Leghorn chicken

Leghorn chicken, relatively small, white-colored breed of poultry that currently dominates the American egg-producing class. The bird, as bred today, produces a good number of chalk white eggs, a feature which has brought it to the forefront of modern commercial egg production. Although only the "single comb" variety is popular today, many other strains with large egg, better shell, better interior egg qualities, or other desirable traits, are retained as breeding stock.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.