Cream legbar chick color

[fightingbunny]

I bought 4 cream legbars from a non-hatchery private farm and I have noticed something interesting. There are 3 female chicks and one is brown and the other two have the same markings but in a grey tone instead of brown. On the internet when I looked up what a cream legbar chick looks like they are always brown. When I received the chicks I asked why they did not look all the same and was told it would not affect the adult coloring or the egg color. I asked also about the hackle color (people seem to worry about that online) and she said they could have a russet gene (whatever that means). I don't think it was related to the chick down color though. The boy chick is yellow/brown colored and seems to match internet pictures.

We got the male for free basically and my friend is taking him to save a male chick more than for breeding. I think she is using a maran/easter egger cross for her olive egger project, but might use the legbars, depending on how they turn out. I needed another person to go in on hatching some eggs and talked her into all of this

I am keeping one of the female chicks and I get to pick which one I am keeping. What factors should I look for? I do not mind what color the chicken becomes, I just want pretty blue eggs. Should I take one of the dark chicks so she gets the one that is more like a "real" cream legbar? The brown chick is the most vigorous of the chicks and seems the most healthy. My gut says to pick her, but I wanted to see what the wise byc crew says first.

When I get home from work I will post pictures of the chicks.

Thanks for any advice!
Jenn

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I have had gold expressed CL and cream CL hens. Cream is actually standard (and recessive) so you can end up with periodic gold (to my understanding). Both seemed to lay fairly equally, though the cream seemed to be better overall. (Sadly a raccoon relieved me of my better CL). I am about to cull my gold CL as she is not thrifty (they do tend to coccidosis sensitivity).

If you are breeding for olive egg, you need a dark gene layer (such as Marans or Barnevelder or Welsummer) over a blue layer. Your friend should chose the bird who is most thrifty and prolific in laying and has the best egg color. But that is not possible to know until they begin to lay. Feather coloring does not necessarily determine egg color quality. (In Black Copper Marans, it is often the "mossy" back, or over colored female, that lays the better, darker, egg.) CL is still struggling to develop and maintain clear standards, so egg color can vary as can feather color.

So now the question is, how good a friend are you and she? If you look at just your interests, take the healthiest most thrifty looking chick no matter what color if your interest is not in breeding for standard (and if standard, you still want the strongest, healthiest chick, but would avoid off color).

As long as you all have healthy chicks, and are not breeding for overall standard but egg color and production, or simply having fun with CL in the flock, it won't really matter who gets what. Cross breeding the CL with another breed for olive immediately eliminates any body standard requirements....you want health and egg color.

LofMc

EDITED to add: I'm a little curious as to your yellow/brown and all brown colors in the chicks. Are you talking about very young chicks still in down? Girls should be brown-gold chipmunk looking and the boys should be mostly brown/grey with a white head dot. There are some wheaten (yellow) down males, which, if following Rhodebar thinking, is undesirable as it can muddy the auto-sexing waters and should be de-selected for. The male will come out double barred and be mostly silver-grey with barring. The female should be silver-grey, soft barring on the back, with salmon chest.

And to correct my terminology above....all CL are considered "gold," but they have the diluting gene which turns the gold to cream. Different birds will have differing amounts of that diluting cream so you can have more or less of the gold effect. This matters only if you are breeding for standard...and matters overall to the CL community which is struggling to perfect the standard.

You can read the standards here if interested: http://creamlegbarclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/CreamLegbarBreedGuide.pdf

 

[fightingbunny]

Here is a picture of the two grey chicks. The one has some spradle leg. She is definitely going to my friend as she knows how to make the braces for that. I forgot to get a picture of the other two which are brown as I had to wash some chicken butts and forgot.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Take the chick you like if she is happy with getting the others including the straddle leg chick.

She will like breeding with the CL and Marans better as it gives 100% chance of olive. The genetics of EE and Marans allows only 50% chance of olive.

She most likely should not breed from the straddle leg chick unless you know that was an incubator temp issue. It likely is genetic weakness. With rarer breeds and limited gene pool, chick issues begin to arise. Do not breed from those. They can be fine for pets.

 

[fightingbunny]

The breeder said all the chicks were walking fine before she put them in a shoe box and met me in a parking lot halfway. She thinks the one slipped in the box and strained the legs that way instead of birth defect.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

The breeder said all the chicks were walking fine before she put them in a shoe box and met me in a parking lot halfway. She thinks the one slipped in the box and strained the legs that way instead of birth defect.

That can totally happen, which is why chicks should always be raised on flooring that is not slippery. Good to hear, genetically to speak.

Then it really doesn't matter if all the chicks are healthy. Just be sure to get chipmunk girls with solid head colors. Any white head dot should indicate male. (CL females are softly barrred, and I have noticed a very slight whisp of white on the head, but the boys are so clearly colored differently with obvious white head dot...unless too much wheaten has blurred the obvious).

LofMc

 

[h2oratt]

Hi, I have Ccl hatching right now. I was looking for info on how to sex them at hatch. This is my first time hatching them.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Hi, I have Ccl hatching right now. I was looking for info on how to sex them at hatch. This is my first time hatching them.

The boys should look two-toned, generally brown-grey blocks, with a clear white head dot. Sometimes you get some golden coloring but hopefully the white head dot is still clear. Sometimes you get very faint chipmunk stripes, but hopefully the white head dot is clear.

Girls should be a chipmunk looking chick. I had one female with a very, very faint whisp of white on their head (as the girls are softly barred) that faded as her down came in. But the females should look like chipmunks with clear stripes and eyeliner and NO white head dot.

As they mature, the males will look more and more silvery barred while the girls will look more partridge with very soft silver barring on the back only and a salmon chest.

LofMc

 

[h2oratt]

The boys should look two-toned, generally brown-grey blocks, with a clear white head dot. Sometimes you get some golden coloring but hopefully the white head dot is still clear. Sometimes you get very faint chipmunk stripes, but hopefully the white head dot is clear.

Girls should be a chipmunk looking chick. I had one female with a very, very faint whisp of white on their head (as the girls are softly barred) that faded as her down came in. But the females should look like chipmunks with clear stripes and eyeliner and NO white head dot.

As they mature, the males will look more and more silvery barred while the girls will look more partridge with very soft silver barring on the back only and a salmon chest.

LofMc

Thank. you

 

[KB91]

Hi guys. I recently hatched 4 cream legbar chicks and it appears to be 3 hens and a roo. However the roos markings seem to be a little off to me. The ones I've hatched in the past had no markings or very faint chipmunk pattern with a clear head spot. Can anyone weigh in?