Cream Legbar Cockerel Advice

[duluthralphie]

I would wait a while before making a choice as who to keep.

If I was to toss one out right now it would be the top one.

I like the color on the 4th one, You have done well getting the cream to show and getting rid of the gold-Crele.

I also like the last one, it has a little reddish brown on the wings but that is permissible. I like the full chest on him. His keel is short but should lengthen as he ages...

I would need better pictures to decide on the others.

Do you belong to the Cream Legbar Club?

Many people think the Cream legbar should be have more gold. That is not really the case. The proposed SOP allows for a little reddish gold but it is not preferred. Also watch the Combs and the crests as they develop. We on the board are still discussing the correct terminology. That said the comb should be large and straight. The lopped look is only allowed on the girls from the 2nd point back as I recall.

You have good white earlobes, (required) on all except your first one....

NOW... for breeding it all depends on what the girls look like and what you are going for. I suggest you go for body type including size first, you can bring the color back easy enough later.

The combs are always going to be a challenge. A rather large comb and still having a crest can be difficult. REMEMBER, A lack of crest is a disqualifier! It is the first and main disqualifier!

You need that crest, even if it means a tad smaller comb. As I recall the comb is only 4 points. You can live with a point or two off there. You cannot live with a DQ on the crest.

BTW #4 has the best color of the bunch. The hackles and saddle feathers are nearly perfect color.

They all seem to have decent barring for a legbar. They are after all legbars and not barred rocks or Dominiques.

You can find the SOP at Creamlegbarclub.com Good luck on all of them.

 

[mockingbird]

Could you also post pics of your breeding pullets and hens? That may help narrow down which boy has the best features to pair with your girls.
#3, 4, and 5 have the best coloring and build over all. But none are outstanding. A good Cream Legbar should have the build of a Leghorn, with coloring similar to a washed out looking Bielefelder due to the cream dilute gene.

I will try to get some pics of the girls tomorrow...

 

[mockingbird]

I would wait a while before making a choice as who to keep.

If I was to toss one out right now it would be the top one.

I like the color on the 4th one, You have done well getting the cream to show and getting rid of the gold-Crele.

I also like the last one, it has a little reddish brown on the wings but that is permissible. I like the full chest on him. His keel is short but should lengthen as he ages...

I would need better pictures to decide on the others.

Do you belong to the Cream Legbar Club?

Many people think the Cream legbar should be have more gold. That is not really the case. The proposed SOP allows for a little reddish gold but it is not preferred. Also watch the Combs and the crests as they develop. We on the board are still discussing the correct terminology. That said the comb should be large and straight. The lopped look is only allowed on the girls from the 2nd point back as I recall.

You have good white earlobes, (required) on all except your first one....

NOW... for breeding it all depends on what the girls look like and what you are going for. I suggest you go for body type including size first, you can bring the color back easy enough later.

The combs are always going to be a challenge. A rather large comb and still having a crest can be difficult. REMEMBER, A lack of crest is a disqualifier! It is the first and main disqualifier!

You need that crest, even if it means a tad smaller comb. As I recall the comb is only 4 points. You can live with a point or two off there. You cannot live with a DQ on the crest.

BTW #4 has the best color of the bunch. The hackles and saddle feathers are nearly perfect color.

They all seem to have decent barring for a legbar. They are after all legbars and not barred rocks or Dominiques.

You can find the SOP at Creamlegbarclub.com Good luck on all of them.

Thanks for your advice.
Yes - I am a member of the club. I have reviewed the SOP's but am not sure how that translates on the actual birds yet. In other words I'm not sure exactly what I am looking at.

My favorite is #3 - but he has the floppy comb and perhaps a bit too much red color. I will try to post some pics of the girls soon.

 

[mockingbird]

Here are some pics of the girls. They weren't very cooperative but I think this is representative of all of them.

 

[junebuggena]

A few of your pullets have smutty coloring through their chest, so those should not be used for breeding at all.
Either cockerel #3 or #5 would be best. #3 has the best build over all. #5 has the better comb and crisper coloring. Both would be assets to your breeding program. The pullets have really nice crests, so that should help compensate for the tiny crests of the boys. That last pullet is probably the best out of all, great coloring, clean salmon through the chest and cream through the hackles, and near perfect shape.

 

[mockingbird]

A few of your pullets have smutty coloring through their chest, so those should not be used for breeding at all.
Either cockerel #3 or #5 would be best. #3 has the best build over all. #5 has the better comb and crisper coloring. Both would be assets to your breeding program. The pullets have really nice crests, so that should help compensate for the tiny crests of the boys. That last pullet is probably the best out of all, great coloring, clean salmon through the chest and cream through the hackles, and near perfect shape.

Great! Thanks for the advice. The last pullet is definitely my favorite. I'm glad that she is a good breeding prospect - and thanks for the tip about the smutty breasted ones. I had suspected they were not desirable. This gives me someplace to start come breeding season.

 

[duluthralphie]

I disagree completely on the choices junebugga gave you. Showing we all do things differently.

I would go with 4, he has a good body and by far the best cream color of the lot. A few of your hens have black crests, You need to get those GONE!! I have them to, they are a fact of life. The Brown is preferred.

Here are the hens I would breed to 4.

Using rooster 3 and 5 you will run the risk of having too much gold/crele in your birds and be out of the SOP for cream legbars. Beings the gold/crele color will not even begin to be looked at for acceptance until after the whites are in the APA. I would pass on that color for now.

 

[junebuggena]

Not a fan of #4's neck/back/tail angles in relation to each other. #5 is slightly better in that respect, and has crisper, more well defined barring which is a weak point in several of the pullets. Several of those girls have such faint barring that it is really hard to see.
Agree that the dark crests should be eliminated, especially since those also happen to be the girls with smutty chests. Cockerel #4 is probably the best one to work on that issue. But only if it pops up in further generations. The neck to back angles on #3 are pretty near perfect though. I'd keep all three in a bachelor pen, rotating their turns in with the girls, making sure to give enough time for the hens to be clear of previous roosters' attentions. Assign each boy a leg band color for tracking offspring. Grow out offspring to see where you need to improve. All things considered, not a bad group to start a breeding program with.

 

[duluthralphie]

Again agree to disagree.

3 has a terrible body. too narrow too lanky and a weird head.

4 is nearly perfect. While the back angle may appear flat I think it is because of where he is standing in relationship to the feeder/tire/whatever that is... He has the best chest, legs and keel, I will give you the keel needs to lengthen, but some of that maybe the stance he is in.

The color on the crests of the girls will appear, they will not disappear without the use of 4 and it may be 2 generations or more before they are gone.

If you notice I only picked one of the real dark crested birds. I think the results of the breeding would be as well as one could get from these... TBH... I would make 3 a chicken dinner.

 

[mockingbird]

Thanks everyone. You have given me alot to think about. For now I will keep cockerel 3,4, &5 and the pullets and see how they finish maturing. i will be sure to refer back to this conversation when I set up breeding pens.