Cream Legbars

[ChicKat]

Fun pics and commentary =)
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on melanizers and the examples. I have also seen a wide range of heavy barring and spotted chests on the females, my flock and others. Now I'm going to go look at beaks...
You must be really happy with the feather color of the sister in the middle photo!

She is the one that is the most promising of that hatch. Oh and - the legs and feet can sometimes be a tell for a lot of 'black' pigment hidden away. If there is any greenish or dark look to shanks, feet toes...etc.

I appreciate your observations on breeding a crestless and that is always going to be based on where someone is in their program and what they are working on -- but super good insight of the value of that trait. My flock never produces crestless...so it isn't an option here. I can see the value. I once had a pullet I got from Craigs list that was very nice in every way but her crest and her egg-laying ability. It is always a balancing/juggling act.

I would call these two a dark and a medium, or two darks if I was pressed. I have a light boy growing out who is about 6 weeks now, I am very impressed with him and I can see an obvious difference between him and the chestnut boys his age. I will try to get some photos of that age group tomorrow.

Nice chicks Rinda! Great photos - another use for an egg basket, I see.

 

[ChicKat]

If any of you guys have an OAC chart, can you please tell me what colors your hens eggs are?

I got an OAC 151 yesterday.

I just noticed that there is a discussion in the Cream Legbar Club's Clubhouse where people posted egg colors--- if you are a member you can zip over there and see some responses. :O)

BTW, I think I posted this same question just awhile ago- along with an OAC pict to see if anyone has obtained 'bluer' than OAC179.


The foreground egg is from my CL and the background eggs are from my Isbars. Each one lays a slightly different green. :O)

ETA - Oh it is under the 'eggs' section and I think the title is 'beautiful blue eggs' HTH

 

[GaryDean26]

Quote:

Hi this profile pic caught my eye. He seems to have the deeper chest that Walt pointed out at the Novato CL type evaluation. You might run it by GaryDean26 and see what he says. Some other comments we heard at the type evaluation included look for a roo that doesn't drop his wings and one that does have a lower tail angle.

A key admonition was to wait until the birds are a year old as they change so much. I have noticed that my CL flock doesn't really develop a mature body until they are well over a year old. My oldest roo was closer to 2 yrs. old before he really filled out.

While this may not be popular with everyone, I would suggest that a minimal to absent crest on the roo may not be a problem while you are developing your flock. That attribute may be one way to help breed out floppy combs and S-curves. Breeding to a hen with a nice crest seems to result in well crested offspring.

There are different approaches to type vs feather color, that having been said, I hope you have hens that are double for cream.

Yes, This cockerel does have a good profile to his breast. He also has a deep body and a perfect back. We talk a lot about floppy combs and squirrel tails, but the shape of the breast needs a lot more attention than we are giving it. Although we were advised at the Novato Evaluation that tails were difficult and they probably need to come first in importance, it was the breast that Walt looked at first when he picked up the birds. Areas of top priority are
1) The back (at least as long as the neck is wide, with a downward slope and no curves or saddle shape),
2) The line of the breast (well rounded with no straight lines, and extending past the tip of the beak),
3) The tail (45 degs. from the horizon in the profile, with a tent shape from the back, and long, full, and well arched), and
4) The width of the body (a least 3 finger between the legs, broad shoulder and equally broad hips)

Yep...I hope you have cream hens to breed to this guy.

Note: As the tail develops on this guy watch for balance. The legs should be centered in the profile to where the tails and head each off-set each other. right now the cockerel appears to have more body in front of the legs than behind the legs. As the tail fills in this hopefully will offset that.

 

[cutipatooti]

Hi, I'm new to this thread. I just got 26 cream legbar chicks. I would like to keep a trio to breed. Anything that is noticeable on chicks that is a dead giveaway not to breed? I have 10 to 12 girls the rest boys. Any info that you can give would be greatly appreciated . Thanks

 

[lonnyandrinda]

Hi, I'm new to this thread. I just got 26 cream legbar chicks. I would like to keep a trio to breed. Anything that is noticeable on chicks that is a dead giveaway not to breed? I have 10 to 12 girls the rest boys. Any info that you can give would be greatly appreciated . Thanks

I haven't pinned anything down on the girls, but in MY line (this may not be true for everyone) I no longer grow out the "cinnamon" tinted boys- there are 5 in this box below. They always have to much chestnut on their back and shoulders. If you have any this color you might tag them with a zip tie to just see if it holds true when they grow out with the line you have.

 

[blackbirds13]

Quote:

There is a wide range in what down colors beget adult plumage here in the US. My flock is very different in comparison and I've included some comparison photos below. Everything below is double cream and I have had minimal shoulder color last year and hopefully this year.

I do not get dark gray males anymore and what I have bred for is a light male with some gray and some chestnut coloring but- a slatey gray in my mind. Anything I hatched that was as dark as the ones above would be very dark AND VERY colorful as it grew out. I am fascinated by this difference. Even the dark males I got from GFF last year that were dark gray all developed with super gold coloring.

I think it does really help to grow out your chicks at first just to get an idea of what will turn out of what range of down coloring. It has to be the melanizers, enhancers and lack of diluters that are causing this range. I still 'hold my breath' with anticipation each year when my boys are growing out. This year they look good and I am only culling for com

 

[blackbirds13]

Uncrested rooster. He's was kind of a jerk to the other chickens, but is much better now that I've moved him to a "bachelor pad". He is uncrested, but more substantial than the other two.

I like his profile the best. He is not crested and he has more color than I'd like - both issues for me if he were mine but he has a nice substantial look to him. I found GaryDean's points to be good ones to note and pay attention to. His tail also seems more open than the other two but he appears wider and more balanced at this point. He has some red in the earlobes but with the right girls these are issues you can address going forward. You'll have to watch his tail angle. HIs wing has a slightly low carry but this may just be at this moment. I had this when I started with Marans and was advised to raise my roosts and it worked.
You need some cream girls for sure going forward and nicely crested ones.

They do mature as they grow to the first year and beyond but size is an early tell tale in my boys and I like to compare shank and toe/foot sizes.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

how much should a rooster weigh in at when he is about a year old. I have one that will be a year in August. I think he is small but want to be sure before I give him the back up rooster spot instead of the #1 rooster spot.

 

[KPenley]

how much should a rooster weigh in at when he is about a year old.  I have one that will be a year in August.  I think he is small but want to be sure before I give him the back up rooster spot instead of the #1 rooster spot.

Has anyone had their roo reach the 7 pound mark by 1 year? My biggest boy was only 5 1/2 pounds at a year, but he's over 6 pounds and creaping toward 7 at just about 2 yrs old.

 

[GaryDean26]

I will have to check on that with my 10 month old cockerel. He was 5-1/2 lbs at the final sorting (6 months old). I now have him penned next to a 19 month old Basque Cock Bird and they are nearly the same size. The Cream Legbar has the fuller rounder breast, but the Basque has a wider body so I am guessing the Basque is a little heavier. I am guessing the CLB is about 6-1/4 lbs. and the Basque about 6-1/2 lbs.

The English standard is for 6 to 6-1/2 lbs cockerels and 7 to 7-1/2 lbs cocks. So if you are breeding to the standard you will want your boys to be over 6 pounds by the time they are 12 months old.