Cream Legbar Working Group: Standard of Perfection

[HaikuHeritageFarm]

Ah, the truth comes out. The endemic disdain for non-standard colors. Ironic to encounter it in a breed whose standard is not yet officially approved by a governing body at all.

No, there is not an SOP for Opals.

There is one. The fact that the club doesn't yet recognize it is irrelevant to me.

BTW none of them have an SOP approved by the APA yet. The one that will be first is the cream.

Exactly the reason it's irrelevant to me whether or not the club recognizes the established SOP for the "Opal" variety.

I also breed Isabella Leghorns, which, like Legbars as a whole, does not have an SOP approved by the APA but they DO have an established SOP to breed to. Nobody's throwing fits about me discussing those birds in standardbred Leghorn groups. In fact, my best mentors for the variety all raise browns. They've been stellar ambassadors for the breed as a whole in doing so.

Regardless, my Opal cockerel is a better representation of the club-recognized breed standards in all but color, so breeding him for splits (which are cream, obvs) is breeding to standard.

 

[duluthralphie]

Ah, the truth comes out. The endemic disdain for non-standard colors. Ironic to encounter it in a breed whose standard is not yet officially approved by a governing body at all.



There is one. The fact that the club doesn't yet recognize it is irrelevant to me.



Exactly the reason it's irrelevant to me whether or not the club recognizes the established SOP for the "Opal" variety.

I also breed Isabella Leghorns, which, like Legbars as a whole, does not have an SOP approved by the APA but they DO have an established SOP to breed to. Nobody's throwing fits about me discussing those birds in standardbred Leghorn groups. In fact, my best mentors for the variety all raise browns. They've been stellar ambassadors for the breed as a whole in doing so.

Regardless, my Opal cockerel is a better representation of the club-recognized breed standards in all but color, so breeding him for splits (which are cream, obvs) is breeding to standard.

Again you are in error. But that’s not unusual.

The governing body for Legbars is the Cream Legbar club.


Your “opals” are not even close to the standards. I would cull them before I bred any of them

 

[HaikuHeritageFarm]

Again you are in error. But that’s not unusual.

The governing body for Legbars is the Cream Legbar club.


Your “opals” are not even close to the standards. I would cull them before I bred any of them

That's strange for you be so certain about since I only have one and have not shared a photo of him here.

Man, you're really gonna hate it when our club approves the opal variety one of these days, lol. (Frankly, that'll probably happen before the APA approves the cream variety!)

 

[duluthralphie]

I thought you had posted them, I apologize if I have yours mixed up with someone else’s mutts.


Part of the problem is all these varieties. Everyone makes it harder to get the SOP through the APA.

I had hoped the SOP would be approved by this time, however, the APA wanted tighter controls/descriptions on them.

I have left the board now so it is no longer my problem, other than I enjoy the breed and hate to see it adulterated.

 

[HaikuHeritageFarm]

I thought you had posted them, I apologize if I have yours mixed up with someone else’s mutts.


Part of the problem is all these varieties. Everyone makes it harder to get the SOP through the APA.

I had hoped the SOP would be approved by this time, however, the APA wanted tighter controls/descriptions on them.

I have left the board now so it is no longer my problem, other than I enjoy the breed and hate to see it adulterated.

Honestly, the only reason I'm in the breed is because of the lavender birds. I despise the cream gene. (I know others feel the way about lav that I feel about ig, but I guess we all have our preferred poison.)

I'm keeping cream and breeding to the standard so I can try to fill out classes and help the breed get approved, but I'll drop them as soon as the breed is in the door. I'd prefer gold to cream, even.

My understanding is that the Brits think we've adulterated the breed all left, right and center anyway, so I'm just more fully embracing the adultery, I guess!

 

[duluthralphie]

I am not a fan of the Gold-crele color and I know how much work it is to eliminate it.

I organized one of the shows up here to count towards APA. I don’t recall the number of birds or exhibitors, but we had enough to qualify.

However, even at that show the Best of Breed was exhibited as a cream when it was actually a Gold-Crele. I hatched him but sold him to another before the show.

 

[HaikuHeritageFarm]

I am not a fan of the Gold-crele color and I know how much work it is to eliminate it.

I organized one of the shows up here to count towards APA. I don’t recall the number of birds or exhibitors, but we had enough to qualify.

However, even at that show the Best of Breed was exhibited as a cream when it was actually a Gold-Crele. I hatched him but sold him to another before the show.

That's my biggest problem with Cream, though. The huge range of shades. And maybe that's the problem the APA has with standard, too... the fact that which shade is actually correct is kinda... undefined. I think we'd already be in if we'd started with straight gold instead of trying to tame and standardized such a wild dilute.

 

[HaikuHeritageFarm]

I mean... judges know what a barred gold duckwing bird looks like and should look like. I think the cream confuses folks.

 

[duluthralphie]

That's my biggest problem with Cream, though. The huge range of shades. And maybe that's the problem the APA has with standard, too... the fact that which shade is actually correct is kinda... undefined. I think we'd already be in if we'd started with straight gold instead of trying to tame and standardized such a wild dilute.

I actually wanted to do the whites first, that way color was not an issue, but I was out voted.

The gold-crele can be as difficult as the creams.
There are too many colors in them. Hopefully, the new board will work it out.

 

[duluthralphie]

I mean... judges know what a barred gold duckwing bird looks like and should look like. I think the cream confuses folks.

I have bred the gold duck wing out of mine. Or had. I am no longer going to show and maybe out of birds in a year or two.

As I recall the duckwing was permissible but not desirable.