Cream Legbar Working Group: Standard of Perfection

[caychris]

Thanks. I'm still trying to get a feel for how they're supposed to be colored. One pullet has significantly lighter hackles than all the rest and one cockerel is way lighter than the other four. He's standing right in front of the water. Can you tell me which coloring is more desirable in CCL cockerels?

They will change a lot from now till adult feathering and even then as they mature. I would look more for shape first things like full white in the earlobes straight combs etc. Some obvious color issues like way too much chestnut etc but as far as hackle and saddle (which arent even going to come in for some time) are really hard to tell yet they change so much from young birds into adults. and even adults morph over time.

 

[anakonia]

Hello ! Here to learn.

 

[SOHC-FTW]

How's this roo in y'alls opinion?

 

[GaryDean26]

How's this roo in y'alls opinion?

First, thank-you for coming to this page. This page is established for the purpose of drafting cream legbar standards. What is the Cream Legbar Working Group? It’s all of those with vested interest in cream legbars, it’s this forum, it’s your ideas. What I’m offering is my time to pull together a draft standard that can be announced for review in 30 days. It can be the exact standard approved by Poultry Club of Great Britain or it can differ.

I am hoping others will offer their services and lead in the areas they feel best suited towards. If need be other forums will be established.

A few important things need to be accomplished.

1). Those with great insight and knowledge of BYC, we need to understand how BYC works. Can we confirm that BYC grants that these proceedings are also the legacy of a future cream legbar breed club and be used by such? The purpose here is to establish and protect rights to our ideas, which may be used on another website in the future.

2). Fact check! Post 2 is the standard as previously posted on The Legbar Thread. I’d like at least 2 people with physical copies of the British Poultry Standards to confirm that word for word the below is exact and accurate. I want to make sure we start with the exact written word.

3). Say, “Hi, I’m here to participate. Here’s how I might want to help.” Let us know what suits you and what goals or ideas you might have.

4). Collect preferences. You need to indicate if you feel the standard should be adapted in full, provisionally, or modified, and in what areas. If need be I will break the standard apart and we will discuss from head to toe, point by point. [GD26] The evaluation below will be my preferences. Right or wrong I am posting them to aid in the discussion of the APA SOP.

Thank-you, feel free to begin!

P.S. I acknowledge this might be a rough and awkward start. Please, give a greeting of support, so folks can see there is interest to do this. It will help to break the ice! There is interest to do this right?

Quote:

 

[SOHC-FTW]

 

[Bantambird]

Better front view, but can we get better lighting? It's hard to judge color on so dark an image

 

[HaplessRunner]

The Second Annual Cream Legbar Club Online, Virtual Show

Rules for the Show:

1. Pictures of the entry birds should be unobstructed, close up views with profile views preferred.
2. Pictures should be visually appealing and taken by you.
3. Pictures must be of living birds.
4. Pictures must have been taken within two months of the show end date, December 15, 2016. Although not a requirement for this show, a digital date on the picture is helpful.
5. Pictures of birds must be posted on the Cream Legbar Club Second Annual Online, Virtual Show Facebook event page or e-mail to [email protected].
6. Entries will be accepted from November 2, 2016 – December 15, 2016.

Categories of Entries:

1. Varieties of Entrants: Cream Legbars, Golden Crele Legbars, and White Legbars
2. Entrants will be labelled as: Cocks, Hens, Cockerels, or Pullets

Judging and Results:

1. The best and reserve cock, hen, cockerel, and pullet for each variety will be determined.
2. The best and reserve variety will be determined from the best cock, hen, cockerel, and pullet within that variety.
3. The best and reserve in show will be determined from the best in variety champions.
4. The current Revision 4 of the draft Standard of Perfection (SOP) for the cream legbar will be used for judging. This draft SOP will also use the current drafts for the golden crele and white legbars in combined SOP format.

Awards:

1. The Best in Show and Reserve in Show winners will receive a one year paid membership to the Cream Legbar Club
2. Only one award membership will be granted per entrant.

Recommendations:

1. When adding your entry to the Facebook event page, please ensure that you title your entry with the variety and label of the bird to be entered.

Examples: Cream Legbar Cock; White Legbar Hen; Golden Crele Legbar Cockerel; Cream Legbar Pullet, etc.

This will greatly facilitate judging of the bird and eliminate any confusion of the variety that you believe the bird to be.

2. The judging will be done by an APA registered/licensed poultry judge. So do your best to present your birds in show condition. If this were a live show, the judge would examine and pick up the bird. As such, the judge would expect to find birds freshly bathed and in peak condition.

3. Show birds have attitude!! They unfailingly have a sense of who they are and this message comes across loudly in the pictures of the bird. This, too, is a point of judging birds in a show. How does the chicken carry himself or herself in presenting themselves to other chickens and people? Capturing this attitude in a picture can make all the difference especially since the APA judge is unable to pick the bird up or observe the bird’s behavior in an online show.

4. Pay attention to lighting and setting. An artist will always ask “What is the light doing to the colors?” Your birds will show better in good lighting rather than a dark corner.

5. Chickens do not naturally pose for pictures! Try to take a lot of pictures and choose the one that best shows your bird. Ideally, you would like to see a relaxed inquisitive bird in the picture rather than a frightened bird chased into a corner.

As always, we wish everyone the best of luck in this online show. We are really looking forward to the great pictures of your birds and the results of the great work that you are doing to support the legbar breed and its varieties!

FINAL NOTE: As noted in the judging section, we will use the current draft Revision 4 of the Cream Legbar SOP as posted on the club website. This revision 4 will be presented in a combined SOP format with the Golden Crele Legbar and White Legbar draft SOPs. We are seeking the APA judge’s and your comments particularly on the Golden Crele Legbar SOP. All legbar varieties use the same shape and physical structure of the male and female, this will be evident as you peruse the draft Combined SOP.

 

[HaplessRunner]

Draft Combined Legbar SOP​

​

CREAM LEGBAR CLUB·TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2016​

Here is Draft 4 of the Cream Legbar Club Standard! The current one as of June 2015. Also added in a combined SOP format are Draft 3 of the Golden Crele Legbar and Draft 1 of the White Legbar.

LEGBAR​

(Proposed Standard of Perfection Draft 4 for Preliminary Show Requirements as requested by Walt Leonard, APA Chairman of Standard Revision and Advising Mentor to the Cream Legbar Club)
The Cream Legbar was presented at the 1947 London Dairy Show as a new breed of cream colored autosexing chicken, friendly in temperament, and prolific layer of blue eggs. The recessive nature of the cream color, the dominate blue egg color, and the crest which sets this breed apart from its similar Legbar relations was discovered in genetic experimentation performed by Professors R.C. Punnett and Michael Pease.
Professor Punnett received blue egg laying crested Chilean hens from botanist Clarence Elliott in 1929. One of these hens led to Professor Punnett’s monumental discovery of the recessive cream color in poultry in 1931. Professor Punnett experimented with these birds at the University of Cambridge to create crested blue egg layers with the heartiness, production, plumage pattern and type of the Danish Brown Leghorns he used, except with cream replacing the gold coloring.
Later Professor Pease performed his own breeding experiments using Gold Legbars and an inbred UK type White Leghorn from Reaseheath College in Cheshire, England, which also resulted in a number of cream colored birds.
Professors Pease and Punnett bred their cream birds together to see if they had stumbled upon the same cream gene, proving it upon the hatching of all cream offspring. Descendants of these birds were selected for straight single combs, crests, production blue egg laying, and the remarkable autosexing feature that allowed the sexes to be identified at hatch. These qualities were stabilized by 1947, and The Poultry Club of Great Britain adopted a written standard in May, 1958.
The Cream variety of Legbar was imported to the United States in the fall of 2010. It was noted that many of the birds that were offspring produced from these early imports were more robustly colored than the expected genetically diluted cream of the Cream Variety. A rich gold color was noted in some areas, especially the wing bay, saddle, upper hackle and crest in the males and the hackles in the females. These more colorful Legbars have been established as a variety and given the name Crele Legbars. Early offspring of the original Legbar imports also resulted in a small number of beautiful recessive white birds, simply named White Legbars. The Cream variety was accepted into the APA in 20XX, followed by the Crele variety in 20XX, and the White variety in 20XX.

ECONOMIC QUALITIES​

Especially noted for the autosexing feature in offspring, and production of eggs. Color of skin, yellow; color of egg shell, blue or green.

DISQUALIFICATIONS​

Absence of crest. (See General Disqualifications and Cutting for Defects.)

STANDARD WEIGHTS​

Cock…………………………7 lbs. Hens……………………..…..5 1/2 lbs. Cockerel……………………..6 lbs. Pullet………………………..4 1/2 lbs.

SHAPE -- MALE​

Comb: Single; large, fine in texture, straight and upright, deeply and evenly serrated with six distinct points, extending well over the back of the head and following, without touching, the line of the head, free from side sprigs, thumb-marks or twists.
Beak: Stout, point clear of the front of the comb, slightly curved.
Face: Smooth, skin fine in texture.
Eyes: Large, bright, and prominent. Round in appearance.
Wattles: Moderately long, thin, uniform in size, well rounded, free from folds or wrinkles. Skin soft.
Ear-lobes: Large, elongated oval, pendant, smooth and free from folds, equally matched in size and shape.
Crest: Small, well back from the eyes with narrow feathers falling off the back of the head to below the blade of the comb.
Head: Medium size, symmetrical, well balanced, and of fine quality.
Neck: Long and well covered with hackle feathers.
Back: Moderately broad at the shoulders, narrowing slightly toward the tail, long in length, flat, sloping slightly to the tail.
Saddle feathers—Abundant, long, and filling well in front of the tail.
Tail: Moderately full, carried at an angle of forty-five degrees above horizontal. Main tail—feathers broad and overlapping. Sickles—long and well curved. Lesser Sickles and Coverts—long, of good width, nicely curved and abundant.
Wings: Large and carried close to the body without dropping. Breast: Prominent, well-rounded, carried forward and upright.
Body and Fluff: Body--moderately long, sloping to the tail, broad in front tapering slightly to the rear. Keel is of good length, following the line of the back. Feathers moderately long and close to the body. Fluff—medium in length, moderately full.
Legs and Toes: Legs--moderately long, straight when viewed from the front. Thighs are medium length. Shanks round, strong, and free from feathers. Toes—four, long, straight, and well-spread.

SHAPE -- FEMALE​

Comb: Single; large, fine in texture, erect or first point to stand erect and the remainder of the comb dropping gracefully to the side without obscuring the eyes, deeply and evenly serrated having six distinct points.
Beak: Stout, point clear of the front of the comb, slightly curved. Face: Smooth, skin fine in texture.
Eyes: Large, bright, and prominent. Round in appearance.
Wattles: Medium in length, thin, uniform in size, well-rounded, free from folds or wrinkles. Skin soft.
Ear-lobes: Medium, elongated oval, pendant, smooth and free from folds, equally matched in size and shape.
Crest: Medium, rising well in front so as not to obstruct the eyes, with feathers narrow and falling off the back of the head to below the blade of the comb.
Head: Medium size, symmetrical, well balanced, and of fine quality.
Neck: Long and well covered with hackle feathers.
Back: Moderately broad at the shoulders, long, with an even slope to the tail. Feathers moderately broad and of sufficient length to carry well up to tail.
Tail: Moderately long, carried at an angle of thirty-five degrees above horizontal. Main tail—feathers broad and overlapping. Coverts—broad and abundant, extending well onto main tail.
Wings: Large and carried close to the body without dropping. Breast: Prominent, well-rounded, carried forward and upright.
Body and Fluff: Body-- moderately long, sloping to the tail, broad in front tapering slightly to the rear. Keel is of good length, following the line of the back. Feathers moderately long and close to the body. Fluff—medium in length, moderately full.
Legs and Toes: Legs-- moderately long, straight when viewed from the front. Thighs are medium length. Shanks round, strong, and free from feathers. Toes—four, long, straight, and well-spread.

CREAM
COLOR -- MALE​

Comb, Face and Wattles: Bright Red.
Beak: Yellow. Eyes: Reddish bay.
Ear-lobes: Enamel white. For Cocks over one year of age only, no defect cuts for red covering up to one-third of the surface.
Head: Plumage, cream and gray.
Crest: Cream and gray, some chestnut permissible. Neck: Hackle—cream, sparsely barred with gray. Shoulder—cream, barred with dark gray, some chestnut permissible. Front of neck—same as breast.
Wings: Fronts and Bows—dark gray, faintly barred, some chestnut permissible. Coverts—gray, barred, tipped in cream. Primaries—dark gray, faintly barred, small amounts of white permissible. Secondaries—dark gray, sparsely barred with gray intermixed with cream, some white permissible.
Back: Cream, barred with dark gray, some chestnut permissible. Saddle—cream, barred with dark gray, edged in cream.
Tail: Main Tail—gray, evenly barred. Sickle and Coverts—light gray, barred, some white feathers permissible.
Breast: Dark gray, evenly barred, well defined outline.
Legs and Toes: Yellow. Under-Color of All Sections: Silver-gray.

COLOR -- FEMALE​

Comb, Face, and Wattles: Bright red.
Beak: Yellow.
Eyes: Reddish bay.
Ear-lobes: Enamel white.
Head: Plumage, cream and gray.
Crest: Cream and gray, some chestnut permissible.
Neck: Hackle—cream, softly barred gray. Front of neck—salmon.
Wings: Fronts, Bows and Coverts—silver-gray, faintly barred. Primaries— gray, very faintly barred. Secondaries— gray, faintly barred, the outer web stippled with lighter gray and cream.
Back: Gray, softly barred, feathers having a lighter shaft permissible. Tail: Main Tail and Coverts—silver-gray, faintly barred.
Breast: Salmon, well defined in outline, some feathers having a slightly lighter shaft permissible. Body and Fluff: Silver-gray, indistinctly barred. Legs and Toes: Yellow. Under-Color of All Sections: Silver-gray.

GOLDEN CRELE
COLOR -- MALE​

Comb, Face and Wattles: Bright Red.
Beak: Yellow, horn streaking is acceptable
Eyes: Reddish bay.
Ear-lobes: Enamel white. For Cocks over one year of age only, no defect cuts for red covering up to one-third of the surface.
Head: Plumage, gold or straw and gray, should match the crest. Crest: Gold and gray barred, chestnut permissible.
Neck: Hackle—Gold, sparsely barred with gray, chestnut permissible. Color intensity decreases from head to body. Shoulder—gold, barred with dark gray, chestnut permissible. Front of neck—same as breast.
Wings: Fronts and Bows—dark gray, faintly barred, chestnut. Coverts—dark gray, barred, tipped in gold. Primaries—dark gray, faintly barred, small amounts of white permissible. Secondaries—dark gray, sparsely barred with gray intermixed with gold, some white permissible.
Back: Gold, barred with dark gray, chestnut permissible. Saddle— gold, barred with orange and some dark gray, edged in gold, chestnut permissible.
Tail: Main Tail—dark gray, evenly barred. Sickle and Coverts—gray, barred, some white feathers permissible.
Breast: Dark gray, evenly barred, well defined outline.
Legs and Toes: Yellow. Under-Color of All Sections: Slate.

COLOR -- FEMALE​

Comb, Face, and Wattles: Bright red.
Beak: Yellow, horn streaking is acceptable.
Eyes: Reddish bay.
Ear-lobes: Enamel white.
Head: Plumage, gold and gray-brown.
Crest: Gold and gray-brown, some chestnut permissible.
Neck: Hackle—Gold, softly barred black. Front of neck—reddish brown to rich salmon.
Wings: Fronts, Bows and Coverts—Gray-brown, faintly barred. Primaries— Gray-brown, very faintly barred. Secondaries— gray-brown, faintly barred, the outer web stippled with lighter gray-brown and gold.
Back: Gray-brown, softly barred, feathers having a lighter shaft permissible. Tail: Main Tail and Coverts—dark gray-brown, faintly barred.
Breast: Chestnut to rich salmon, well defined in outline, some feathers having a slightly lighter shaft permissible.
Body and Fluff: Gray-brown, indistinctly barred. Legs and Toes: Yellow. Under-Color of All Sections: slate.

WHITE
COLOR — MALE​

Comb, Face and Wattles: Bright Red.
Beak: Yellow.
Eyes: Reddish bay.
Ear-lobes: Enamel white. For Cocks over one year of age only, no defect cuts for red covering up to one-third of the surface.
Legs and Toes: Yellow.
Plumage: See description for White Plumage Color, page 34 .

COLOR — FEMALE​

Comb, Face, and Wattles: Bright red.
Beak: Yellow.
Eyes: Reddish bay.
Ear-lobes: Enamel white.
Legs and Toes: Yellow.
Plumage: See description for White Plumage Color, page 34

 

[Amy King Hanson]

I just want to say hi! I haven't read through the thread yet. I'm new to Cream Legbars ad of April. I've learned a lot and still have much to learn. My birds have some great positives but I know I have some work a head of me.

The rooster and hen I started with.

First pullet I hatched

Next I hatched two boys. I wish now that I had banded them. I don't know who was the light or dark chick.

The next pullet I kept

My original goal was just to provide auto sexing, blue egg layers. And to do gold over Silver Sexlinked green egg layers. Now I'm looking to add more show quality stock too, lol.

 

[calebjh]

Hi guys. Here's my current pick for my main roo. I was hoping you guys could tell me if you see any big faults. I have two other Roos but one has a floppy comb and the other has a LOT of chestnut. Thoughts please?