Cream Legbar Working Group: Standard of Perfection

[Sonia]

I think the issuue of shafting could easily be put to rest by a british judge, which I believe several people are appempting to accomplish. Until one weighs in, all debate is pointless.

 

[Henk69]

On which page are the pictures of the shafting?

 

[KPenley]

So I went out to look at this shafting. I really had not thought about it before in detail and needed to see how it was reflected in my birds in their plumage, the hackle and chest. I took photos today

cream girl with little autosomal red




this is a cream girl with some autosomal red and a gold girl





and a few more. I can see the shafting on the breast and on the body and in the hackle, pretty much all over.

This 'shafting' business has my new-chicken-mom head swirling. Are we saying shafting is acceptable?
I have 3 CLs about 3 1/2 mos old, and to me, they're beautiful. The light stripe in their feathers really set off the breed from my others.
Perhaps, I've only got backyard flock quality instead of showgirls--what age can I expect to know how they will really look?

Here are a couple that were shown the other day. I'll go look for the British ones.

 

[KPenley]

More American pics...and UK at the bottom

Let's see if I can dig up some old pictures:



































Rinda's birds below

Bumping these photos up (which are shared in this thread for the SOP discussions with permission from owner Amanda Rowe):
This is show-winning stock from the UK.










In this lighting the chest of the back hen almost has lacing AND faint shafting to my eye?

 

[dretd]

I think the issuue of shafting could easily be put to rest by a british judge, which I believe several people are appempting to accomplish. Until one weighs in, all debate is pointless.

Most likely, yes. I go back to the history of the breed as developed by Punnett and formalized in the '50s. The judge will be able to tell us current conventions, they may or may not be able to tell us what the conventions were at the time of acceptance. Tastes and conventions change over time and I, for one, do not want to lose that historical connection or the Cream Legbar will be just another breed.

 

[faykokoWV]

On which page are the pictures of the shafting?

every single hen picture on here that shows the breast has shafting. I have not seen one yet that doesn't

 

[Sonia]

I personally, as an admittedly new breeder, prefer the look of shafting. It adds a certain elegance (for lack of a better word), to the breed, and I will not discourage it regardless of the decision for the American SOP.

I think the issuue of shafting could easily be put to rest by a british judge, which I believe several people are appempting to accomplish. Until one weighs in, all debate is pointless.

Most likely, yes. I go back to the history of the breed as developed by Punnett and formalized in the '50s. The judge will be able to tell us current conventions, they may or may not be able to tell us what the conventions were at the time of acceptance. Tastes and conventions change over time and I, for one, do not want to lose that historical connection or the Cream Legbar will be just another breed.

 

[dretd]

I personally, as an admittedly new breeder, prefer the look of shafting. It adds a certain elegance (for lack of a better word), to the breed, and I will not discourage it regardless of the decision for the American SOP.

I actually feel the same way--I think they are quite pretty with the variation the shafting lends.

If the majority want to try to remove the shafting and have it in the standard ( or I guess I mean to say not have it...), then majority rules. It just seems odd that all of the hens pictured have at least some degree of the shafting and it is not in the standard. Over 95% not meeting the idea in this one specific area and the history of the Gold mentioning it makes me think it was dropped out of convention or by accident, not on purpose. I really hope a few UK judges will put their 2 cents in. And more than one for balance, and ones that know the breed really well.

 

[BGMatt]

It'd be nice to have some UK people on this board to help y'all with the standard. I just hope that whatever is decided people stick to it. I'm rather fond of the appearance of the breed and would hate to see it not get recognized, or when a standard is approved people not sticking to breeding to that standard. That's what will take it from something unique to just another breed and a laughing stock breed for backyard folk.

 

[dretd]

On which page are the pictures of the shafting?

Henk69, I am so glad you stopped by!

My questions for you center around the genetics involved in the shafting:

What are the genetics behind the shafting?
Is the shafting on the breast and the back all controlled by the same gene/s?
How is shafting changes by the inhibitor of gold gene or the autosomal red genes?
Other than breeding tons of birds and culling hard, is there a way to remove it from the flock?
Once removed, is it gone for good or will it be an on-going problem from year to year?
There seems to be a convention (since if it not mentioned as allowed it is a deduction) that the shafting is incorrect in many breeds--why all the 'hate'?

Those sorts of questions!

Thanks in advance for your insights.