Cream Legbar Working Group: Standard of Perfection

[ChicKat]

Punnett's new square is here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tesseract.gif

LOL

 

[AmericanBresse]

Glad to see ongoing work being done with the Cream Legbar. I bought a pair of "crested cream legbars" No crests and the roo looks like a red cuckoo something. If there place as a free range homestead type chicken, production needs to be documented. How is their egg and meat production? If their only attribute is a blue egg, folks be starving on the homestead. I love the birds, hope they are useful enough to justify time and feed Thank you mark

 

[ChicKat]

Hi Mark,

In some ways I think the breed is too new to the USA to be definitive about how productive they are. I have had two pullets that came into lay this year that lay an egg EVERY DAY. -- with maybe a day off every 18-20 days. They are pullets and the eggs are small. One of them subsequently went broody...which I think is a plus. On the other end of the spectrum, I have one that cannot manage to make a shell....and she needs to be culled. She lays (sometimes) a membrane egg - and immediately eats it.

Overall-- if those of us that have the breed and want to increase the Cream Legbar in the USA use stock that is productive, then they will be useful chickens and not just live yard-ornaments.

One of the biggest advantages for someone with a homesteading outlook IMO would be the autosexing of this breed so that you know from hatch day -- who will grow up to give you eggs -- and who won't.

I'm glad to hear that you love the birds -- and I hope that they will justify your time and feed! Keep us posted on their progress - and best of luck with them.

 

[KPenley]

Glad to see ongoing work being done with the Cream Legbar. I bought a pair of "crested cream legbars" No crests and the roo looks like a red cuckoo something. If there place as a free range homestead type chicken, production needs to be documented. How is their egg and meat production? If their only attribute is a blue egg, folks be starving on the homestead. I love the birds, hope they are useful enough to justify time and feed Thank you mark

Welcome Mark! If you have time to wander through the thousands of pages of CLB info here at BYC you will find tons of information! In short, Cream Legbars qualities: autosexing (they were developed during a time when food was scarce and farmers wanted to know who they could cull at hatch to save money), production blue egg laying (although the current goal in the UK is 180 eggs a year, many of us get 5-6 a week here in the US), easy going personalities, and they look cool crested and cream.
Any pics? And how old are your pair? Some roo crests develop late. There are some kinks we're working out in terms of show quality shape and color, but Cream Legbars are an awesome breed!

 

[lonnyandrinda]

Welcome Mark!

In my experience, I currently have 5 hens (had 6 but lost one a few weeks ago) and I get 4 large blue eggs almost every day, which works out to about 5 eggs per week per hen. As far as the eating aspect, they are classified as light fowl. But although they are not a big size for eating like a Marans I do know people who eat their rooster culls. Waste not want not I suppose. They are friendly and inquisitive, with a unique crest and coloring. And you cannot beat the autosexing. Sunday I had a hatch of 5:1 boys to girls and was able to cull the boys right away and not bother feeding and caring for them for weeks and weeks. Even if you did not get as good of stock as you hoped, don't throw in the towel yet- I say give them a try and maybe try hatching out some more from someone else!

 

[AmericanBresse]

Thank you all for your words of encouragement and I do plan on giving them a chance. I ordered three more pullets to be delivered the first of June. I first got into them because of the auto sexing and that they had been used for commercial production of blue eggs = value.
Blue eggs in a mixed carton of eggs adds more value to the carton from a marketing standpoint and if they were used commercially they must have laid enough to justify the effort. Their size makes them attractive for less feed maintenance for the hens and growing pullets and if they are good foragers lowers feed costs and the roos may be able to grow out on pasture then fattened in confinement the last few weeks. That said, and the fact they will brood their own chicks will qualify them in my book as a great Homestead type.I live in Montana and the first bird noticed in the spring is a Robin so it's natural that I love these birds looks, too me they look like a big fat Robin. Will post some pics once I figure it out.........mark

 

[AmericanBresse]

Thank you all for your words of encouragement and I do plan on giving them a chance. I ordered three more pullets to be delivered the first of June. I first got into them because of the auto sexing and that they had been used for commercial production of blue eggs = value.
Blue eggs in a mixed carton of eggs adds more value to the carton from a marketing standpoint and if they were used commercially they must have laid enough to justify the effort. Their size makes them attractive for less feed maintenance for the hens and growing pullets and if they are good foragers lowers feed costs and the roos may be able to grow out on pasture then fattened in confinement the last few weeks. That said, and the fact they will brood their own chicks will qualify them in my book as a great Homestead type.I live in Montana and the first bird noticed in the spring is a Robin so it's natural that I love these birds looks, too me they look like a big fat Robin. Will post some pics once I figure it out.........mark

 

[ChicKat]

.I live in Montana and the first bird noticed in the spring is a Robin so it's natural that I love these birds looks, too me they look like a big fat Robin. Will post some pics once I figure it out.........mark

My first Cream Legbar pullet was named Robin for the very reason you mentioned!! :O)

 

[walady944]

7 wk oldGFF roo, newto cream legbars, any comments on him would be welcome. I am not seeing brown, red or the like,and hoping
he is a keeper. thanks,

 

[KPenley]

So far so good Walady! It's hard to tell a keeper though, based on anything other than down color, until they reach maturity. I've even seen some breeders wait until over 1 year old to choose their breeders. Best wishes with your boy!