Cream Legbars

Do I think that the words of anyone who claims to be a genetics guru on the internet are something I adhere to like gospel - no.
you would be playing against the odds if you dont... genes like autosomal recessive cream and sexlinked barring are not complex genes at all, so determining the outcome of such cross is not difficult at all, now when talking about autosomal red(polygenic trait) all bets are off, these trait is not as easy to deal with,
 
you would be playing against the odds if you dont... genes like autosomal recessive cream and sexlinked barring are not complex genes at all, so determining the outcome of such cross is not difficult at all, now when talking about autosomal red(polygenic trait) all bets are off, these trait is not as easy to deal with,
I think what blackbirds13 is saying that there is nothing quite like first hand experience. Her own experience, I think, proves that if a rooster has that 'dreaded' floppy comb, the off-spring of that rooster can have nice straight (the desirable trait) comb. After a lot of research and some breeding - this person has accomplished great steps forward. I don't think that she is saying that she is defying the simple genetics that you outline above, or has completely yet conquered that entire SOP or the difficult genetics. Part of her point is that the group shouldn't be carried away by color or type.

Congratulations to everyone who is making progress in these birds. That's what everyone is trying to do. I have recently picked up some pol pullets---and I think that they may be very incorrect. One even lacks a crest. I will be starting from square - 3 or maybe 2....but don't think square 1. So I will be following after those who have gotten crests and corrected the colors. Suddenly I'm in no hurry -- (isn't that funny?) Suddenly --- no hurry -- almost oxymoron.
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Just going for healthy birds at this point...... color is last priority... but that's my path -- everyone. To each, their own. ETA healthy birds and definite genetic diversity.
 
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I will be posting my coments on both pairs in a few moments...


blackbirds pair



gary's pair




the Females:
Blackbirds femal have good color and type

gary's female has good type but brownish body color and the hackles are gold

the Males..

Blackbirds male has good type and good color, the barring on his hackles are well defined

Gary's Male has good type and good color, the barring on hackles and saddle are well defined and need to be work on.

I like both males, and I would love to work with both of them if I had the chance
 
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blackbirds13 -
congratulations on the progress....did I understand correctly that a dad with a flopped comb, can have a boy with a straight? I do know that a dad with a straight can have a crooked, and it was flopped for awhile---but actually straightened out -- Haven't seen 'Heart' for awhile -- but I hear he is a big, big cockerel now--- and very protective of his new hens.
 
blackbirds13 -
congratulations on the progress....did I understand correctly that a dad with a flopped comb, can have a boy with a straight? I do know that a dad with a straight can have a crooked, and it was flopped for awhile---but actually straightened out -- Haven't seen 'Heart' for awhile -- but I hear he is a big, big cockerel now--- and very protective of his new hens.
Yes, my first rooster's comb was totally bent over when I took him out of the box but it did straighten up a bit in time but still always had an obvious bend. He was not a big heavy bird and had some more faults but he was all I had, and at that time the prices were still pretty high so my husband was not pleased when I expressed feelings wanting another but Greenfire sent me 2 free replacement roosters to make up for the floppy comb (I was worried I would be doomed when it came time to sell any chicks since there were comments being made so publicly about his fault) and I purchased a second pullet to add to that shipment. It just was lucky happenstance that his color was really good for cream and the new pullet they sent was perfectly cream in the hackle. I assumed it would be some generations and take heavy culling to get past. But I sold off a few of his sons on craigslist for $10 or so and when I contacted the buyers later on I learnt some of them had nice straight combs and were much heftier than he was, that made me feel so much better at that point but that was much later one. It's not that I wasn't interested in type I just knew that I would be foolish not to look for the best of the cream colored birds I managed to hatch since at that time we were all acknowledging that there was issues with the color and my first hen was gold hackle but her egg size (YOWZA!). Why would I look a gift horse in the mouth as they say and not make the fact that I lucked out in that area a major focus of my breeding plan. The replacement roosters never made it to the breeding pen. One I had to cull within 2 months. I had the vet out to the house when one side of his face stared to enlarge, cost me $50 for her to tell me it was probably malignant and to cull. The second lived longer but came home one day to find him dead for reasons I do not know. It was a bit disheartening but I still had the original until...well... I actually did cry when I found him dead I thought my Legbar days were over. But I hatched every egg I could until they were infertile and culled everything but 3 pullets and 4 boys, now down to 2. I'm just hoping for some better luck this year as I'm really looking forward to seeing what I and everyone else gets. I think it'll be very exciting all the way around to see the improvements and I sometimes cannot believe I am this into chickens and breeding them.

ETA and it sure did not help that when I went to visit the folks in Florida in July all the chicks i had hatched to that point became take out for the hawks...and I mean all of them. My husband is not a chicken person at all but he's getting better.
 
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glad that your husband is coming around.

Keep us informed too, as you progress. I think that you have had some huge hurdles to jump. It's so awful to loose them. So -- good for you for perseveriance, sounds like it was really worth it.

The three I picked up -- still in quarantine - are probably pretty far from correct, so I will be asking you for pointers and trailing in your foot steps over the future years IMO.

The thing about this set I have though is that they are probably different genetic make-up than the birds that are better......... I even have one without a crest. She is a big bird...and very curious and friendly. Since I'm not a fan of the bouffant crests---I think that I may use her and her progeny to keep crests smaller.
 
Had a pullet egg today from the second GFF laying group. :ya 17 GFF girls should be laying by the end of the month.
I'm super excited to have Blackbirds13 help me pick out a breeding group from them in a few weeks. Pretty soon I'll be overflowing with blue eggies! :D
 
Had a pullet egg today from the second GFF laying group.
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17 GFF girls should be laying by the end of the month.
I'm super excited to have Blackbirds13 help me pick out a breeding group from them in a few weeks. Pretty soon I'll be overflowing with blue eggies!
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Congrats!
Overflowing is right !
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Gonna be fun looking at all 'dem gurls! What a way to spend spring break, who needs Panama City!
Must be getting some of your good luck. I have 10 pullets so far. Last two hatches were 5 and then 2 girls and no boys... watch those be the only 2 tolbunts that hatched
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