Cream Legbars

[chicken pickin]

Maybe he is discrete, however i have eggcam and watch alot... never seen it. Well i candled and expected to see big dark patch but saw only the yolk a bit denser than other non incubated eggs where i could hardly see the yolk maybe i was too keen incubating after two weeks of discrete action. Regarding food, im tied to buying layers at my local pet shop, they dont stock flocl raiser. I do have goose feed for my wee gosling but keeping feed seperate is impossible. So is everyone sure the collar or age isnt stopping him mating?

I doubt it is age, maybe the hens are not giving into him yet, maybe they don't see him as the flock male yet or maybe he is too immature for them so they ignore his advances. I have no experience with a no crow collar so I cant help there have you checked to be certain it is not too tight? Also how far into incubation are the eggs and are you using a bright enough flashlight? also how many females to the one male are there?

 

[nadrojsack]

I doubt it is age, maybe the hens are giving into him yet, maybe they don't see him as the flock male yet or maybe he is too immature for them so they ignore his advances. I have no experience with a no crow collar so I cant help there have you checked to be certain it is not too tight? Also how far into incubation are the eggs and are you using a bright enough flashlight? also how many females to the one male are there?

10 female to 1 male i know thats alot. He is ruling the roost everyone gets on well. Yes it works for goose eggs and quail eggs so hens eggs are okay. Its lockdown day today for the 5 hen eggs and 50 quail eggs. Ill candle today before locking down. The collar is fitted well. Thanks

 

[ChicKat]

Maybe he is discrete, however i have eggcam and watch alot... never seen it. Well i candled and expected to see big dark patch but saw only the yolk a bit denser than other non incubated eggs where i could hardly see the yolk maybe i was too keen incubating after two weeks of discrete action. Regarding food, im tied to buying layers at my local pet shop, they dont stock flocl raiser. I do have goose feed for my wee gosling but keeping feed seperate is impossible. So is everyone sure the collar or age isnt stopping him mating?

What a sweet baby!!!

Perhaps the collar makes him feel emasculated. Could you try removing it for a short period and see if his behavior changes? Or would the neighbors holler. With you cam, and observations -- perhaps you would find out pretty quickly if that is the cause? At least if you don't see veins inside the eggs , you will know now that they aren't developing. :O(

 

[chicken pickin]

10 female to 1 male i know thats alot. He is ruling the roost everyone gets on well. Yes it works for goose eggs and quail eggs so hens eggs are okay. Its lockdown day today for the 5 hen eggs and 50 quail eggs. Ill candle today before locking down. The collar is fitted well. Thanks

I hope he fertilizes some eggs for you soon. I wish you luck.

 

[nadrojsack]

I hope he fertilizes some eggs for you soon. I wish you luck.

haha thankyou, me and the gosling are enjoying some sun on the patio as i type. Yeah i may remove the collar during the day for a few days before incubating the next batch.

 

[ChicKat]

I do have eggs in the incubator lol CL and Barred Plymouth Rocks and a brooder full of CL chicks.

Im processing my Marans male and my Silkie male, in hopes it will keep me from hatching everything from everyone. And also all the turkeys, so that will be eliminating one whole flock. I will also be rehoming some hens this summer as well.

Its always hard to decide what to do. I don't want to have too many chickens or too much going on with males, hatching and chicks(sometimes Igo over board) but I love all the different breeds and egg colors so its hard to let go. Im working on it. Id like to work with jst a small CL flock and I have 2 dozen quality Barred Plymouth Rock eggs due to hatch in the next 2 days so I would like to keep a small flock of those as well to work with. And then maybe a small layer flock with no male just for a few other egg colors.

Regarding feed again, I also have considered housing my males in a separate coop and pen from my females most of the year. That way hens are not over mated and can get a break and also feed can be kept separate and proper for each group, male and female. And then come breeding season pen the males with the females long enough to collect enough fertile eggs and then put the males back in the bachelor pen.

You are just going for zero population growth of your flock -- some go out - some others come in...LOL My numbers are down - due to a raccoon digging in under the fence from an inside courtyard. pretty smart strategy on it's part -- killed an entirely irreplaceable Isbar - and one got out of the poultry netting the day or two before that disappeared - and these were the original Isbars that are no longer available. (OMgosh, that could happen to the CL -- the original imports could no longer be available if individuals don't support them. I guess the hatcheries have some ultra-large combed versions of them - but GFF only has Rees line now-a-days) sorry - the thought just struck me.


That is a good strategy. I would like to do that. A friend has a Ko Shamo - and from what I understand males over 3 months old will kill each other -- so only one can be kept on a property. I wonder what would happen if I moved my Cl guys in together. My oldest and one of his sons don't harm the female feathering -- but I have one that is overmating in that pen - need to get him out -- and don't have a good place to put him.

 

[chicken pickin]

So sorry you had a raccoon attack that is just awful.

Yes you are correct Im sort of going for a zero population growth lol. I don't have the largest lot and I do have plenty of close neighbors so Im trying to be a respectful neighbor while still enjoying my chickens and breeding, a little tough to balance and a little stressful at times but Im getting there.

It is a real bummer that GFF sold off the original CL flocks and that they now only have Rees, I don't know if that was a good move for them or not (In my opinion, not).

 

[ChicKat]

So sorry you had a raccoon attack that is just awful.

Yes you are correct Im sort of going for a zero population growth lol. I don't have the largest lot and I do have plenty of close neighbors so Im trying to be a respectful neighbor while still enjoying my chickens and breeding, a little tough to balance and a little stressful at times but Im getting there.

It is a real bummer that GFF sold off the original CL flocks and that they now only have Rees, I don't know if that was a good move for them or not (In my opinion, not). There is a person here in my state not far from me that has in the past claimed he bought all of GFFs original CL flocks and he does breed them and sell them, though honestly he is WAAAAAY over pricing even for the culls. But I could be remembering incorrectly what he said about buying from GFF.

He truly DID purchase GFF's originals. There is two way confirmation both from GFF that they sold out -- and from him as the buyer. Perhaps they didn't make a mistake quite -- they aren't breeders - their business model is to be importers of the rare and sell at high prices. Once the breed is more widespread - they will probably drop it.

The buyer's website says something about breeding for a cream breast on I think females (I did email him to tell him it should be salmon - there was an additional inaccuracy there -- I can't recall -- Do you think he listened to me?

I think I did send him a link to the standard on the website...but who knows if that would/will have any effect) The prices are high -- but then again - I guess it is "what the market will bear" or else no one will buy from him. His goal may be to make a lot of profit on the chickens -- my goal is a CL in every flock....

Thanks to what you said -- BTW - I just went out and rearranged some chickens. Now my gorgeous Isbar roo is in a coop with a CL female that I have dropped out of the breeding program because she may have only 1 crest gene. I'm thinking I need to keep her until her baby boy is old enough to breed back - and then if any chicks from that hatch were to be crestless -- they both have only 1 cresting gene.... Am I thinking Punnett's square right? 50% if he has and she has only 1 -- and zero if he is double for the cresting gene....which I am beginning to doubt a bit now..... And the Legbar that was baring the backs of his females is now solo for awhile, My other two CL adult roosters - each with only two hens so I can tell the exact parentage because the hen's eggs are different don't defeather the females. with only two.

But here is an interesting side note. If the cockerel that may have only 1 cresting gene - has a definite crest, and because his crest will be particularly small and neat, he will/should have a very straight comb -- or more straight than the hatch mate he is with that has double....He would theoretically do well in a show. and that is the kind of thing that could lead people who want to win 'at all costs' to keep a line of CLs that is crestless -- so that they could breed single crested males to do better at shows. pretty sneaky huh?

 

[nadrojsack]

I hope he fertilizes some eggs for you soon. I wish you luck.

Just candled my eggs on day 18 and im pretty sure theyre all yolks, as they float to the pointed end when tilted, at this stage they should be filling the entire egg, bar the air pocket am i right?

 

[chicken pickin]

Just candled my eggs on day 18 and im pretty sure theyre all yolks, as they float to the pointed end when tilted, at this stage they should be filling the entire egg, bar the air pocket am i right?

You are correct. Sorry this hatch didn't go as planned for you.