Yes — but build the log around a Leghorn's build, because this Mediterranean laying breed is naturally light, narrow, and restless, and an owner expecting the heft of a dual-purpose hen can misread a healthy Leghorn as underweight, or miss real loss inside a frame that was never bulky. For this bird, the breastbone check matters more than frequent flock weighing, and the log's job is to compare each hen with her own earlier self rather than with heavier breeds in the yard.
Feeling the keel on a light hen
Pick the hen up calmly, ideally at roosting time when Leghorns are easier to handle, and run a finger along the keel bone on the breast. You are feeling for how much muscle sits on either side: a well-covered keel feels smooth and padded, while a sharp, knife-like bone with hollowed sides signals condition slipping away. Write that finding in plain words — sharp, moderate, well covered — beside laying status, because the words will mean more months later than an occasional scale number from a struggling, flapping bird.
If you do weigh, weigh the same individual hens, on the same small scale, and accept the reading as a trend line only. One light reading in an active, laying, bright-eyed Leghorn is far less concerning than a falling series paired with a sharpening keel.
What else belongs beside the weight note
Leghorns are kept for eggs, so laying rhythm is part of the health picture: record a hen who stops laying, produces persistently thin or misshapen shells, or leaves the nest box looking strained. Add appetite at the feeder, whether she keeps up with the flock while ranging, and the state of her droppings and vent feathers, since a light breed has fewer reserves when parasites or digestive trouble drain her.
Note heat, too. That large comb helps a Leghorn cope, but a hen who pants, holds her wings away from her body, and stops eating on hot afternoons should appear in the log with what you changed — shade, water access, or moving feeding to cooler hours — so you can see whether it worked.
Reading the pattern and acting
A single quiet day means little in a flock bird. Concern rises when the entries stack: keel sharpening across checks, laying stopped, weight trending down, and a hen who once ranged widely now lingering near the coop. That combination deserves separation so you can watch her intake closely and prompt veterinary or experienced poultry advice, especially if she has labored breathing, a swollen abdomen, or stops eating altogether.
The log also protects against the opposite error — overfeeding a breed built lean in the hope of making her look substantial, which can leave a fat hen who lays poorly. Trust the keel series over the mirror. Rotate which hens you handle each week if the flock is large, but keep returning to any individual whose last entry worried you, so her follow-up check never depends on remembering a concern from weeks ago.
Recording each Leghorn's keel checks, laying changes, and occasional weights in KinsLe as a Pet Passport keeps her individual history together when you talk to a vet or hand flock care to someone else.