The Leghorn is the workhorse behind the white eggs in most grocery aisles — an Italian breed prized since the 1800s for laying 280 or more eggs a year. Lean, upright, and topped with a tall single comb, Leghorns are active, alert foragers that would rather patrol the yard than sit in a lap. They thrive with room to range and shrug off heat easily, though that big comb is frostbite-prone in hard winters. Best for keepers focused on egg output who don't mind an independent, noisy bird over a cuddly pet — they are vocal enough to be a poor fit where neighbours are close.
Heat tolerant
Flighty
Egg colorWhite
Egg production280–320 / year
TemperamentFlighty
BroodinessRare
ClimateHeat tolerant
PurposeEggs
Weight
Large fowl (Standard size)
Hen4–5 lb
Rooster5.5–6.5 lb
Bantam (Miniature size)
Hen1.4 lb
Rooster1.6 lb
How to spot it
CombSingleRose
Large single comb — upright in males, flopping over one eye in hens; a rose-comb variety also exists
Earlobes
Bright chalk-white and prominent, against red wattles
Legs & feet
Clean yellow legs, four toes, yellow skin
Look for
A lean, upright, wedge-shaped body with a big flopped comb and white earlobes — the classic white-egg silhouette
Ancestry
How this breed was developed. Historical records, not crosses to make today.
Single
Rose
