There's been a lot of talk lately about "SOP chicks" in the Cream Legbar Group of America Page on FB and... it's a little disturbing. Lord-Patrick Joseph Reindel Jr. had a great response to a post earlier and some of the notes there bear repeating:
1) You can NOT tell if a chick is going to fit the standard based on its down in 99% of cases, and that 1% of anomalies usually wind up to be cross breeds (were talking chicks with, say, wheaten down coloring, etc.)
2) Even in accepted breeds that often win Best in Show awards, way less than 10% of chicks make it to juvenile show prospect. And legbars are decades away from even that consistency.
3) THERE IS NO ACCEPTED STANDARD OF PERFECTION IN THE US. At BEST a breeder can be working towards the CURRENT working standard, but we've already been told this standard will have to be changed if it's ever accepted. It's a moving target. I would advise any breeders currently doing this to state the above clearly as opposed to selling CHICKS as SOP because you are misleading them and will very possibly disappoint them.
4) Finally, real talk, if breeding to standard or showing is important you but you don't have the room and resources to grow out at least 25+ chicks (MINIMUM) to 5+ months every year, this just might not be the best choice in breed. Have some Legbar hens and enjoy them, and don't sweat of any of it! You just simply cannot make progress in this breed by selling off all but one of your cockerels at hatch. **Addendum: To actually make progress, you probably need to be growing out well over 100+ chicks per variety in this breed. It's a huge undertaking! If you're not doing that, you likely are not effectively "breeding towards SOP".
There are breeders working hard to improve their lines and this should include basics like type and faults and defects common to all breeds per the APA standard, but frankly though some are better than others, it would be very bold for someone to say they have a show quality Legbar. It doesn't take much to be free from disqualification... literally just have a crest and not have any other common DQs as I mentioned before. This does NOT speak NECESSARILY to quality OVERALL. There is so much room for interpretation on our current working standard, too, and that's one of the reasons it has not been approved to move forward--too vague! Two breeders could be breeding to our same working standard and producing COMPLETELY different birds due to interpretation of what shade the color "cream" is, for example, or how big of a crest is considered "moderate".
So, sure... seek out breeders who have been line breeding their stock for a while and are achieving consistent results, good size, type and production, reliable autosexing, and beginning to be able to eliminate irritating faults... but don't get too hung up on it.
Starting with a big group of hatchery stock and breeding up if you can't get your hands on better quality isn't the end of the world if you're diligent and committed... and ultimately having diverse lines converging towards the same general standard (while keeping it mind it could change) is a great thing for the health of the breed!
I also highly recommend the "Start Where You Are With What You Have" book published by the ABA for all of us serious Legbar breeders.
1) You can NOT tell if a chick is going to fit the standard based on its down in 99% of cases, and that 1% of anomalies usually wind up to be cross breeds (were talking chicks with, say, wheaten down coloring, etc.)
2) Even in accepted breeds that often win Best in Show awards, way less than 10% of chicks make it to juvenile show prospect. And legbars are decades away from even that consistency.
3) THERE IS NO ACCEPTED STANDARD OF PERFECTION IN THE US. At BEST a breeder can be working towards the CURRENT working standard, but we've already been told this standard will have to be changed if it's ever accepted. It's a moving target. I would advise any breeders currently doing this to state the above clearly as opposed to selling CHICKS as SOP because you are misleading them and will very possibly disappoint them.
4) Finally, real talk, if breeding to standard or showing is important you but you don't have the room and resources to grow out at least 25+ chicks (MINIMUM) to 5+ months every year, this just might not be the best choice in breed. Have some Legbar hens and enjoy them, and don't sweat of any of it! You just simply cannot make progress in this breed by selling off all but one of your cockerels at hatch. **Addendum: To actually make progress, you probably need to be growing out well over 100+ chicks per variety in this breed. It's a huge undertaking! If you're not doing that, you likely are not effectively "breeding towards SOP".
There are breeders working hard to improve their lines and this should include basics like type and faults and defects common to all breeds per the APA standard, but frankly though some are better than others, it would be very bold for someone to say they have a show quality Legbar. It doesn't take much to be free from disqualification... literally just have a crest and not have any other common DQs as I mentioned before. This does NOT speak NECESSARILY to quality OVERALL. There is so much room for interpretation on our current working standard, too, and that's one of the reasons it has not been approved to move forward--too vague! Two breeders could be breeding to our same working standard and producing COMPLETELY different birds due to interpretation of what shade the color "cream" is, for example, or how big of a crest is considered "moderate".
So, sure... seek out breeders who have been line breeding their stock for a while and are achieving consistent results, good size, type and production, reliable autosexing, and beginning to be able to eliminate irritating faults... but don't get too hung up on it.
Starting with a big group of hatchery stock and breeding up if you can't get your hands on better quality isn't the end of the world if you're diligent and committed... and ultimately having diverse lines converging towards the same general standard (while keeping it mind it could change) is a great thing for the health of the breed!
I also highly recommend the "Start Where You Are With What You Have" book published by the ABA for all of us serious Legbar breeders.
