Cream Legbars Weak Chicks

[RainForestBird]

Has anyone had problems with Cream Legbars being too weak to get out of the egg? This is the second egg I've found where the chick tried to get out and then seemed to die before breaking out. There was yellowish goo leaking from the pip. By the time I found it, the chick was dead. It seems to be from the same hen because she always lays a green egg and my other hen (her sister) lays a pink one. The other hen's chicks got out of the egg but are smaller than the chicks from my Barred Rock and Rhode Island Red and were gooey when they got out. All hatched about the same time, the Cream Legbars a bit behind the other chicks, and weaker, sleepier. I have them in separate brooders but all about the same temperature. I wanted to keep the larger livelier chicks together in case they started picking on the smaller, weaker Legbars. The hens are all about the same size and healthy. The same rooster services them all. He's an Olandsk Dwarf. Could it be that the Legbars take after their dad in size? He seems very healthy and vigorous. He's got a very loud crow!

 

[Pyxis]

The fact that the chicks you are hatching are gooey, and that liquid was leaking from the pip hole, would lead me to believe that your humidity during incubation is too high and that's what's causing these issues. The chick that had the leaking pip likely drowned in the fluid. What was your humidity during incubation?

Also, a Legbar won't lay a pink egg, so the one you think is the sister to your legbar hen probably isn't a legbar at all

 

[RainForestBird]

The fact that the chicks you are hatching are gooey, and that liquid was leaking from the pip hole, would lead me to believe that your humidity during incubation is too high and that's what's causing these issues. The chick that had the leaking pip likely drowned in the fluid. What was your humidity during incubation?

Also, a Legbar won't lay a pink egg, so the one you think is the sister to your legbar hen probably isn't a legbar at all

I will take a photo when its light out. The pink egg layer looks like a classic Legbar. The other one with the greenish eggs looks more like a cross. The humidity has been high - can't seem to get it right because of my location which is in the temperate rainforest.

 

[RainForestBird]

how do I get the humidity down in a forced air incubator with internal hygrometer? Other than taking a turkey baster to get some of the water out of the reservoir, which I'm considering.

 

[Pyxis]

If you're in a rainforest, I'd actually try running it dry for the first 18 days. As long as it stays at at least 30%, that will probably be fine. To get the humidity down, you would have to take the water out.

 

[RainForestBird]

Either that or one of my hens is laying two eggs a day. I get 2 pinkish eggs and one greenish egg from that group every morning. There are 2 Legbars, 1 Barred Rock and 1 Silky cross that isn't laying in that coop. Is it possible that the Barred Rock is laying 2 eggs?

 

[duluthralphie]

I doubt you have a pure legbar..either of them...

Looks can be deceiving in chickens...I agree on humidity is too high...if running dry does not get it to 30...try a dry sponge in the incubator to grab moisture...change it as needed

 

[RainForestBird]

So I was so busy with the hatchlings today that I never got around to setting my camera up. But I compared the photos on the Greenfire site which I'm assuming has accurate photos of the breed and my chickens look the same. I did count eggs this morning and I am getting two greenish eggs (one is darker than the other) and two pinkish eggs which I think are coming from my silky cross and the barred rock whose eggs are definitely on the pinkish and not brownish side. I've watched her lay and seen it come out of her vent. Is it just the egg color that led you to believe my chickens weren't Cream Legbars? I have six coops and sometimes it can be a little tough to keep track of who is laying what. The rooster is an Olandsk Dwarf, I lost the Olandsk hen that I got from a breeder as a pullet. The chicks have the characteristic markings of the Cream Legbar, i.e. I can tell which ones are female and which ones are male. All hatchlings seem to be doing well today. I have more greenish eggs in my incubator and I can hear them peeping, and I am checking every so often to make sure that no one is having trouble getting out. I've candled them all and most of them are moving inside. All of them have chicks inside. I am excited to see how the Legbar / Olandsk crosses turn out.

 

[RainForestBird]

Okay, these are phone photos and dark so they aren't that good. This is the Cream Legbar (affectionately called Little Conehead) that I thought looked like a cross, but after comparing the photos to the ones on My Pet Chicken and other sites, I'm sure she's full blooded. I got her from a trusted source. I'm not sure why Chicken Wrangler doubted her pedigree, except maybe for the egg color which is greenish. I have seen photos of Legbar eggs that range from blue to green and even pinkish online.

 

[RainForestBird]

This is Big Conehead hatched on the same day as Little Conehead and from the same source, though I think from different bloodlines. She has a bigger tuft and a very small comb and waddles, which I see from different Legbar sites is acceptable, just from different bloodlines. The Olandsk rooster is in one of the photos. He's the dad of all the chicks.