The name "Leghorn" is of Italian origin. Chickens of this breed were named after the Italian port of Livorno. In the course of a huge selection work, it was possible to obtain birds with a high egg production - up to 300 eggs per year, endurance and unpretentiousness to weather conditions. Distinctive features of the breed are the vertical wedge-shaped body, voluminous belly and broad chest. A white Leghorn hen with a leaf-shaped scallop lays even more efficiently and produces up to 350 eggs per year. The weight of a rooster can reach 3 kg, a chicken - 2.5 kg.
The highest egg production can be observed in the first year of laying. The improved White Leghorn breed lays eggs for about 200 days a year, so the business of raising such chickens can generate a good income. It is not recommended to keep laying hens in cramped conditions - from this they develop various diseases, as well as noise hysteria. Although in industrial conditions, these aspects are not paid attention to and the problem is dealt with with the help of antibiotics and hormones. This leads to rapid emaciation and culling of the bird.
Russian white chickens
Breeding experiments to create chickens of this breed continued for 20 long years. As a result, we got an unusually productive bird, the second name of which is "Snow White". Russian white is characterized by resistance to low temperatures and high egg production - up to 230 eggs per year. The weight of a rooster can reach 3 kg, a chicken - 2.4 kg. This population is more resistant to stress conditions, internal carcinomas and Marek's diseases. And what is especially important - he does not suffer from leukemia.
Due to a decrease in the temperature of rearing young animals by 8-10 degrees below the norm, they acquired a completely snow-white color of fluff. When breeding "in itself" chickens with white plumage make up one fourth of the total number of chickens hatched, the rest have the usual yellow color. Chickens of this breed are distinguished by a well-developed head, a large, leaf-shaped crest, a wide convex chest and a voluminous belly. At the moment, Russian white chickens are a single family of lightweight live weight, more preferable for breeding in the harsh climate of Russia.
