Cream Legbar Working Group: Standard of Perfection

[duluthralphie]

I have medium combs on my ladies, but they run the gamut on shape, especially pertaining to their crests.

I would call the one on the left a large comb..We all see things differently.

That is about the size of my largest comb on a hen too, and a couple have a tinge of frostbite, not much though.

 

[GaryDean26]

... we (speaking collectively) need or should take into account the differences we have with the point of origin. England does not have winter weather even close to approaching ours. I would like the SOP to take that into account also. I guess I am saying what makes a good bird in one place does not in another.

I hope that we we can acclimatize English standard birds that can thrive in the USA but understand that a choice will have to be made if we can't. When you look at the split between the people trying to breed Marans to "The French Standard" and those breeding them to the APA standard, those breeding "English Orpington" and those breeding American Orpington, and I even came across a breeder working on breeding Dorking to historic English Standards from some of the original description of the breed it makes me worry that the Legbar could be divided too if some are bent on changing the breed and others bent of preserving it.

5 years ago I was in contact with a Breeder in Canada who was interested in importing Cream Legbars from the UK to Canada. He was very critical of the Greenfire Farm model for importing breeds. His mentor had been involved with an import of Light Sussex to Canada to one of their agricultural research centers. He said that they imported a good cross section of the gene pool from the UK and put them in a single flock of hundreds of birds for about 8 years (time?). They kept about three cockerels for every hen and didn't cull for anything but physical defects. He said that this allowed the genes from all the different sources to mix in Canada and through natural selection the genes that allowed the birds to thrive in Canada (not the UK) rose to the top of the gene pool. He said that the birds became small and flight and that their egg size and egg production greatly dropped but that after the mixing of the blood was complete that they were able to line breed birds and in just a few years they produced huge cockerels (weight??? 12 lbs???). He said they saw similar results with egg production and other utilities. So "acclimatizing" the breed is something that should not be overlooked. I know a Breeder in Washington state that found that some of this cockerels got really light to no frost bite while others in the same pen got severe frost bite. He said he culled those with the severe frost bite and was seeing fewer problems with it in his flock.

Smaller combs is something that will help but there are single combed breeds that don't get much frost bite. The Norwegian Jaerhon is one that comes to mind.

So...my hope if for English standard birds that can perform well in the USA, but realize that breeds like the Buckeye, Dominic, Chancellor, etc were breed for cold hardy comb type and that those type of combs are what people in harsh climates will be drawn to if the Cream Legbar doesn't thrive.

Hmm??? I need an updated on the TheCazyChickenLady's Jaerhon x Cream Legbar crosses.

 

[sol2go]

To all who are following the Standard of Perfection, the Cream Legbar Club has a new look!
Please check out the website and you can read the proposed draft SOP's for each color variety: Cream, Golden Crele, and White.
If you are interested in any of those colors, we have a membership for you - Full or Associate.
Please fill out a membership form and that will help us test the system.
You can also ask specific questions on the Contact form.
Thank you!

 

[RhodyReds]

Does this Crested Cream Legbar look like she meets the standards that most poultry shows would use to judge this breed? I have never entered into a show before, and I do not want to embarrass myself if she doesn't have a chance! She's from Golden Feathers Farm but has Greenfire Farm bloodlines.
Thanks!

 

[Bantambird]

Does this Crested Cream Legbar look like she meets the standards that most poultry shows would use to judge this breed? I have never entered into a show before, and I do not want to embarrass myself if she doesn't have a chance! She's from Golden Feathers Farm but has Greenfire Farm bloodlines. Thanks!

This hen is, to me, within the range of cream for color, but has a bit of extra melanization on the breast and hackles. She has nice yellow legs and ideal earlobes. Her crest is great in both size and shape. However, she is showing some squirrel tail with the angle of tail to body being over 90° . Her comb flops over too far, and the blade of the comb looks like it is folding forward. Overall body shape from this angle is good, wings are kept well tucked. She's a nice looking girl. Look for a cock with a better tail angle and a straight comb (without neglecting his crest size) to help her offspring shine.

 

[RhodyReds]

Thank you!

 

[sol2go]

Does this Crested Cream Legbar look like she meets the standards that most poultry shows would use to judge this breed? I have never entered into a show before, and I do not want to embarrass myself if she doesn't have a chance! She's from Golden Feathers Farm but has Greenfire Farm bloodlines.
Thanks!

You've received some good advice from others here.
If you want to see some other examples and read the proposed standard of perfection, please check out the Cream Legbar Club website.
It is helpful for all to have informed enthusiasts, and the more the merrier. There is a need for interested owners to show their Cream Legbars, whether at local shows or regional meets.

 

[duluthralphie]

I finally got around to joining the club,,The website worked...

 

[sol2go]

BYC has some software changes lined up this week. If anyone wants to talk Cream Legbars while BYC is down be sure to visit the Cream Legbar Club FB page or drop by the remodeled Cream Legbar Club website.

 

[duluthralphie]

BYC has some software changes lined up this week. If anyone wants to talk Cream Legbars while BYC is down be sure to visit the Cream Legbar Club FB page or drop by the remodeled Cream Legbar Club website.

Is there a discussion page there? As a paid in full member I should know this stuff,..

And I think we might get a new member to the group here, am sending 8 white chicks to NH today..