Cream legbar lays green egg.

[dcnorcal]

Not all people selling eggs can be trusted. CCL hens that lay green eggs are not pure and somewhere along the way ended up having brown egg genes introduced into them.

I hatched a CCL pullet from a bought CCL egg. The egg she hatched from was a pretty blue egg. The first egg she laid was an olive egg. I did not let her become part of my breeding project and sold her as a green egg layer and not as a CCL.

 

[dcnorcal]

I know I was offered more eggs because not only were they green, but only 2 ever showed any signs of being fertile. I’m not going to except the offer because I don’t want that gene in my flock. It’s a real bummer when stuff like this happens. I got all my CCL for greenfire farms line a long time ago and not one of my girls laid anything but a blue egg.

 

[SurferchickinSB]

View attachment 1716559 I recently ordered some CCL from a exotic breed hatchery. I received the eggs and when I opened the box I had green eggs? I’ve had CCL for 10 years and never had one lay a green egg. Pic is the green eggs next to my blue eggs from my CCL. I don’t want a green eggs from my CCL. Did the eggs get switched or do CCL lay green eggs?

I think if they are a true purebred, they are supposed to lay only blue eggs.

 

[Legbar Lover]

I would be pretty upset. Mine can sometimes be a minty green but never olive. I would want my money back.

 

[GaryDean26]

Here are the is the basics of the egg color.

If you cross a Pure White egg breed with a Pure Blue egg breed you get a pale blue egg. If you cross a pure White egg breed with a Dark Brown Egg breed you get a light brown egg. If you cross a Pure Blue Egg Breed with a dark brown egg breed you get an olive egg.

Are you in the UK? The oldest Cream Legbars in the USA were imported in 2010 so no one on this side of the pond has have them for 10 years yet. ;-)

In the UK there are tons of hybird blue egg lays, the Cotswold Legbar, The Skyline, the Fenton Blue, the Columbine, Sapphires, etc. The Cotswold Legbar was the first of the commercial Blue Egg Hybird and since Legbar is part of the name it has created some confusion to where many chicken enthusiast think than anything that lays a blue egg is a Legbar. These hybirds often are crossed with breeds that lay brown eggs. The first outcross is called the F1 generation. The 2nd generation after an outcross in the F2 generation. The F3 is the 3rd generation after an out cross. A line is not considered pure after an out cross until six generations are complete (F6) and all the offspring conform to the breed standard.

Some of the top show lines in the UK have been out crossed. I know of breeders in the UK that have experimented with out crossed to White Starts to increase production and Light Sussex to increase egg size. I am guessing that the Jill Reese line got stock from Emily DeGrey. I know that Emily's line got stock from a breeder that out crosses to Sussex so that could be the source of green eggs in the Reese line int he USA.

Unlike the UK Standard the USA standard specifies that egg colors for the Cream Legbars are Blue or green with no allowances for Olive eggs. Your eggs from your 10 year old line look great. The eggs from the hatchery should NOT be crossed with your ten year old line. They will ruin the good egg color you are getting.

 

[nicalandia]

I had CCL direct from GFF that laid green eggs and they were from their Jill Reece line.

GFF at some point did a cross of CCL to Rhodebars(I would guess to preserve the Autosexing traits) but this lead to some Rhodebar owners getting hens that laid green eggs and some pullets having small crests.

 

[Legbar Lover]

Fascinating. I jus love the breed, not into the genetics. I did cross a legbar with a blue egg Americana. She layed the prettiest blue eggs. Better than any of my legbars.

 

[The Moonshiner]

Unlike the UK Standard the USA standard specifies that egg colors for the Cream Legbars are Blue or green with no allowances for Olive eggs.

How disappointing this is to hear.

 

[nicalandia]

How disappointing this is to hear.

Quite indeed! Green eggs are not an immediate disqualification!

 

[The Moonshiner]

Quite indeed! Green eggs are not an immediate disqualification!

I don't get it.
Legbars are known for autosexing and blue eggs. Why include green egg layers?
I know there's to many that had the brown egg genes brought in and its a mess but what's the reasoning?
Just easier to except them then try to breed them out or what?
I love the legbars but boy they've been a heartache since they got here. I've been wanting to get back into them but there's always one thing or another going wrong with them IMO.