The California White crosses a California Gray male with a White Leghorn female, keeping the Leghorn's output while softening its nerves. Hens lay 280 to 320 large white eggs a year and are calmer and a little heavier than a pure Leghorn, though still busy foragers. Plumage is white, often with faint black flecking inherited from the Gray side. A good pick for white eggs in volume if you find Leghorns too flighty to handle comfortably.
Beginner friendly
Good with kids
Cold hardy
Heat tolerant
Egg colorWhite
Egg production280–320 / year
TemperamentDocile
BroodinessRare
ClimateCold hardy, Heat tolerant
PurposeEggs
Weight
Hen4.5–5.5 lb
Rooster5.5–6.5 lb
How to spot it
CombSingle
Single — upright in roosters, folding to one side in hens
Earlobes
White, against red wattles
Legs & feet
Clean yellow legs, four toes, yellow skin
Plumage
White, scattered with faint black flecks through the hackle and tail — carried over from the barred California Gray side
Look for
The flecking. A White Leghorn is unmarked white, so any dark ticking on an otherwise white white-egg layer points to a California White
Ancestry
How this breed was developed. Historical records, not crosses to make today.
Single
California Gray
White Leghorn
