Cream Legbars

[blackbirds13]

Do cream legbars go broody often

I've never had any go broody. I know some have had broody birds but none of mine ever. I don't have a problem with it but if you are truly into self-sustenance it may be something you want to look out for.

 

[CibolaChooks]

Ive had a pure cl go broody. She was a good mom too. The only thing she was bad about was still wanting her sleeping spot. She would make the baby chicks flap and climb five ft up to her fav spot.

 

[CibolaChooks]

I learned something about roosters today. Their is a reason their combs and wattles are red. Its some type of aggression thing. Just like when you add new hens in with your old ones the old ones get upset and their combs and wattles turn bright red. Basically the same for what ever they are upset at. Awhile back i had 4 roosters turn on me in one day. Today i had one of my nicest roos try to get me. I finally snaped as to the reason why. I have some red workout pants I remember that day they all turned on me I was wearing the same pants as I was wearing today. Roosters are like bulls they do not like the color red. Me and ccccccchickens was talking on the ameraucana thread he confirmed his roosters attack the color red also. If anyone who has stated they have human aggressive roosters I would start thinking about not wearing red around them. They might very well be nice roosters but just can't stand seeing someone in red

 

[enola]

I have worked in commercial breeder houses - wearing red orange could literally get you killed if 500 roosters all wanted a piece of you.

 

[lonnyandrinda]

Interesting about the color trigger.

I have had one Cream Legbar hen go broody but I had to break her as I don't have a safe place for her to raise chicks right now. And I'd rather have her eggs.

 

[lawatt]

I had one pullet go broody two months after she started laying. Hatched her chicks and then abandoned them. I also had a couple of crosses go broody and be good mamas but that may have been the influence of the other breeds. Since Leghorns are not known for being broody, I suspect you won't see many Legbar go broody either but there are always exceptions.

i had one girl go broody last year -- but she and another broody SO did not get along once their chicks hatched that i ended up giving her to a neighbor. aggressive broody -- at least that one was!

 

[SlipsWife]

Our CL pullet has stopped laying. When we first got her she was on a 2 day lay, day off, sometimes 3 days, then off. She hasn't laid since Tuesday, and I don't believe Tuesdays egg was hers, it was small and I believe one of the other pullets though I haven't had eggs from either one since at least Tuesday.

Is this normal for the breed? The rest of our group are laying like normal. We've only had them for 3 weeks but nothing in their environment has changed. Could it be part of the 'normal' adjustment to a new environment? I wasn't really expecting them to lay for a couple of weeks at least due to moving to a new environment but I wasn't expecting the pullet that was laying to lay for a couple of weeks and then stop or take an extended break.

One of our original hens, and EE bantam, has gone broody and the first couple of days we thought she might have been chasing/scaring the CL out of the nesting box. We've since put the broody into another nesting area and the CL will go into the box and then leave, so she's obviously not scared.

I've check to see if she seems impacted and to me, she seems fine. She seems healthy. No eggs stashed anywhere and the broody hasn't stolen any.

We have 4 of her eggs in the incubator. I had some shipped eggs come in and used a few of our own eggs too since its my first hatch. I felt like the home eggs would be a nice 'control'. One of the CL eggs was very porous and didn't develop but it was the first one she laid for us and was probably to be expected. The cockerel did his job and fertilized our bantam EE eggs and both of our Turkens!

 

[lonnyandrinda]

Our CL pullet has stopped laying. When we first got her she was on a 2 day lay, day off, sometimes 3 days, then off. She hasn't laid since Tuesday, and I don't believe Tuesdays egg was hers, it was small and I believe one of the other pullets though I haven't had eggs from either one since at least Tuesday.

Is this normal for the breed? The rest of our group are laying like normal. We've only had them for 3 weeks but nothing in their environment has changed. Could it be part of the 'normal' adjustment to a new environment? I wasn't really expecting them to lay for a couple of weeks at least due to moving to a new environment but I wasn't expecting the pullet that was laying to lay for a couple of weeks and then stop or take an extended break.

One of our original hens, and EE bantam, has gone broody and the first couple of days we thought she might have been chasing/scaring the CL out of the nesting box. We've since put the broody into another nesting area and the CL will go into the box and then leave, so she's obviously not scared.

I've check to see if she seems impacted and to me, she seems fine. She seems healthy. No eggs stashed anywhere and the broody hasn't stolen any.

We have 4 of her eggs in the incubator. I had some shipped eggs come in and used a few of our own eggs too since its my first hatch. I felt like the home eggs would be a nice 'control'. One of the CL eggs was very porous and didn't develop but it was the first one she laid for us and was probably to be expected. The cockerel did his job and fertilized our bantam EE eggs and both of our Turkens!

It is VERY common for a hen to stop laying after a transport and change of location. But usually it is more immediate, you get one to three eggs and then they stop for 2-3 weeks. If she's been laying for several weeks it wouldn't be the move.

Could it be a late molt? That would make her stop laying for a bit, 6 weeks to 3 months. It's a little late for a molt in Texas although it's possible given her age, chickens sometimes go through their first molt at about 8 months-1 year old.

The next most plausible idea is she is hiding her eggs, does she ever free range? You said no eggs stashed so I assume she is confined to a pen. If not, confine her for a few days in a pen or cage.

If you don't suspect molt and she looks and acts fine, perhaps she has a parasite load? You could worm them if you haven't done it yet.

 

[SlipsWife]

It is VERY common for a hen to stop laying after a transport and change of location. But usually it is more immediate, you get one to three eggs and then they stop for 2-3 weeks. If she's been laying for several weeks it wouldn't be the move.

Could it be a late molt? That would make her stop laying for a bit, 6 weeks to 3 months. It's a little late for a molt in Texas although it's possible given her age, chickens sometimes go through their first molt at about 8 months-1 year old.

The next most plausible idea is she is hiding her eggs, does she ever free range? You said no eggs stashed so I assume she is confined to a pen. If not, confine her for a few days in a pen or cage.

If you don't suspect molt and she looks and acts fine, perhaps she has a parasite load? You could worm them if you haven't done it yet.

I think she might be molting. I will have to look again to see how old she is but I believe that sounds like the right age. Her wing feathers seem scruffy, for lack of a better way to explain it. I thought it might be from the cockerel but he seems extremely gently. My daughter thought she was getting picked on from the others but I haven't seen anything since days 2 and 3. The first day there was no drama, it was crazy. I've only noticed 2 of our original 8 molt and they both looked horrible! If the others have molted, they've hidden it well. So it never occurred to me she might be molting...

They do free range for a couple of hours a day but we've watched her and checked the few places she might have laid and I really don't think she has. They didn't free range today.

I will try to get pictures tomorrow. I'm also not 100% sure the pullet that's laying is the one that I suspect is molting. I just know for sure the girl that was laying, isn't. Plus we got a second CL egg last week, on the smaller side, so I believe one of the younger 3 is starting. Two of the younger 3 have dark combs, one still has a very pale comb so it will probably be awhile before she catches up.

There are no 'obvious' signs of parasites but is there a way to test for them? I'd hate to worm them if its not needed. Can you take samples to a vet to check like you would for a dog? My 14 year old daughter has a microscope, I wonder if I can get her to check. It might not be powerful enough though.

Thank you! I feel kind of silly now!

 

[lonnyandrinda]

I think she might be molting. I will have to look again to see how old she is but I believe that sounds like the right age. Her wing feathers seem scruffy, for lack of a better way to explain it. I thought it might be from the cockerel but he seems extremely gently. My daughter thought she was getting picked on from the others but I haven't seen anything since days 2 and 3. The first day there was no drama, it was crazy. I've only noticed 2 of our original 8 molt and they both looked horrible! If the others have molted, they've hidden it well. So it never occurred to me she might be molting...

They do free range for a couple of hours a day but we've watched her and checked the few places she might have laid and I really don't think she has. They didn't free range today.

I will try to get pictures tomorrow. I'm also not 100% sure the pullet that's laying is the one that I suspect is molting. I just know for sure the girl that was laying, isn't. Plus we got a second CL egg last week, on the smaller side, so I believe one of the younger 3 is starting. Two of the younger 3 have dark combs, one still has a very pale comb so it will probably be awhile before she catches up.

There are no 'obvious' signs of parasites but is there a way to test for them? I'd hate to worm them if its not needed. Can you take samples to a vet to check like you would for a dog? My 14 year old daughter has a microscope, I wonder if I can get her to check. It might not be powerful enough though.

Thank you! I feel kind of silly now!

Yes you can have the vet check their stools for parasites.

I think it is more likely she is molting. Can you pick her up and feel her pelvis? If you feel for her "hip bones" for lack of a better word, if you can fit 1 or 2 fingers between them she is not laying. If you can fit 3-4 fingers there she is laying. There are some diagrams on this website, not the best but I didn't see any better at a quick glance. http://www.small-farm-permaculture-and-sustainable-living.com/buying_chickens.html

Also if her vent looks moist she is laying, if it looks dry she is not. Again there are plenty of web pictures if you do a search. Just be careful how you word it or you may get a few surprise pictures.