Cream Legbar, Bielefelder, or Rhodebar? Male or Female?

[mchickies]

Hello everyone,

I just received 16 chicks from Papa's Poultry a few days ago. I bought Opal Legbar, Cream Legbar, Bielefelder mix, and Rhodebar females + one Rhodebar male. I only ordered 9 chicks, but he was very generous and sent me so many extra babies (which I love!!!). The Rhodebar male was very easy to spot as he's a light reddish-colored chick with a prominent yellow spot on his head.

Now, when they first arrived, I thought one of the chicks was a darker-looking Opal Legbar. Now that their feathers are just starting to appear, her growing feathers look VERY different next to the Opals. They are 5 days old by the way. The only other options are CL, Biele, or Rhodebar. Thing is: the chick looks remarkably like a male Cream Legbar, albeit a little reddish in coloring. A big problem is that I don't know what breed it is; it would help to know.

I have no experience with any of these breeds, and I really can't find many pictures for Rhodebars as they are so rare. I'm a total amateur when it comes to auto-sexing breeds, so I'm hesitant to believe that an experienced breeder would make a mistake like that. They are his birds, so I would think maybe he knows the trickier females. Maybe a light Rhodebar female? In terms of temperament, this chick is very friendly and will come to my hand to eat, but she/he's not assertive like the Rhodebar male. A few of the confirmed girlies are actually more assertive than he/she is, so there's that. Here are the pics. Let's see what you guys think!

 

[JedJackson]

Other than it being male and not being opal, I'm not sure. These breeds look a lot alike as chicks. @Rhodebar Lover

 

[EggSighted4Life]

The only other options are CL, Biele, or Rhodebar.

You also said Biel mix..

I bought Opal Legbar, Cream Legbar, Bielefelder mix, and Rhodebar females + one Rhodebar male. I only ordered 9 chicks, but he was very generous and sent me so many extra babies (which I love!!!)

Looks like they have lots of "hybrid" crosses on offer.. How do they get a rhodebar cross from a green egg or what does that even mean? (means their was some legbar crossing somewhere??)

They be selling mutts of whatever project they got going on (like satins), I wouldn't call that experienced.. no rudeness intended!

Did you identify which one was the cross already? Or if the extras were the same as what you ordered?

https://papaspoultry.com/pages/current-laying-and-fertility-update

https://papaspoultry.com/collection...s/auto-sexing-bielefelder-female-chick-pullet

I'm not sure there's any way to know for sure what you got.. other than what they tell you.

I do hope you're happy with all your perfect if not pure bred chicks. Figuring out their breeds and seeing them develop can be half the fun!

Happy adventures and congrats on your new babies!

 

[mchickies]

You also said Biel mix..


Looks like they have lots of "hybrid" crosses on offer.. How do they get a rhodebar cross from a green egg or what does that even mean? (means their was some legbar crossing somewhere??)

They be selling mutts of whatever project they got going on (like satins), I wouldn't call that experienced.. no rudeness intended!

Did you identify which one was the cross already? Or if the extras were the same as what you ordered?

https://papaspoultry.com/pages/current-laying-and-fertility-update

https://papaspoultry.com/collection...s/auto-sexing-bielefelder-female-chick-pullet

I'm not sure there's any way to know for sure what you got.. other than what they tell you.

Pretty sure, they're based in California (as am I)... I'd probably never order from them.. But their service sounds good and I do hope you're happy with all your perfect if not pure bred chicks. Figuring out their breeds and seeing them develop can be half the fun!

Happy adventures and congrats on your new babies!

I believe the cross is Bielefelder/Rhodebar, from the Fertility Page. The link you put of the "Auto-Sexing female" is the bird that I bought. I actually tried to ask what I got, but they only replied back, asking if I'd gotten a packing slip. Apparently, the list of the breeds was on the slip, which I didn't get. I honestly don't expect them to remember what they gave me anyway, but I was hoping they kept a log or something. Either way, I am very happy with the chicks! They're healthy, friendly, and very intelligent for 5 day olds.

I'm honestly still hoping that the chick is some sort of mix, and he knows what those females can potentially look like. He's been doing this for almost 10 years, so I'm hoping that he knows what he's doing. He specifically said that he wouldn't put any known roos in as extras, and if I was able to pick out this little one immediately, how could he miss it? I actually already have an adult rooster, and the Rhodebar was going to be the backup since my other guy isn't getting any younger. Now, if I've got another male in the mix, things get messy.

Oh, and the Rhodebar green egg cross came from the original import that Greenfire Farms made almost ten years ago. I wasn't actually around for that but I found lots of old posts, and people were pretty mad about it back in the day. Apparently, Greenfire imported them and threw some Legbar in there because of the limited breeding stock. It created some green egg laying hens. In his case, Papa's Poultry kept those ones as well as getting some pure Rhodebars. He still offers the green egg laying Rhodebars as more of a hobby mix, since Greenfire and most Rhodebar breeders culled that flock.

 

[mchickies]

Ok, I think we figured it out. We ordered from California but we live in Florida, which is a crazy distance to ship. I knew this at the time but hoped for the best. What I'm thinking is that he might have thrown in an extra male in case of death. Luckily, everyone arrived safe and very healthy; they were jumping around first day like nothing had happened! I'm not mad if that is the case, as the little chick in question has quickly become my favorite one. He/she is very friendly, yet also mild-mannered. If it does end up a rooster, I've heard Papa's Legbar roosters are very nice, so I'll probably just keep 'em all. I'm a big softie and these are pets anyway. Plus, I'll get the added bonus of being able to hatch pure Legbars as well. If it end up a hen, it's a hen. Either way, I love these birds already!

 

[MountainMarans2012]

Ok, I think we figured it out. We ordered from California but we live in Florida, which is a crazy distance to ship. I knew this at the time but hoped for the best. What I'm thinking is that he might have thrown in an extra male in case of death. Luckily, everyone arrived safe and very healthy; they were jumping around first day like nothing had happened! I'm not mad if that is the case, as the little chick in question has quickly become my favorite one. He/she is very friendly, yet also mild-mannered. If it does end up a rooster, I've heard Papa's Legbar roosters are very nice, so I'll probably just keep 'em all. I'm a big softie and these are pets anyway. Plus, I'll get the added bonus of being able to hatch pure Legbars as well. If it end up a hen, it's a hen. Either way, I love these birds already!

Yes Papa's Poultry does have green / blue egg laying Rhodebars.

These are rarer than regular Rhodebars. Hopefully you'll get some of your females that lay Blue eggs.

IQ Bird Testing in Florida you can purchase online their blue egg blood test to see if they are Homozygous for blue egg gene.

 

[TaylorGlade]

Hello everyone,

I just received 16 chicks from Papa's Poultry a few days ago. I bought Opal Legbar, Cream Legbar, Bielefelder mix, and Rhodebar females + one Rhodebar male. I only ordered 9 chicks, but he was very generous and sent me so many extra babies (which I love!!!). The Rhodebar male was very easy to spot as he's a light reddish-colored chick with a prominent yellow spot on his head.

Now, when they first arrived, I thought one of the chicks was a darker-looking Opal Legbar. Now that their feathers are just starting to appear, her growing feathers look VERY different next to the Opals. They are 5 days old by the way. The only other options are CL, Biele, or Rhodebar. Thing is: the chick looks remarkably like a male Cream Legbar, albeit a little reddish in coloring. A big problem is that I don't know what breed it is; it would help to know.

I have no experience with any of these breeds, and I really can't find many pictures for Rhodebars as they are so rare. I'm a total amateur when it comes to auto-sexing breeds, so I'm hesitant to believe that an experienced breeder would make a mistake like that. They are his birds, so I would think maybe he knows the trickier females. Maybe a light Rhodebar female? In terms of temperament, this chick is very friendly and will come to my hand to eat, but she/he's not assertive like the Rhodebar male. A few of the confirmed girlies are actually more assertive than he/she is, so there's that. Here are the pics. Let's see what you guys think!View attachment 3547100View attachment 3547103View attachment 3547108View attachment 3547110

Looks a lot like our Bielefelder chicks. But, they look a lot like CLB at hatch to me.