Cream Legbar Working Group: Standard of Perfection

[KPenley]

It will be interesting to see how these cockerels continue to grow out. The coolest part is that they are the same age! Btw, while I did do a bit of growing out my cockerel is the result of years of work Maria put into these birds. At some point they will become my line, but for now "Jack" is a true Blackbirds Legbar!

I think the legs look odd because of the way Jack was turning but I'll see if I can get a better posed picture this week. I will match him with two nicely barred girls next year so hopefully some more barring will show up in those saddle feathers too. But overall I am pleased as punch with him!

 

[chicken pickin]

It will be interesting to see how these cockerels continue to grow out. The coolest part is that they are the same age! Btw, while I did do a bit of growing out my cockerel is the result of years of work Maria put into these birds. At some point they will become my line, but for now "Jack" is a true Blackbirds Legbar!

I think the legs look odd because of the way Jack was turning but I'll see if I can get a better posed picture this week. I will match him with two nicely barred girls next year so hopefully some more barring will show up in those saddle feathers too. But overall I am pleased as punch with him!

You should be pleased, he is a wonderful representation of a CL male. I know I would be happy with him.

The Rees male posted above is coming along, I like many things about him but I have always noticed the Rees male is much smaller and is maturing much slower than my other CL males. Im hoping with the right pairings eventually I can have the Rees line of my flock a little more in the direction Im trying to head in with my other CL flock.

 

[KPenley]

You should be pleased, he is a wonderful representation of a CL male. I know I would be happy with him.

The Rees male posted above is coming along, I like many things about him but I have always noticed the Rees male is much smaller and is maturing much slower than my other CL males. Im hoping with the right pairings eventually I can have the Rees line of my flock a little more in the direction Im trying to head in with my other CL flock.

Thank you! I see some great things in the Rees line too,and I think you will be able to make the combinations required to reach your ideal birds soon! Do you have thedragonlady's worming and whole grains regiment? It really boosts size quickly each generation. I'll be doing the same since my Rees girl is on the small side as well. Curtis' plan to keep the top 10% weight of each generation should boost size pretty quickly too! HTH

 

[chicken pickin]

Thank you! I see some great things in the Rees line too,and I think you will be able to make the combinations required to reach your ideal birds soon! Do you have thedragonlady's worming and whole grains regiment? It really boosts size quickly each generation. I'll be doing the same since my Rees girl is on the small side as well. Curtis' plan to keep the top 10% weight of each generation should boost size pretty quickly too! HTH

No I don't have any feeding regiments. I feed Dumor chicken feed, Starter 22%protein from hatch until 10weeks of age, grower/finisher 15% protein 10-16weeks and then layer pellets 16% protein 16weeks on. Always fresh water and fruit and veggie scraps when available. Nothing special just a typical feed and feeding schedule. I feed all the chickens and turkeys the same. If you find the time maybe you can post thedragonlady's regiment or you could PM so we don't clutter up this thread.

 

[BeachBumBiddies]

My Legbars..well 2 of them... Any constructive criticism welcome....

 

[ChicKat]

My Legbars..well 2 of them... Any constructive criticism welcome....

Hi anac1979

Only one picture came through.... I think that your example has the nice deep salmon breast, yellow legs, white ear lobes, visible barring on the tail and nice deep round breast, long back and deep body - high wings -- all very good examples of the breed. The rooster and hen I see behind her look "Legbar-like" also to my eye. Just like my flock, (and one can only tell just so much from any photo) Her tail angle is greater than the desired angle - A nice long back though is how we are thinking we are going to be lowering the tail angles. One thing you may want to work on in future - is to select for the ones that have less melanin (black pigment)--- The pullet I put in a show this last weekend, the judge advised me that he thought she was a bit dark.

You can see the very dark pigment on her neck interspersed with the light coloration of the hackle feathers. I think your chicken has better tail feathering than this one does.....

ETA: yesterday in another thread we were just discussing the juncture of the tail and the back. Your hen has a more smooth U-shape and mine has a more abrupt transition.

It will be so interesting to hear what replies you get from others!

 

[BeachBumBiddies]

Thank you for your input. I'll post the Roo again...

 

[fowlman01]

Regarding shows -- I am completely new and ignorant about showing -- I've only been to one show, and was looking at Barred Rocks (no CLs there, and mine were molting). Looking at that one breed, they weren't perfect. Good, even very good. Not perfect.

With even this miniscule experience, I don't think we need untouchably perfect birds or even close to them. Even if we did, we -- including judges -- are all so new to this that I think the best we can expect is some clear points of uniformity in the physical structure of the breed. I hope we maintain ties with Walt all along the way so we know where to put the emphasis in our breeding plans. I'm going to guess that inconsistency of color is not a deal breaker.

The shape of the body is the most important part of the bird. There are no perfect birds. When it comes time to qualify these, they will need to be of the correct type and the color should be close to the written description.

Walt

 

[fowlman01]

Hi anac1979

Only one picture came through.... I think that your example has the nice deep salmon breast, yellow legs, white ear lobes, visible barring on the tail and nice deep round breast, long back and deep body - high wings -- all very good examples of the breed. The rooster and hen I see behind her look "Legbar-like" also to my eye. Just like my flock, (and one can only tell just so much from any photo) Her tail angle is greater than the desired angle - A nice long back though is how we are thinking we are going to be lowering the tail angles. One thing you may want to work on in future - is to select for the ones that have less melanin (black pigment)--- The pullet I put in a show this last weekend, the judge advised me that he thought she was a bit dark.

You can see the very dark pigment on her neck interspersed with the light coloration of the hackle feathers. I think your chicken has better tail feathering than this one does.....

ETA: yesterday in another thread we were just discussing the juncture of the tail and the back. Your hen has a more smooth U-shape and mine has a more abrupt transition.

It will be so interesting to hear what replies you get from others!

This is correct.....good observation.

Walt

 

[KPenley]

Thank you for your input. I'll post the Roo again...

Hi anac! Welcome to the Cream Legbar SOP thread! If you'd like more feedback you may find more people checking the Cream Legbars thread. I agree with Chickat and Walt that your hen has a lovely tail, though just a tad too high. She also appears to be healthy, full, and have a nice long back and matching underline/keel. Great job! I love her nice high wings and the comb flops correctly without impairing vision. Color wise she looks pretty good. Keep working on making sure the barring is visable (gray on gray). I would look at making pairings with a crested boy to get that crest added, and a lower tail set to fix the angle. No crest =DQ. Your cockerel looks young, how old is he? If he has time to grow I would expect that chest to start dropping between 10 and 18 months. You're looking for a smooth rounded and deep breast. Do you see that line running down the center of the chest? That is something we're all working to eliminate. If his keel is too short, pairing him to the hen you posted should create longer offspring. Does he have a crest? And is his stance always slightly knock kneed? Or is it just the angle if the picture? He looks to have a nice wide leg set, just watch those knees to make sure he can support his weight. The tail is very close to squirrel, but that can be fixed in just one generation. I love the light coloring on top and darker under color, crele- like he is supposed to have. And he looks to have proper barring in his secondary flight feathers, which is something many people have been struggling to achieve. Great! I would match with a crested long looking hen with a lower tail set to get the tails down. Best wishes and thank you so much for taking the time to share!