Cream Legbar Working Group: Standard of Perfection

[babymakes6]

I am planning on going next year.... If all goes as planned, we'll take legbars, sumatras, phoenix bantams, and faverolles. This year, the big show we're planning is the Ohio national

Look me up when you get here! HOPEFULLY, I can make it this year! (It's only about 1 1/2 hours from me

). Maybe we can have a CLC booth there! Wouldn't THAT be cool?

 

[flyingmonkeypoop]

For me to get to Columbus, it will take about 32 hours or so. To get to Stockton (next year) it takes about 15 hours. I have always wanted to go to Ohio since I started showing birds. This year, we have good enough birds and also have a large enough wish list and jobs that will allow it all to happen so it should finally work out. For Ohio, I think we'll just be taking a few sumatras and legbars to show and lots to sell since it seems like good sumatras are rare over there. Plus if I have any extra rose comb legbar project birds to take, I'm sure some lucky BYC'ers will take them off my hands

 

[flyingmonkeypoop]

Ok, just was on rarebreed auctions and saw GFF has some new pullets for auction. They are what I would call silver. I missed lots of the last couple legbar threads so I am unsure about it. Have folks decided to go more for the silver look? I like the more light golden look to my ladies. Not silver but not light brown, more like the color of a gold duckwing roosters hackle/saddle but on hens necks. I got a new flock of legbars. One pullet is my ideal color, one is silver, and the other is decent color but shows lacing like the original hen pictured on GFF's site. Has anyone addressed the lacing that some seem to have?

 

[ChicKat]

Well, me of course..............but I'm taking 14 different breeds (31 birds).

Deb

Deb,

that is a lot of birds...... you need to change your name to debs_flockS --Best of luck at the show!!

redchicken9,

Let us know what you think of the show.... what a great experience.

 

[KPenley]

Ok, just was on rarebreed auctions and saw GFF has some new pullets for auction. They are what I would call silver. I missed lots of the last couple legbar threads so I am unsure about it. Have folks decided to go more for the silver look? I like the more light golden look to my ladies. Not silver but not light brown, more like the color of a gold duckwing roosters hackle/saddle but on hens necks. I got a new flock of legbars. One pullet is my ideal color, one is silver, and the other is decent color but shows lacing like the original hen pictured on GFF's site. Has anyone addressed the lacing that some seem to have?

Yes, we're just changing the wording of the British SOP to fit the APA guidelines. The Autosexing Annuals of the 1940's and 50's described the Cream Legbar as being easily mistaken for the Silver Legbar, except for the crest. In reality it is diluted gold, and when a Cream Roo is bred to a Silver Hen (real silver, not diluted gold), all offspring should be gold. Two copies of the cream gene result in colors that vary from silver to pale yellow. The darker golds and browns signify that the bird does not have two copies of cream (a lot of us are in this boat, but it can easily be rectified as long as the bird has at least one copy of the cream gene).
I think there is definitely a growing interest in Gold Legbars, as many like their flashy colors, and I think it would be great if all the colors were one day accepted by the APA.
I'll look into the lacing.

btw...if you don't want your silver pullet...

 

[GaryDean26]

Just for comparison in hackle color, this is a photo of a Gold Legbar that I hatch in 2011. She is NOT a Cream Legbar. She has no cresting gene, and lays white eggs (totally unrelated to any Cream Legbars lines).




Her is a good example of a Cream color hackle (and she is from the first GFF flock). Two copies of the cream gene also will have a gray tint to the body color as opposed to the brown tint of the gold birds with out the cream gene.

 

[debs_flock]

Great visual example, thanks! Now I have to go out and stare at my girls!

Deb

 

[normanack]

So (bear with me, I'm slow) does that mean that a warmish (gold) hen with light hackles has one cream gene, and a greyer hen with light hackles has two? And, of course, the gold hen with gold hackles has none.


Question for another day: Is it the presence of two barring genes, or two cream genes, that produces the very pale gray CL roosters? Or is it more complicated than that?

Many thanks, and please continue.

 

[KPenley]

So (bear with me, I'm slow) does that mean that a warmish (gold) hen with light hackles has one cream gene, and a greyer hen with light hackles has two? And, of course, the gold hen with gold hackles has none.


Question for another day: Is it the presence of two barring genes, or two cream genes, that produces the very pale gray CL roosters? Or is it more complicated than that?

Many thanks, and please continue.

You're doing great! It's hard to say on the single dose hens. They could have a single dose of cream and look gold. Double dose of cream will look pale yellow or silver.
Double dose of barring AND cream creates the light roos.

 

[blackbirds13]

Ok, just was on rarebreed auctions and saw GFF has some new pullets for auction. They are what I would call silver. I missed lots of the last couple legbar threads so I am unsure about it. Have folks decided to go more for the silver look? I like the more light golden look to my ladies. Not silver but not light brown, more like the color of a gold duckwing roosters hackle/saddle but on hens necks. I got a new flock of legbars. One pullet is my ideal color, one is silver, and the other is decent color but shows lacing like the original hen pictured on GFF's site. Has anyone addressed the lacing that some seem to have?

These are over $200 now!

That's a lot of money for a pair of 4 week old chicks and about double the price of the day olds at GFF. It'll be interesting to see what this new line adds to the mix.
I'm glad I did not have to pay that for my little trio of girls. They are much grayer as they feather out from their other lines and the more golden ones. It is very noticeable if you've hatched before.
The ones I have are starting to get that little crest poof.
I'm not doing any major hatching yet of the CLs, as I'm concentrating on hatching out some Jubilees for Jan, Feb and March, but I am testing the CL eggs to see if the boys are doing their thing successfully and maybe see what pops out. All my CLs are in one big coop for warmth. It is brutally cold out there and I cannot get my coops and pens set up yet for what I want to do but hopefully in a couple months. So far I have the Marans, Jubilees and CLs apart but poor Fat Albert, my chocolate bantam orp is in separate cage within the coop so he won't have any fun until i can get my bantam coop put together. Still trying to figure out how I want to pair the CLs all up flock-wise. I still have 4 CL boys though I really only want 2 of them but so paranoid of losing any since I seem to have terrible chicken luck. Had a brooder mishap and lost chicks just this week. It's like 2 steps forward and one step back on a regular basis so always have my fingers crossed

that spring will find me in good stead. So far it looks like Macduff is in the lead for 'Main Guy' status - better type but just a slight bit more color than Macbeth...but they are all still changing up quite a bit. The crests on the other two are outrageous (channelling Lionel Richie here) so maybe I'll enter them in the crazy crest contest? I am so looking forward to hatching these guys this year and seeing what happens with the 3 new line girls this summer. I get so excited when I think about it I feel giddy!
Man is it COLD out there!!!