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Legbar

Also called Cream Legbar...
Overview Reviews (26) Gallery
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General Information

Breed Purpose
Dual Purpose
Comb
Single
Broodiness
Seldom
Egg Productivity
Medium
Egg Size
Medium
Egg Color
blue
Breed Temperament
moderate
Breed Size
Large Fowl
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The Legbar breed was the second autosexing chicken breed created in the early twentieth century by Reginald Crundall Punnett and Michael Pease at the Genetical Institute ofCambridge University (the other being the Cambar, which was created in 1929). The Legbar was created by crossing Barred Plymouth Rocks, Leghorns, Cambars, and in the case of the Cream Legbar, Araucanas. The Araucana blood in the Cream Legbar is reflected in its crest and blue to blue-green eggs.

The aim of the breeding project was to create an autosexing utility breed with the focus on egg laying, where male and female day old chicks could easily be sexed by their down colour. To achieve this Punnet and Pease used a crossing programme with excellent egg layers, the Leghorn and the Barred Plymouth Rock. The Barred Plymouth Rock was used to introduce the sex-linked barring gene ('barring' (B)) into the Leghorn. By crossing Brown Leghorn and Barred Plymouth Rock the Gold Legbar was created and standardised in 1945. The Silver Legbar followed in 1951. It had been created by crossing the Gold Legbar, White Leghorn and Silver Cambar. The Cream Legbar were standardised in 1958 but nearly died out in the 1970's as blue eggs were not in demand any more. They were created by crossing Gold Legbar with White Leghorn and creme-coloured Araucanas. The Araucanas introduced the dilute creme gene ('inhibitor of gold' (ig)), as well as the crest and the blue eggs into this variety.

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Legbar egg

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Legbar chicks

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Legbar juveniles

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Legbar hen

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Legbar rooster

For more information on this breed and their owners' and breeders' experiences with them, see our breed discussion here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1163832/chicken-breed-focus-legbar/0_30
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Latest reviews

Kristee
Pros: Gentle, beautiful eggs
Cons: Later to mature than other hens
To begin with, I hand raise all my chicks so they're typically all very tame and friendly. However, Belle, my legbar, is relatively timid, but is still gentle and overall pleasant. She was my slowest to lay, even though my other chicks were two weeks (or more) behind her. She started laying recently, around 7 months. She's also not nearly as productive as my Olive Eggers, which was a little surprising to me, but she lays a gorgeous blue egg, and I'll also cut her some slack due to the weather. :p
Purchase Price
37
Purchase Date
8/09/2020
GoatDragonFarms
Pros: Pretty
Sweet
Blue eggs
Cons: N/a
Got a pair of these as my starter flock, and am actively working to expand it. The Legbar is just the sweetest little bird! They stay nearby when foraging, lay blue eggs (which was my selling point), and are auto-sexing. I personally think they have the best-tasting eggs of all the eggs I have tried.
Purchase Price
15
Purchase Date
2017

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bdcraig
Pros: Friendly, Free Range Well.
Cons: Don’t lay in the winter.
I really like this breed. I got mine from a breeder. They are the silver color not the brown.

They lay very pretty blue and blue green eggs. There are the friendliest birds I have. Very sweet little personalities. Cute little crest. The rooster is a great watcher of the flock but very friendly to people.
Purchase Price
$10
Purchase Date
10/1/17

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Comments

ochochicas
Mine put themselves to bed at night. The first ones into the coop get the best roosting spot I suppose.
 
nova022
She is beautiful and she seems very relaxed and friendly. I have wanted Cream Legbars for a long time. Maybe someday.
 
allpeepedout
Looks like you have a lovely girl there and a sweet pet. Please update when she starts laying. I also purchased two Cream Legbars from Meyers about the same time as you. They were both raised with lots of human exposure. One is very friendly while the other has been very fearful. In general, this breed is calm and sensible. They are "middle of the pack" as far as curiosity and foraging, and seem to be very kind to other birds. The topknot is a hoot.
 
N F C
I was glad to read your review about sweet Amy. These have been on my "wish list" for some time now, maybe next spring. I'm curious to see what her eggs will be like so please share pictures when they show up! Thanks for the review and the great pictures.
 
ChickaLong
I have been interested in the CL for months. We want a lap flock. We are going to try them this fall. I have been hesitant since the leghorns we have had were touch me not's.
 
Keeper
My two CCL are the friendliest of the bunch. At 2.5 mo they still like to hang out on my lap, and will jump up on my back (along with one of the Salmon Faverolles) if I'm bent over fussing with something in the coop. One of them is always the first out the door in the morning. So far I just love this breed and hope to always have some.
 
mrosspitt
You started with one year olds from a large breeder so I wouldn't count on them being friendly as if they were raised and handled often. The eggs are the wrong size and wrong color, and you believe you bought birds with genetic problems and then give them a low rating!
 
Pensmaster
I've been watching mine for a few weeks now. They are in with Leghorns. Feeding time they run away. Leghorns run to me. Thought that was strange. Hope they lay well or they are in the same situation as yours will be.
 
ChicKat
How unfortunate that you are having bad experiences with this breed.

Most who have them love them. The frost-bit combs are a definite disadvantage in very cold climates, so your observations for people in ultra cold areas can help them with their view of the breed. Interesting that the egg color is one that will boost the color of your EE flock. Most likely you decided to give them a try based on comments in threads about CL here on BYC. sorry to hear that yours turned out to be lemons. .
 
animalgrl
I had one CL who was my one of my favorites. Unfortunately we only had her about 6 months before she died from an impacted intestine. She was pretty and curious. While she wasn't particularly keen on being handled, she would often jump up on my lap to peck my jewelry or buttons, and almost always jumped up on my shoulder when I cleaned the run. I can't comment on laying ability, as she never laid (found out on necropsy she had no oviduct and no properly formed ovary) but personality wise, she was great. I would love to get a couple more CLs someday.
 
Bocktobery 10
I think you'll find you are happy with the results of boosting your egg color using your EE roo. I did that, and I'm very pleased with the results... a whole cornucopia of egg colors and various feather patterns! That said, I'm sorry that you've not found the legbars to be worth your money. I'm really happy with mine, and while they can get flighty at times- I've not experienced what you wrote about with mine. I've noticed mine are very street smart. The males get along really well together- no fighting, yet eager to protect the females. Perhaps you just weren't around them long enough when they were young to really bond with you or perhaps your CL chicks had some traumatic experiences with humans while young? I've found that helps if you coddle the chicks if you want your birds to be friendly- but not always does this work. I agree with the eggs being on the small side and are not so proficient as other breeds... however they never were known to be a proficient breed. I also agree that the roosters combs do freeze easily.
 
PeterNaomiGray
Our Amy is 7 months old now, and still a sweet, beautiful bird. We can see how CCLs got the "skittish" reputation, because when we approach Amy, she often freaks out a little, running away or flying over our heads. When we get down low, we can quickly grab her or get her into a corner. Once we pick her up, she immediately calms down and loves to be held. If you get a CCL, I wouldn't be put off by a little skittishness; just work with it and she'll probably respond to affection and gentleness.
More and more, she comes to us on her own for lap time. Despite her lean build and thin, fragile-looking comb, she doesn't seem to have any problem with cold days, and we've had a few that dipped below 0 F. She hasn't started laying yet, but we're in no hurry, and we don't extend winter lighting in the coop.
Amy is lively, smart, curious, athletic, and a lot of fun to have around. I'd gladly add more CCLs to our flock when we're ready for new chicks.
 
cubalaya
i have 2 that were give to me. if they live through the winter i will get them a rooster next spring
 
dheltzel
Not all strains of legbars are the same temperment. I have 2 strains, an older strain that I got locally with poor cresting and more gold than cream. They are quite flighty, but excellent layers. The second strain is the Jill Rees strain straight from Greenfire. These are obviously show birds, bred to be calm and handleable. They are often underfoot in the pens and I can just pick them up like the Ameraucanas and Bielefelders. I have crossed the 2 and the calmness is definitely genetic, with the hybrids falling in between the 2 parent personalities.
If you want a productive blue egg layer that has the calm personality of your DP's, try a pure Jill Rees Legbar pullet or 2. I think you will be amazed at the difference. I find the Rees birds to be very productive, more than my show Ameraucanas, and of course 100% sexable at hatch. They are my top recommendation for new chicken keepers.
 
fatcatx
Thanks for noting the Rees differences. I had debated giving them a try at some point.
 
dheltzel
You really should. They can be a bit hard to find still, but a lot of breeders have them now, so they should get more common (and cheaper) with time.
 
ChicKat
It's so nice to see my Cream Legbar "Robin" appear on the home page, in the 'reviews' band of BYC. She was hatched in 2012 from Greenfire's "C" line -- which were the high egg producers.

Robin's a dream hen -- and is going to be 6-years-old this January. I'm amazed that she still is laying a couple eggs during the week at her age. She is a Legbar that lays the bluer end of the spectrum, unlike some Legbars. -- If you want a nice long-lived bird that is excellent for your BYC flock -- try to find a legbar from the more original or 'production' lines if you goal is a hardy, curious, friendly egg-layer.

ETA, that's a pullet picture of her, but she's equally pretty now-a-days as a hen.
 
SnowKnitty
dheltzel said:
Not all strains of legbars are the same temperment. I have 2 strains, an older strain that I got locally with poor cresting and more gold than cream. They are quite flighty, but excellent layers. The second strain is the Jill Rees strain straight from Greenfire. These are obviously show birds, bred to be calm and handleable. They are often underfoot in the pens and I can just pick them up like the Ameraucanas and Bielefelders. I have crossed the 2 and the calmness is definitely genetic, with the hybrids falling in between the 2 parent personalities.
If you want a productive blue egg layer that has the calm personality of your DP's, try a pure Jill Rees Legbar pullet or 2. I think you will be amazed at the difference. I find the Rees birds to be very productive, more than my show Ameraucanas, and of course 100% sexable at hatch. They are my top recommendation for new chicken keepers.
Click to expand...
I also have hens from the Hale line and the Rees line. The Hale line has a completely different temperament and I can't gain their trust. The Rees hens are so comfortable around people they sometimes jump/fly up to meet my hand when they suspect I might have something edible for them. The only downside is that they are really aggressive about food and can peck quite hard! For that reason, I wouldn't recommend them around small children.
 
dheltzel
dheltzel said:
Not all strains of legbars are the same temperment. I have 2 strains, an older strain that I got locally with poor cresting and more gold than cream. They are quite flighty, but excellent layers. The second strain is the Jill Rees strain straight from Greenfire. These are obviously show birds, bred to be calm and handleable. They are often underfoot in the pens and I can just pick them up like the Ameraucanas and Bielefelders. I have crossed the 2 and the calmness is definitely genetic, with the hybrids falling in between the 2 parent personalities.
If you want a productive blue egg layer that has the calm personality of your DP's, try a pure Jill Rees Legbar pullet or 2. I think you will be amazed at the difference. I find the Rees birds to be very productive, more than my show Ameraucanas, and of course 100% sexable at hatch. They are my top recommendation for new chicken keepers.
Click to expand...
I have turkeys and they make any pecking by a chicken seem mild. I can't feed them bread by hand, they get too excited and bite me hard. They aren't aggressive so much as excited. It seems like all my breeds attack their food with "gusto". I would monitor small children with any poultry, and teach them to respect their beaks (and feet and wings). Even my very mild mannered cochin bantam hens have pecked me quite hard when there was good food involved.
 

Item information

Category
Chicken Breeds
Added by
ChicKat
Views
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Watchers
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Comments
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Reviews
26
Last update
Rating
4.50 star(s) 26 ratings

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