Cream Legbars

[dekel18042]

Here is a picture of my two cream legbar peeps hatched the 5th and 6th of April. They're feathering in now but initially the one in the back had a greyish down, very pale, while the one in front looked like a chipmonk and had a definitive stripe going from the eye. The one in back didn't. Please sex them for me. I thought two roosters because of the yellow on head. (Can you tell these are my first cream legbars?)

 

[chicken pickin]

Those are both male

 

[KPenley]

Those are both male

X2 these are a good example of the light or dark barring genes that Legbars can inherit (both can come from the same set of parents, if they carry the genes).

 

[dretd]

Just keep in mind please that the down descriptions have changed over the years, yes even in Great Britain, but what has remained the same is that Cream Legbars are auto-sexing (heritable trait to easily distinguish between the sexes at hatch). So that's the important thing, and auto-sexing will be in the intro to the APA SOP description.
My opinion...If you have chicks that are hard to distinguish, try to mark them as not suitable as breeders...and if they're all you got, choose future breeders with clearer markings in their offspring. Happy Easter everyone!

Hi hi and good morning KPenley.

I don't have the British standard and have gone off of what is published on-line, including recommendations for down.

I am interested to find out how the description of the down has changed in Great Britain over the years. Would you be able to post the similarities and differences of the different iterations of that description over time? Many thanks in advance!

 

[KPenley]

Hi hi and good morning KPenley.

I don't have the British standard and have gone off of what is published on-line, including recommendations for down.

I am interested to find out how the description of the down has changed in Great Britain over the years. Would you be able to post the similarities and differences of the different iterations of that description over time? Many thanks in advance!

Hello Dr. E! If you can give me a bit I'll round it up. I need to find the copy I have of an old standard, not the first but old, and Autosexing Annuals... but basically the down was originally described as the same as the gold Legbar ( clear defined wild type female, blurred with white dot male) and is now described as the same as the silver ( as you all quoted above to include a small head spot for the female). If I can't get my computer to cooperate I'll hunt around here too since I think most of it was added here over the last year or so.

 

[KPenley]

"Cream Legbar STANDARD

Copied from the Autosexing Annual of 1964, published in Hadleigh, Essex, England, by The Autosexing Breeds Association (founded 1943) -- President, Professor R. C. Punnett, F.R.S.

Standard adopted by The Poultry Club May 1958

Light breed, nonsitter

THE COCK:

HEAD- Crested; beak stout; eyes prominent; comb single, straight and erect, evenly and deeply serrated, large but not evergrown, extending beyond the back of the head, free from side sprigs; earlobes well developed, pendant, smooth, and open; wattles long and thin.
NECK: Long, well covered with hackle feathers
BODY: Wedge shaped, prominent breast, and straight breast bone, long flat back, sloping slightly to the tail; wings well tucked up and tightly carried.
LEGS: Moderately long; shanks strong and free from feathers.
CARRIAGE: Sprightly and alert, but free from stiltiness.
WEIGHT: 6 to 6-1/2 lbs in cockerels; 7 to 7-1/2 lbs in cocks.

THE HEN:

General characteristics similar to those of the cock, allowing for sexual differences.
WEIGHT: 4-1/2 to 5 lbs in pullets; 5 to 6 lbs in hens.

C O L O U R

THE COCK:

Neck hackles -- Cream, sparsely barred.
Saddle Hackles -- Cream, barred with dark grey, tipped with cream.
Back & Shoulders -- Cream, with dark grey barring, some chestnut permissible.
Wing Primaries -- Dark grey, faintly barred, some whit permissible.
Wing Secondaries -- Dark grey more clearly marked.
Wing Coverts -- Grey barred, tips cream, some chestnut smudges permissible.
Breast -- Evenly barred dark grey, well defined outline.
Tail -- Evenly barred grey, sickles being paler, some white feathers permissible.
Crest -- Cream and grey, some chestnut permissible.
Beak -- Yellow.
Eyes -- Red or orange.
Comb, Face, & Wattles -- Red.
Earlobes -- Pure opaque white or cream, slight pink markings not unduly to handicap an otherwise good bird.

THE HEN:

Neck Hackles -- Cream, softly barred grey.
Breast -- salmon, well defined in outline.
Body -- silver grey, with rather indistinct broad soft barring.
Wing Primaries -- Grey -peppered.
Wing Secondaries -- Very faintly barred.
Wing Coverts -- Silver grey.
Tail -- Silver grey, faintly barred.
Crest -- Cream and grey, some chestnut permissible.
Beak -- Yellow.
Eyes -- Orange or red.
Comb, face, and wattles -- Red.
Earlobes -- Pure white or cream.
Legs and Feet -- Yellow.

Eggs - Blue."
http://www.the-coop.org/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=39689&page=all
There is no mention of down in the 1964 Autosexing Annual printing of the standard, but an excerpt from the 1951 Autosexing Annual shows that at that time the down was like that of a Gold Legbars.

I do not know when the down description was added to the standard or when it switched to preferring the Silver down pattern. Plates from Punnett show the small light dot on females of the Silver Legbar variety only. Checking for copywrite info.

 

[LindaB220]

"Cream Legbar STANDARD

Copied from the Autosexing Annual of 1964, published in Hadleigh, Essex, England, by The Autosexing Breeds Association (founded 1943) -- President, Professor R. C. Punnett, F.R.S.

Standard adopted by The Poultry Club May 1958

Light breed, nonsitter

THE COCK:

HEAD- Crested; beak stout; eyes prominent; comb single, straight and erect, evenly and deeply serrated, large but not evergrown, extending beyond the back of the head, free from side sprigs; earlobes well developed, pendant, smooth, and open; wattles long and thin.
NECK: Long, well covered with hackle feathers
BODY: Wedge shaped, prominent breast, and straight breast bone, long flat back, sloping slightly to the tail; wings well tucked up and tightly carried.
LEGS: Moderately long; shanks strong and free from feathers.
CARRIAGE: Sprightly and alert, but free from stiltiness.
WEIGHT: 6 to 6-1/2 lbs in cockerels; 7 to 7-1/2 lbs in cocks.

THE HEN:

General characteristics similar to those of the cock, allowing for sexual differences.
WEIGHT: 4-1/2 to 5 lbs in pullets; 5 to 6 lbs in hens.

C O L O U R

THE COCK:

Neck hackles -- Cream, sparsely barred.
Saddle Hackles -- Cream, barred with dark grey, tipped with cream.
Back & Shoulders -- Cream, with dark grey barring, some chestnut permissible.
Wing Primaries -- Dark grey, faintly barred, some whit permissible.
Wing Secondaries -- Dark grey more clearly marked.
Wing Coverts -- Grey barred, tips cream, some chestnut smudges permissible.
Breast -- Evenly barred dark grey, well defined outline.
Tail -- Evenly barred grey, sickles being paler, some white feathers permissible.
Crest -- Cream and grey, some chestnut permissible.
Beak -- Yellow.
Eyes -- Red or orange.
Comb, Face, & Wattles -- Red.
Earlobes -- Pure opaque white or cream, slight pink markings not unduly to handicap an otherwise good bird.

THE HEN:

Neck Hackles -- Cream, softly barred grey.
Breast -- salmon, well defined in outline.
Body -- silver grey, with rather indistinct broad soft barring.
Wing Primaries -- Grey -peppered.
Wing Secondaries -- Very faintly barred.
Wing Coverts -- Silver grey.
Tail -- Silver grey, faintly barred.
Crest -- Cream and grey, some chestnut permissible.
Beak -- Yellow.
Eyes -- Orange or red.
Comb, face, and wattles -- Red.
Earlobes -- Pure white or cream.
Legs and Feet -- Yellow.

Eggs - Blue."
http://www.the-coop.org/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=39689&page=all
There is no mention of down in the 1964 Autosexing Annual printing of the standard, but an excerpt from the 1951 Autosexing Annual shows that at that time the down was like that of a Gold Legbars.


I do not know when the down description was added to the standard or when it switched to preferring the Silver down pattern. Plates from Punnett show the small light dot on females of the Silver Legbar variety only. Checking for copywrite info.

Also some good reading on that site.

 

[dekel18042]

DARN!!

I was so hoping.... Thanks, anyway.

 

[Ashdoes]

Ok, I need help. I'm selling one of my girls. She's got the white spots on her back, minimal crest, and she's a loner, won't stay with the flock forages all alone, which isn't safe in my area. What do I charge for her? It's hard because I dislike the money aspect of most things, so help would be appreciated.

 

[WHmarans]

Ok, I need help. I'm selling one of my girls. She's got the white spots on her back, minimal crest, and she's a loner, won't stay with the flock forages all alone, which isn't safe in my area. What do I charge for her? It's hard because I dislike the money aspect of most things, so help would be appreciated.

In the past when I've sold hens that weren't very good compared to the standard I just priced them the same as local Easter eggers and call them that basically.