I am a crested cream legbar owner/breeder "in waiting" so to speak and have read with tremendous interest the bulk of this thread. Having come through the fire of supporting, hauling, and showing 3 varieties of Marans toward their APA acceptance since 2011 I want to commend this group for the discussion and endeavor being made to get this breed APA approved. You have gone forward with a draft SOP with help from Mr. Leonard which is great. It's a long road to the finish but it is worth it......
I may have missed this in the discussion and if I did, I apologize, but the suggestion of looking at what the Marans group did is a sound one. We had to backtrack on a couple of things and re-group because we did not pay close enough attention to the APA "way of doing things". I had to throw out a whole year's breeding program and basically start over due to a change in what was proper for the BCM male in color..... It appears to me, and this is simply my personal opinion (worth what it's worth), that you have One breed (Legbar) but Three varieties(Cream, Gold, Silver with distanct differences such as egg color and plumage color)...very similar to the Marans. We drafted a General SOP which covers the Marans type, structure, DQ's, Faults, etc that applies to every variety of Marans. Then as each variety came closer to being ready for a qualifying meet we drafted a standard for that color variety....We now have 3 varieties APA approved and two more gaining ground. I said all that to say this.....Draft a General SOP (I think you already have) that covers the Legbar breed....then pick a color Cream, Gold or Silver. Push that variety toward acceptance while still working on the other varieties. We were showing Wheaten Marans the whole time we were pushing the Black Coppers for acceptance. I had the BV Wheaten at the Black Copper qualifying meet in Newnan, GA in 2011 along with the Black Copper hen that was judged Best of Breed in that qualifying meet. Then we were showing White Marans while pushing the Wheatens for acceptance.....now we have the Whites accepted as well....
I'm sure the DQ's at the Dripping Springs Show were a disappointment......EDUCATION is the key. I have a great deal of respect for judge Pat Malone. have shown under him many times. He's always been willing to discuss with me any decision he made on one of my birds....It has to be hard for the best of judges to be very familiar with such a new breed. But his advise to show even though the birds may not be where you want them is sound. You've got to make that "years of showing" thing with APA. Also, and I have not seen it mentioned but APA has a 2/2/2/2 rule.......2 cocks, 2 cockerels, 2 hens, 2 pullets at a show for it to be counted......The Marans group communicated with each other to see who was going where and what they had so that we could make that 2/2/2/2 rule. Legbar breeders need to do the same....working together is the key to getting this done. Do the paperwork, cross your t's, and dot your i's.....that will go far with APA.
Having probably worn out my welcome by now......I would like to say that I intend to pursue the Crested Cream Legbar with the same determination in the breeding pen and at the shows that I have with the Marans.
I can readily see the difference between the Cream and Gold hens but could someone take pity on me and post a picture of what the ideal Cream male should be as close to as possible. Or, direct me to a site with one on it......I tend to operate better with a visual experience. Thank you for your tolerance of my long post....
Peggy Taylor
Rocky Springs Farm
Huntington, Texas
