A Noble Breed..

I raise Black Langshans
among other things, but the Langshans are my favorites.
Large, huge, gigantic and as gentle as a spring breeze.

And they are beautiful.
Slick black with iridescent blues, greens
and purples in the sun.
Their legs are heavily feathered.
Pictured here and most often is my Flock Sire, 'Saddleback'.
He is not a 'good' Langshan as he has iridescent gold on his
collar and along his saddle, but I find the golden feathers
to be striking and beautiful.
His sons carry the trait as well
though sometimes they carry a gold so light as to
be almost silver.

The roos are tall and deep chested and calm.

They are true gentlemen. There will be no scrapping

or posturing in the barn or in the field.

A Langshan roo is more apt to walk away and forage

in a quiet place.

Saddleback can be counted on to run the barn as well

as a good farm dog. He willingly returns his ladies into his pen

to allow another group to be let out into the yard.

He fiercely protects setting hens from the curiousity of

the other birds by standing guard outside the brooder

stall and running all chickens back down to where they

are supposed to be.

He is my right hand bird and I adore him.

He takes supreme care of his hens,

saving all treats just for them and eating only after

they have had their fill. He even tries to ply

my affections by offering me bits of bugs

and the sweetest bits of greens with his beak.

He is the only bird I have that I will bend over face to face with.

I have never had a moment of concern that I would get

spurred in the face. Instead, he will run my hair gently

through his beak while sweet talking into my ear.

This is good because his spurs are several inches long,

curved like sabers and razor sharp.

The hens are plump and round and ultimately feminine.

They are good layers of light brown eggs.

A bit more standoffish than the roos perhaps,

but a pleasure to see in the yard.

I would recommend the Black Langshan to anyone

with an interest in a beautiful and noble breed that is hearty

and reliable providing a steady supply of good sized eggs and tender, sweet meat.

They have also been known to stop traffic when they are out

where they can be seen.

However, patience is needed as the roos are very slow to mature

with many gangly and unattractive months before the

full size is achieved. I have found that it takes a year, maybe a bit longer,

before the roos have filled out completely.

But once maturity is reached.. WOW what a bird!