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Types of Leghorn Roosters

Leghorn roosters were made famous by the Looney Tunes cartoon character Foghorn J. Leghorn. Foghorn was based on the proud bearing and distinctive form of the real leghorn rooster. The leghorn was imported to New England from Levorno, Italy. Some people find leghorn roosters to be a bit fussy and nervous, but they are popular because of their meat and egg-producing abilities. Today, leghorn roosters come in many sizes, colors and feather patterns. People own leghorn roosters to breed them or to encourage their laying hens.

Brown Leghorn Roosters
- The American Brown Leghorn Club recognizes two brown leghorn types. The light brown leghorn is descended from the original leghorn imported from Italy to New England around 1853. Later, the dark brown leghorn was developed because breeders prized the darker shades and bred them together. Dark brown roosters are a "deep shade of mahogany, accented with fiery dark red and lustrous greenish black," according to the American Brown Leghorn Club. When brown and dark brown leghorns began to sport rose-colored combs, two new varieties were embraced and further developed via specific breeding programs.
Blue Leghorn Roosters
- Blue leghorn roosters were originally developed in breeding programs in Australia. Not only did they have to breed to get the blue color, but subsequent breedings also had to produce the blue color consistently. This is how specific breed varieties are developed. Blue leghorn roosters are a beautiful blue-gray color. The Australian breed standard states that the blue is to be a solid blue from head to tail. The rooster also is to have a large plumed tail held at a 45-degree angle from the back line. The breed standard also has wide shoulders with the body tapering to the tail. The comb and wattle should be large, but not too large.
Size
- Leghorn roosters are considered a large breed. Every color development has been bred with large leghorns. There are also bantam or smaller varieties of every color. To gauge the difference, consider the weight. A bantam leghorn rooster typically weighs 2 lbs. 6 oz., while a large leghorn rooster weighs about 7.5 lbs. A bantam rooster is about one-third the size of a large leghorn rooster.
Other Colors
- The black leghorn is believed to have come directly from Italy along with the brown. The show black leghorn is blue-black or green-black with green-black being preferred. A brownish or muddy black is considered unacceptable for showing. Other possible color patterns are the silver duck wing, the golden duck wing, the cuckoo and the mottled. The cuckoo has light and dark gray-blue bars on each feather, while the mottled has black and white bars on each feather.

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