Cream Legbar Working Group: Standard of Perfection

[HaplessRunner]

Aww those dead chicks just make me kinda sad. Educational though it is ill admit. Want to see an update of that little pullet I first posted to ask you about the head spot?

She's kinda dark really



Someone said their girls that started out with head spots had nice silver or cream crests. Just doesn't look like this one necessarily will. She's about 7 weeks.

This is the "new type" of female cream legbars that have been hatching out of late. I posted some thoughts on the legbar thread.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/459044/the-legbar-thread/6060#post_12427663

My recent pullet chick acquisition in September and a hatching egg that gave me pullets look like this girl. They are very dark with crests that are almost black and breast feathers that are very dark and tinged with black. The following pictures are ones from earlier lines.





Such a huge difference in color! While I have seen some comments with respect to this, I have not been able to ascertain any consensus with respect to what a breeder's approach should be regarding these "dark" female cream legbars. Certainly, test breeding would be in order, but their dark colors are well off the draft standard.

Excerpt from Draft 2 of the American SOP:

Head: Plumage, cream and gray.

Crest: Cream and gray, some chestnut permissible.

Neck: Hackle—cream, softly barred gray.
Front of neck—salmon.

Wings: Fronts, Bows and Coverts—silver-gray, faintly barred.
Primaries—gray, peppered.
Secondaries—gray, very faintly barred.

Back: Gray, softly barred, feathers having a lighter shaft permissible.

Tail: Main Tail and Coverts—silver-gray, faintly barred.

Breast: Salmon, well defined in outline, some feathers having a slightly lighter shaft permissible.

Body and Fluff: Silver-gray, indistinctly barred.

So given the foregoing, if I had lots of pullets to choose from (which I do not), these "dark" pullets would appear to be candidates for culling. For the record, I have both SOP colored pullets and these "dark" pullets.

So where do we go with our dark pullets - test mating, exile to the layer flock, or main stream breeding?

 

[WHmarans]

This is the "new type" of female cream legbars that have been hatching out of late.  I posted some thoughts on the legbar thread.

Such a huge difference in color!  While I have seen some comments with respect to this, I have not been able to ascertain any consensus with respect to what a breeder's approach should be regarding these "dark" female cream legbars.  Certainly, test breeding would be in order, but their dark colors are well off the draft standard.

Very interesting. I will go check out your posts. I can tell you how I got it ... Trying to reduce chesnut! Her mother did lighten up as she matured but was never this dark. All of my girls actually lightened up quite a bit later on so I'm not giving up on her yet but would just as easily keep her out of the genetic mix if not. She's particularly sweet like her mother.

 

[nicalandia]

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I think you got it Backwards, its the Dark pullets, that have the Actual Gray crests and Grey body the ones you want, the second pic shows a Female with too much color on its crest and its body color is OFF by standard

 

[nicalandia]

Here from the SOP(UK)

"Plumage, Female : Neck hackles cream, softly barred grey. Breast salmon, well defined in outline. Body silver-grey, with rather indistinct broad soft barring. Wings, primaries grey-peppered; secondaries very faintly barred; coverts silver grey. Tail silver grey, faintly barred. Crest cream and grey, some chestnut permissible."


so basically a Grey barred Females(Tail, coverts, Creast, Body) and Please dont cofuse some Chestnut permissible on crest Chestnut/brown colored crets.... Permisible means that its ok to have some of it and is also ok to Lack chestnun all together,

so to me your Dark females are following the Standards way more than your other females...



just check the Pullets on this site...http://blue-eggs.co.uk/#/photos-of-cream-legbar/4554699814

they have the correct shade on their bodies which is Grey, not brown like some of the hens I've seen here(one of you pics)

 

[HaplessRunner]

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Niclandia,

The overall point is that the colors are further off in lines now than earlier. I agree, the first picture that I showed above is the correct color. The second has too much color in the crest and body, as noted, but she does carry the cream gene given the color of the hackles. She is just not as good as the first picture which I got a best in breed at a Virginia show a few weeks ago.

 

[nicalandia]

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Except the poster believes the Second pullet posted has better color? No Way, the so called Dark Pullets are actually closer to standard http://blue-eggs.co.uk/#/photos-of-cream-legbar/4554699814 you want to know when a Pullet has too much color? check their throats, if they have brown/chestnut color on their throat, they will show it on the body too...

 

[HaplessRunner]

Here from the SOP(UK)

"Plumage, Female : Neck hackles cream, softly barred grey. Breast salmon, well defined in outline. Body silver-grey, with rather indistinct broad soft barring. Wings, primaries grey-peppered; secondaries very faintly barred; coverts silver grey. Tail silver grey, faintly barred. Crest cream and grey, some chestnut permissible."


so basically a Grey barred Females(Tail, coverts, Creast, Body) and Please dont cofuse some Chestnut permissible on crest Chestnut/brown colored crets.... Permisible means that its ok to have some of it and is also ok to Lack chestnun all together,

so to me your Dark females are following the Standards way more than your other females...



just check the Pullets on this site...http://blue-eggs.co.uk/#/photos-of-cream-legbar/4554699814

they have the correct shade on their bodies which is Grey, not brown like some of the hens I've seen here(one of you pics)

I have to beg to differ with you here. There is no way that I can see that the dark crested and dark body pullets are close to the SOP.

Please tell me how this pullet ( and I have two like her) are even close to the SOP. Where is the cream? Where is the silver grey? Where is the salmon? The shape and type are correct but the colors do not seem even close, imho.

 

[nicalandia]

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you would be Exiling the Correct colored pullets and going backwards instead..

 

[nicalandia]

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Thats just a pullet for peet sake, allow it to grow and then decide what to do with her, remember also that this type of melanized pullets will give you good roosters with grey barring on hackle and saddle,

 

[HaplessRunner]

Quote:

That, my friend, does nothing to explain anything.