There are indeed lots of brownish hens on this thread. But few if any of us are able, even at this point, to shop around and compare hens. The available pool of Cream Legbars is growing, but it is still difficult for any one person to find a breeder with reliably well-colored hens. I would love some of the hens I've seen pictures of -- but some of them are 2,500 miles away (California/Michigan). Mailing chicks -- even eggs -- is a risky proposition for any birds; when they're very expensive, that's a gamble not everyone can make.
With the breed so new, Cream Legbars are a luxury not everyone can afford. Some of us dented our food budgets for them; probably far fewer can afford to criss-cross the country visiting breeders, or even buy a reasonable number of chicks shipped from more than one or two breeders.
Happily this is already changing. I expect that in a few years, good SOP hens will be more easily available and at a lower price.
Meanwhile, I like what HaikuHeritageFarm posted in November, 2011:“Don’t freak out if your CCLB have faults, you all have to start somewhere. It’s what you do NEXT that matters!”
