Cream Legbars

[GaryDean26]

I didn't realize there was someone here in the US trying to recreate the breed. Do you have more information on the project?

This project was started by April Howington of Burnet, Texas about 8 years ago.

I got project eggs from her in 2011 when I was at her home in search of a Black Copper Marans cockerel. At the time she had completed the required series of crosses of Plymouth Rocks and Brown Legbhorns to complete pure Gold Legbars. I hatch a pure gold Legbar pullet and a cockerel for the eggs she gave me.

I didn't know at the time that she had plans to recreate Cream Legbars, I just knew that I hatch Gold Legbars and thought they were pretty cool. I then started looking into the history of the breed and found out there was a Cream Legbar variety that lay blue eggs that I thought was even cooler.

I spent about 2 months working out a breeding plan to introduce the blue egg gene, cresting, and cream plumage into the gold legbars from April H., and another month contacting breeders with stock I was considering sourcing to start the project with. On one search for stock I came across a post by April H. stating that she was working on a Blue Egg Legbar, so I got back in touch with her to see what her plans were and she if she would let me collaborate with her.

I continued to looked into every blue egg layer, every crested bird, and every cream variety available and has some good ideas, but learned around that time that GFF already had imported the Cream Legbar and would be releasing it that year. I was going to abandon the recreation, but my mother convinced me to keep working on it so I did. I was looking through all the information I could find on the original creation learning all the genetics I could about the breed, planning ideal crosses, trying to find breeders that had something remotely close to what I was looking for etc. The more I learned about the genetics of the Cream Legbar the less confidant I was that I would be able to recreate the breed. I was leaning more and more towards get GFF or Rock River Farm Cream Legbars. We even had a farm visit planned at River Rock Family farm when we were in Utah to see family, but it was canceled when they tested positive for MS and closed decided to keep all of the flocks private and not sell. A month of two later I was out of town one week for a business trip and when I got home there were two pair of week old Cream Legbars in my brooder as a surprise from my wife. Since then the recreation has been a past hair brained idea and all my effort have gone into working the GFF lines. I figured GFF saved me at least 5 years on the project and I am enjoying the work.

 

[enola]

I have my second egg layed by my Crested Cream Legbar pullet, Anne. Just perfect timing, too. I am going on vacation in a couple of weeks......when I get back, her eggs should be good for incubating!

We are doing the happy dance here!

 

[ChicKat]

So what are the tells for cream?


.......... The saddles may look white in this photo, but I assure you that if next to a white chick (Hmm, I have some whites I should us for comparisons) you would see that he is actually a quite saturated cream. Note: He has yellow ear lobes. I got about 50% to come out with yellow ear lobes and 50% with white ear lobes in his grow out group.

Glad that you brought this up -- because it would definitely be a good 'tell' for cream. If the cockerel has white earlobes, and the neck-hackles match the earlobes then the neck-hackles are also white. (somehow, Instead of hearing saddle feathers vs. hackle feathers - I have heard a lot of folks talking about 'saddle hackles' lately so I wanted to be clear. )

Here is another concern -- that may or may not be a concern for some breeders. When I attended the chicken genetics seminar which was conducted by Grant Brereton, who is a top Poultry plumage genetics expert from the UK while I was in Morganton, North Carolina in March, he stated that if a chicken doesn't have black in the saddle feathers (aka saddle hackles) then the base of the chicken isn't e+ (wild--type)---- The above chicken probably has black in the saddles - but it isn't showing in the photo on my monitor--- In the event that eb wheaten is introduced it is dominant...just another important thing for a serious breeder to check. (hope I remembered that alternative base gene right -- the books are all packed away right now....correct me if I'm wrong)---the eb is dominant over the e+ - I do remember that part clearly.

 

[TherryChicken]

Crap, I have lost 7 eggs in 1 week incubation time

 

[TammyTX]

Hi!

I received some CL eggs that I purchased on Ebay. One was broken (they were pretty dirty, too) and when I opened it up it was not fertile...so, I'm a little skeptical that any of them will be fertile.

But, the reason for my post is that I expected the eggs to be more "blue". The eggs I received are only very slightly bluer than my EE eggs. Is this normal color? I sanitized them and set them under a broody tonight.

These are the eggs and they are more blue in the photo than in real life.


The top egg is my own egg and you can clearly see it is fertile....the lower photo is the CL egg and you can clearly see it is NOT fertile...and it's very pale and cloudy like it's old.

 

[KPenley]

Î hope your other eggs are fertile Tammy! My girls eggs change during their cycles. They are darkest, and if they have broken pigment -greenest at the start. They get bluer and bluer throughout and lightest at the end of their cycle. Then it starts over. Best wishes with your hatch!

 

[TammyTX]

Î hope your other eggs are fertile Tammy! My girls eggs change during their cycles. They are darkest, and if they have broken pigment -greenest at the start. They get bluer and bluer throughout and lightest at the end of their cycle. Then it starts over. Best wishes with your hatch!

Thanks!! My fingers are crossed!

 

[KPenley]

I meant brown pigment, not broken. Auto correct

 

[TammyTX]

I meant brown pigment, not broken. Auto correct

LOL!! I wondered what "broken pigment" meant!!

If you want a great laugh you should look up autocorrect text messages...very funny.

 

[lonnyandrinda]

LOL!! I wondered what "broken pigment" meant!!

If you want a great laugh you should look up autocorrect text messages...very funny.

Yes.. but not always PG-rated!

Some of my work this spring:











The front pullet below is Blue Band. No crest but will pair nicely with one of my Lisa Helms boys. She has GREAT size and coloring, and I am LOVING her type. Sorry for the sun glare on the picture.



LOVING this girls lighter crest. I think she is stunning, although smaller in size than Blue Band girl.





No crest on some, I know. I'm more worried about type and size right now, and topmost fixing my white egg problem. I REALLY hope Blue Band girl lays blue eggs... If my camera battery hadn't died I would have shared some pictures of the two boys I got from Lisa Helms. They are fabulous, I am just tickled to get to work with them in a few months when they mature.