Cream Legbar Working Group: Standard of Perfection

[GaryDean26]

Color-Female



Comb, Face, and Wattles: Bright red. Redchicken9: yes.[GaryDean26] Yes
Beak: Yellow. Redchicken9: yes. (mine horn, where this horn is coming from beats the heck out of me since both barred Rocks and Leghorns have yellow! Ok, black and golden duckwing and silver araucanas horn, for white it's yellow).[GaryDean26] Yes, this is an area that will take a little work to get right. It looks like all of my offspring are horn.

I am trying to figure out the breeding on this. Someone might be able to make sense with the quotes below. I am still trying to figure out how they relate to breeding for Yellow vs. Horn beaks.

Note: Amanda Rowe's CLBs must have the Dilute mentioned. Also, it is possible that the horn beaked birds are split for e^b? I am going to do more study on beak colors.

Quote: Re: Skin and shank colors Posted Dec 8, 2002 on the Yahoo Poultrygenetic group messages by falbertsen

Quote:Re: Buff coloration & extension Posted Nov 29, 2002 on the Yahoo Poultrygenetic group messages by falbertsen
...2) "e+" - Wild type. This is the striped wild type down with a dark
brown mid stripe up the back and to top of head, with two narrower
ones on either side separated by a yellowish-white area, all on a
light tan ground color. I described the adult colors at the start
which are typically seen in the American light-brown and British
brown Leghorn, BBR Moderns, "partridge" and spangled OEG, Welsummers,
and, with silver, the "duckwings". The salmon breast is not removed
by silver "S", and its presence prevents the possibility of uniform
feather patterns. The dark and silver-grey Dorkings are "e+", "S//?",
and a black factor (probably "Ml") changes the silver-grey to dark.

3) "e^b" - Brown down. Without other mutants present, the chick down
is dark brown over the head and back, sometimes with very light
yellowish-white stripes and a lighter brown or tan face mask. The
male again appears as a standard BBR, but the brown bodied hen lacks
the salmon breast and has coarser, indistinct stippling or pencilling
throughout. It also produces the horn colored beak and feet. The
absence of salmon breast allows for uniform feather patterns to be
developed. The American dark brown Leghorn is an unmodified "e^b"
bird. Most patterned birds are on an "e^b" base. However, dilute "Di"
is often present to create softer coloring and make yellow beaks and
legs. Wyandottes are a good example - - even black Wyandottes are
simply "e^b" and "Ml" with selection for alot of minor modifiers.
With modifiers, chick down ranges from white-bellied blacks
(with "Ml"), to typical wild stripes, to cinnamon (with "Co"), and of
course the blue-greys when we add silver (S)....

Eyes: Reddish bay. Redchicken9: yes. However, looking at some pecking around me they do differ.[GaryDean26] Reddish bay is fine with me. I looked today and most all of the pullets I am growing out are what I would call an orange, but I probably need to pull out the OAC cards and retake the color acuity test.


Ear-lobes: Enamel white. Redchicken9: yes. .[GaryDean26] yes




Crest: Cream and gray, some chestnut permissible. Redchicken9: yes. (mine could be dark). .[GaryDean26] yes, along with beak color I need to study up on breeding for crest color. All of the pullets I am growing out are dark crested. This is going to be a big challenge to, and something that I don't think will be easy to find through random selection.





Head: Cream, softly barred gray. Redchicken: yes, maybe, I don't know, mine are dark and golden. I looked at the neck description and at Amanda Rowe's girls in post 512 to make the language..[GaryDean26] yes. Maybe, I don't know either. I have seen color on the top of the head (eye brows) varying from red to brown to grey to charcoal. Is that supposed to be cream, soft barred grey too, or just the back of the head?



Neck: Hackles cream, softly barred gray. Redchicken9: Yes, for description. .[GaryDean26] yes - I think that is well decided.

Back and Shoulders: Grey, softly barred. Redchicken9: OK, look at post 512 where two hens are next each other feeding, some color difference here. This one above darker grey..[GaryDean26] yes

Tail: Silver-grey, faintly barred. Redchicken9: yes..[GaryDean26] yes , Note I have seen some heavily barred pullets, but the adult plumage is toned down to where they fir the faint barred description



Wings: Bows : Silver gray, faintly barred. Redchicken9: Mine with speckled gold/rust. .[GaryDean26] yes. I am seeing a lot of the stippling speckled gold/rust hens too.



Coverts: Silver-grey. Mine with a fair amount of gold/rust. .[GaryDean26] Ditto








Primaries: Gray, peppered. Redchicken9: Yes. .[GaryDean26] yes
Secondaries: Very faintly barred. Redchicken9: Yes. .[GaryDean26] yes

Above I have gold/rust peppering, which I think is in the secondaries, with the barring in the primary, but I will have to re-look later, so I'm not sure.

Breast: Salmon, well defined in outline. (ASP: Describes salmon as a medium shade of reddish ochre color used to describe the color of the breast of some breeds, e.g. Light Brown Leghorn females). Redchicken9: Yes. .[GaryDean26] yes - As mentioned above is it likely that Rowe's stock have the dilute gene?

Body and Fluff: Body: Silver-gray, with rather indistinct broad soft barrings.





Fluff: (no BPS guidance) Gray (silver-grey, light grey?). Redchicken9: Yes. Although mine with fawn or tint. Please look at Amanda Rowe's hens, post 512. .[GaryDean26] yes

Legs and Toes: Yellow. Redchicken9: yes. .[GaryDean26] yes - I have seen some with spots on the legs. The spots are a willow color suggesting that the bird is not pure for yellow leg genes. This also could be the reason we are seeing horn beaks.




Undercolor of all Sections: Silver-gray. .[GaryDean26] yes

 

[redchicken9]

Thank-you GaryDean26! Glad to see the post!

 

[redchicken9]

Found someone willing to share more photos for us to look at, Amanda Rowe gave permission for me to share these. She lives in the UK.

Some very nice birds via Amanda Rowe via Lonnyandrina. Moving these forward, as it's getting harder to go back and look at them.

 

[lonnyandrinda]

Also, it was shared on the other legbar thread but didn't want anyone to miss this:

http://greenfirefarms.com/2012/11/2013-cream-legbar-breeders/

Greenfire Farms has released photos of the most recently imported CL line, that will be used for breeding in spring 2013. This new line is targeting some of the non-conforming issues with their other lines. BUT you will not be able to specify in your order which line you are getting

. I understand why, but it doesn't make it any less frustrating when we are trying to move toward correctly colored birds and CAN"T get them!

 

[blackbirds13]

Also, it was shared on the other legbar thread but didn't want anyone to miss this:

http://greenfirefarms.com/2012/11/2013-cream-legbar-breeders/

Greenfire Farms has released photos of the most recently imported CL line, that will be used for breeding in spring 2013. This new line is targeting some of the non-conforming issues with their other lines. BUT you will not be able to specify in your order which line you are getting

. I understand why, but it doesn't make it any less frustrating when we are trying to move toward correctly colored birds and CAN"T get them!

I think that it's going to be a slow going process for everyone. I'm thinking of putting in an order for a few next year but I may not need to if I have just a bit of the luck that's been evading me all year.
Looking at the image they have of the female she still has a bit of color close to the face so even she could be improved upon more. But she is still very young given her comb and wattles. I think as the males become more cream then the ratio of those females will be better for the buyer. NH has no minimum but it's too cold for a small order and given what I already have I don't really want to dump a ton of money on purchasing new birds at this point but maybe next year I might try a few and see what comes of it - we'll see.
I have a question on type in regards to crest. Do we have to list a specific size like medium or large or can we say it in a limiting way like "not to impede vision" or something to include very small crests like ....this one's more difficult.... "a visible cresting of feather"....
I have a range of crests popping up and given what GFF says about their 2012 crests I wonder what the average size is out there.
I know I have matters here that need attending I just don't seem to have any really long periods of time to just sit at the computer but I will try to find time once I get back on schedule. There's too many sites and www's to keep up with, and I'm trying to get my own up and going.

Oh and I think I'm going to investigate the Bresse....

 

[ChicKat]

Finally I have something regarding cream legbar females and colors---to help move ahead. I was working with my one-winged pullet (and she seems to be doing quite well, btw). She will be 3-months old on Dec. 3rd-- and her brother is crowing a lot now---and louder and better---before it was that rusty squeak. He's also getting colorful saddle feathers just growing and a set of different feathers in his crest.

But back to the female.... The leg and beak color -- although the beak isn't purely yellow there is some 'horn' color near the nostrils -- are definitely bright yellow. They are kind of like Mickey Mouses' shoes yellow color or Donald Duck's bill if you know what I mean...That comic book bright yellow color. For people with the oac they are between oac811 and oac812 -- closer to 811. To me this has significance because the lighter colored birds I see have more a cream color for legs and beaks --- looks more like oac814.

Eyes.... this pullet has eyes that are oac707. I'm thinking that dark bay would be more like oac733 and oac734. Anyone have thoughts on these colors? I will try to get out there and match the salmon...

See if I have an eye-picture of Robin handy..... I would say the light part of her iris is about oac689 - far from dark bay. Her beak may be lighter too -- more like oac812 to oac813. Pictures of scar top birds above-- beak and legs oac815 to oac816. Anyone else to weigh in on these colors?

 

[normanack]

See if I have an eye-picture of Robin handy.....

I'll take my color chart out to the coop today. Offhand I'd say my birds' eyes are redder.

I can't help but say that in this picture Robin looks all prettied up with a red fascinator (fancy tiny hat), carefully styled hair, and dangly earrings. Maybe even a little lipstick around the beak. Seriously, though, doesn't she look like a very fancy chicken?


photo by Pat Pilon under a Creative Commons license

 

[ChicKat]

I'll take my color chart out to the coop today. Offhand I'd say my birds' eyes are redder.

I can't help but say that in this picture Robin looks all prettied up with a red fascinator (fancy tiny hat), carefully styled hair, and dangly earrings. Maybe even a little lipstick around the beak. Seriously, though, doesn't she look like a very fancy chicken?


photo by Pat Pilon under a Creative Commons license

Love that hat picture -- how fabulous. Yes, I do think that it is a parallel. Cream Legbar hens do have a sort of 'presence' or 'aristocracy' IMO....based that on Robin and her daughter. They go through an awkward period when their beak seems to be oversized, and then they grow into it. Thanks for the picture of Kate. :O)

I have to say too, that particular photo of Robin was a day over 100-degrees, and she had been digging for a dust bath and is a bit 'grubby'.

I'll bet your hen and most others will have darker eye color.

 

[redchicken9]

Normanack, that photo of Kate Middleton matches Robin to a tee!

 

[Dahlisgrams]

Love the Kate Middleton and hen photos. Nice!

I'm still attempting to catch up on these threads. There is so much information compiled and hard work put into this I'm just amazed. Thanks to everyone working on this!! I'm so excited about the club. Please let me know if there's anything I can help with.