At this years Sydney Royal Easter show Mick had the chance to catch up with a few of the well known names in poultry. One of those names is Grahame Sharpe.
Grahame is the RAS NSW Chairman for Poultry, and is also a Leghorn enthusiast. We had a great discussion around the upcoming Nationals, and also Leghorns which we will be posting here over the next few weeks, but this part of the interview was based around question came through to the Peel Ridge Stud website not long ago from a breeder asking how to bring the yellow colour out in the legs of his Leghorns when he is unable to have them out to free range. So Mick put the question to Grahame and here is his a quick video with the answer. I have also formatted Grahame’s information in to a post below the video for those who prefer the read.
There are a few things to consider and put in to place when developing your Leghorn’s leg colour, and really the leg colour in any poultry.
1. Genetics
Genetics plays a massive role in getting the best colour in the legs of your Leghorns. You need to make sure you have done your research and are buying from a reputable breeder, and ensure you are selecting fowls with sufficient leg colour. If you don’t start with a strong foundation for your poultry, it won’t matter what you feed them, you are only going to run in to trouble down the track.
2. Add a little extra
If you’re trying to bring out the brightest yellow in the legs of your Leghorns another option is to introduce some additives in to their feed. There are some great additives you can get that are a keratin extract. Which can work wonders for the yellow in your fowl’s legs.
3. Evolve the recipe
Just feeding your Leghorns a standard pellet is not going to give your poultry the best looking legs in town, but there are a few little extra ingredients that can help bring out the best leg colour. Adding a bit of cracked corn can work well, Lucerne soaked down is another option… also molasses is a great addition to their diet and can be very beneficial when it comes to leg colour. If you get a molasses soaked proprietary food that will be more than sufficient… and greens… The more the better. Leftovers from the table… whatever goes down their throat will directly affect the colour of their legs. One of the main sponsors of the Poultry Pavilion at the Royal Easter Show Lauke Mills provides an excellent show bird mix which would be a great starting point.
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Conclusion
As long as you are selecting birds for your Leghorn flock that already have strong leg colour you’ll find that is a great place to start, but really the moral to this story is you are what you eat, so making sure you are providing your poultry with all the right ingredients in their diet is going to give you the best possible chance for the yellowest of yellow legs in your flock… also a bi product of having your birds on such an elaborate flavoursome diet is you’ll be eating the best eggs in town https://mgpharmacie.com/g..e/.
