Autosexing in Cream Legbars Getting Difficult

[Araucana Nest]

Hi ya'll, I have a random assortment of Jill Rees and Production CL with the Roo being Rees line. The temperament has been a work in progress and up to now I had production line roos which were ggressive to the hens and toward me BUT I could clearly see the difference in sexes upon hatching/drying off. And I do mean clearly. Now I have this nicer roo and I just hatched his first two chicks in a Halloween test hatch. They are rather difficult to sex but looks like maybe both cockerels (which would be par for the course this year ). I had trouble sexing the ones that hatched with him in spring. Those eggs came from a breeder who seems to be well respected. I've read this is becoming an increasing problem with the CL however and the autosexing is not something I want to lose in my chicks. How can I accentuate the autosexing to be sure it isn't lost with my line. Thanks

 

[WVBirdsAndBees]

I believe I have read this can be an issue with the Rees line in general. Hopefully someone with more experience and expertise will chime in. You definitely don't want to lose the autosexing, both because it's useful and an important part of the breed. The reputable breeders I've talked to said they won't breed birds that don't reliably give autosexing chicks. But I also understand not wanting to go back to the production line if you had temperament problems.

Our legbar flock came from a few places and are a combination of both lines. I know some prefer being able to say these are "this specific line" but our roo has a great temperament and the girls range from the more production style gold to very nice cream. I'm looking to breed to the proposed standard and am not worried about maintaining a specific imported line.

Being relatively new, my .02 would be to consider another rooster if the issues arose with him. I know that the Rees line has beautiful birds and has won a lot of shows but you aren't the first person I've seen having this issue. I guess it's about balancing nice SOP appearance and perfect cream with reliable autosexing - but if you lose the autosexing, you do lose an important part of the breed.

So glad to see more people hatching and breeding these beauties. We'll start doing more in the spring. They're such wonderful birds, especially once you find a handsome roo with the right temperament. If we could only have 1 breed, they'd be at the top of the list.

Good luck with the dilemma and the program! Given the combination of qualities that make them so unique, it really is an adventure trying to get the CL puzzle pieces all perfect. But the adventure and the awesome birds are part of what makes it fun.

 

[Araucana Nest]

The chicks are four days old and both have developed a good-sized yellow spot on their heads. They're cockerels like I thought. I'm incubating another 6 eggs from the same roo to see if it the next ones are difficult to identify again. He is young. The two that hatched on Halloween are his first chicks.