Cream Legbars

[duluthralphie]

Because of the overall lightness of color, or something else?

For me the lighter color, the lack of good distinct chipmunk stripes. The almost male coloring on the sides of the second one,

I have to agree 100% with gingerly. as to not keeping them for breeders, unless they were exceptional on the SOP. I hatch close to a thousand of these a year. As gingerly said the spots are female spots. The make spots are larger and outside the V. they have eyeliners the males do not have.

I was on my phone and do not type well on it. earlier.


I have to say I do not have Rees lines so there is some difference there but notthat much

 

[Bantambird]

Those all look like Ree's line pullets to me, too.

 

[dheltzel]

Those are all pullets. I'm 100% sure. The one with a little bit of white on her head wouldn't be a good breeder, because her offspring wouldn't be clearly autosexing. Don't freak out. They are pullets. The Jill Rees line throws chicks with lighter down. They will feather out to be a lighter color. It's not a bad thing.

Cockerels have a bigger white splotch on their heads. I'm a breeder of Cream Legbars. They're pullets.

I agree 100%, all pullets. I have hatched hundreds of CCL's and while they are not nearly as cleanly autosexing as Rhodebars, Welbars and Bielefelders (I have or have had all of those too), they are easily sexable to a trained eye.
I have not tested this theory, but I believe the cream gene is what is muddying up the autosexing traits, because the more I select for good cream colors in the adults, the more ambiguous the chicks are. I was planning to select for good autosexing, but I'm afraid that might select for non-cream as well.

 

[dheltzel]

Those all look like Ree's line pullets to me, too.

Right. Forgot to mention that all mine are at least 75% Rees (some 100%). I LOVE the Rees line and by breeding them into my old line, the cresting and cream have improved dramatically, while at the same time reducing the number of "wild type", easily sexable, pullet chicks. Once you know how to sex them, it's not a bad thing that they look like this. I often sell these to backyard chicken keepers along with Welbars and/or Olive Egger (cross of Legbar and Welbar). It is easy for them to tell the Legbar chicks, but I have to band the Welbars and Olive Eggers if they want to tell them apart, because they are identical as chicks.

 

[rottlady]

I do not have Rees line and have no intentions of having any
The abc lines are very clearly autosexing in most cases
I've had one pullet as light as these but again she was still very clearly a pullet and one of these chick to me is very clear

Many have a tiny white dot on head between stripes ,that does not mean they are unclear autosexing it means they carry stronger barring genes

If autosexing is an issue in rees line ,people need to really only keep the clearest autosexing chicks for breeding
To me the second chick is quite clearly a girl and of the girls above she is what I'd keep in this batch

 

[OwO]

Is it normal for Legbar hens to have big spurs?

Both of mine have them

 

[holm25]

Is it normal for Legbar hens to have big spurs?

Both of mine have them

One of mine has spurs too. It think she thinks shes a roo... Shes kind of nutty

 

[sol2go]

Is it normal for Legbar hens to have big spurs?







Both of mine have them

It is not normal, and I have not seen that in any of mine (4 years). There may be some good articles regarding gender shifts in chickens, although I don't have the references at hand. Does she still lay?
btw - what color are her legs? The top photo appears white?

 

[OneMountainAcres]

Is it normal for Legbar hens to have big spurs?

Both of mine have them

My hen, Sky, has some good sized spurs on her. I don't think any of the other girls do though.

 

[Bantambird]

When I first got mine, about 4 years ago, I had about 3 or 4 develop lady Spurs. It happens occasionally in subsequent generations, though I have weeded it out as I see it. My spurred ladies never acted different and didn't make use of their Spurs. They lay the same as the others.