Cream Legbars

[Brat Flock]

I adore these girls and can't wait for eggs! I was told that they are from Greenfire Farms A, B or C lines but cannot be certain. I lucked into these 4, 2-Frizzle Tolbunt Polish and 2-Ayam Cemani the price was to good to pass up.... I had to ask several times if she was sure I am happy to have them and will update when I get eggs. She is pretty dark, I will see if I can find one out in the field. The grass may be a better contrast.

 

[Brat Flock]

Different lighting. Not super dark but mostly grey they all have VERY bright legs and beaks .

 

[All Ball]

First, I want to express my thanks to the wonderful group of people on this and the Legbar thread - I'm so impressed by the way you all have created an environment to support open and considerate yet very thorough communication. I have learned so much from you all.

I am wondering if folks have a sense of by what age you can say definitively that a bird is crestless. I have 7 13-week-olds, 2 without crests so far. I had checked back with the provider of the hatching eggs earlier and she had said definitely her stock was all crested.




One pullet was very, very, very, very slow feathering so I am keeping open-minded about her as it was just a few weeks ago she started growing head feathers. But the roo was normal feathering. Just lately I've seen some hairy eyebrow kind of thing, but that's not the right place! Some weeks back he had looked like the guy with the clearly straight comb. I understand there's that crest-and-straight comb challenge - so in my mind a straight comb kind of supports the notion he might not get much of a crest.

Pics attached; sorry the side pic is fuzzier than I'd like but he keeps moving.

Also, I'm guessing his ears are showing that SOP red-on-the-ears problem - what I'm seeing is red from the face bleeding on to the ear's edge. I'm not breeding - just trying to find homes for some cockerels and pullets and wanting to be very clear about them and identify if they have anything valuable to pass along, or not, given they are already very colorful.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts on this!

 

[cooliechick]

Does anyone know where I can get one or, preferably two, cream bar pullets with crests? I will also consider hens that are laying.

I am in northwest Washington (state). I want to get decent pullets/hens so I have something worth working with and not have to start at ground floor.

One of my young dogs who is normally kenneled, taught himself how to climb the 6' tall kennel in just the right spot, to get out (most of it is covered with metal roofing and shade cloth. He then attacked and killed my only crested hen. The two hens I have left are not crested and are on the small side. My roo shows very little crest feathering at the very base of his nice straight comb. Luckily, I also have two very young nice roosters (5 mo. old). My main roo is their father, and he is very very light with very little chestnut on him. The two young roo's are also very light with a little more chestnut than their papa, but very little if any crest feathering. <sigh>

If anyone can help me out, or, knows of where I can look, I will be very very indebted to you.

Thank you for reading....

 

[henless]

. There are lots of beautiful chickens, but a breed that is valued for laying a special egg color (blue in this case) in which the pullets (future egg layers) can be identified at hatch is pretty special. I can't be the only one who has wished that Black Copper Marans were autosexing...

I like the darker CLs myself, rather than the really light ones like the Rees line - better camouflage from aerial predators in my yard.

- Ant Farm

The egg color & autosexing, that continues with each generation, are what attracted me to this breed. I'm also not a fan of the "lighter" colored lines. I fell in love with the brightly colored CL look, and really adore the crested hens.

Our posts crossed in cyberspace. !! Just had a thought that it seems that cockerels are more plentiful than hens and more available.

The person I'm getting mine from has been having a hard time hatching pullets. I'm wanting 9-10 pullets and 3-4 cockerels, and she keeps getting the opposite. I've had their pen ready for almost 2 months now, hopefully I will be getting mine soon.

 

[ChicKat]

Does anyone know where I can get one or, preferably two, cream bar pullets with crests? I will also consider hens that are laying.

I am in northwest Washington (state). I want to get decent pullets/hens so I have something worth working with and not have to start at ground floor.

One of my young dogs who is normally kenneled, taught himself how to climb the 6' tall kennel in just the right spot, to get out (most of it is covered with metal roofing and shade cloth. He then attacked and killed my only crested hen. The two hens I have left are not crested and are on the small side. My roo shows very little crest feathering at the very base of his nice straight comb. Luckily, I also have two very young nice roosters (5 mo. old). My main roo is their father, and he is very very light with very little chestnut on him. The two young roo's are also very light with a little more chestnut than their papa, but very little if any crest feathering. <sigh>

If anyone can help me out, or, knows of where I can look, I will be very very indebted to you.

Thank you for reading....

You might want to PM FlyingMonkeyPoop, FlamingChicken and KendyF - I think that they are all in WA

 

[ChicKat]

The egg color & autosexing, that continues with each generation, are what attracted me to this breed. I'm also not a fan of the "lighter" colored lines. I fell in love with the brightly colored CL look, and really adore the crested hens.

The person I'm getting mine from has been having a hard time hatching pullets. I'm wanting 9-10 pullets and 3-4 cockerels, and she keeps getting the opposite. I've had their pen ready for almost 2 months now, hopefully I will be getting mine soon.

I agree with you henless the crested hens are adorable. I'm not a fan of the lightest versions either. Hopefully you will get the pullets you have been waiting for. Good luck. Can't wait til you are back here posting pictures of them. Once you have your flock assembled, of course.

 

[ChicKat]

Attention all Cream Legbar Club Members:

Today you will be receiving an email from the Cream Legbar Club with a link to a short survey and another link to an email update form. If you do not receive the email, that means that the email address we have for you is invalid, or we are being blocked on your end. Please PM me, or dretd or KPenley if you have not received our email so that we can get the problem sorted out.

 

[GaryDean26]

As someone who loves Cream Legbars, may I ask a possibly inflammatory question?

When one of the key features of a breed is its autosexing features, short of somehow using verified photos of the birds in question as newly hatched chicks (photos hung on the cage at poultry shows?!), how does one ensure preservation of this aspect of the breed?

I ask because of recent concerns about loss of autosexing features in otherwise "well respected" lines (indicated in multiple posts about "what sex is my chick" in what should be a clearly autosexing breed). In good examples of Cream Legbars, the sex at hatch should never be in question (am I wrong?). Older/grown birds we admire here on BYC may have amazing coloring/combs/crests and features, but we may not know how well they were able to be sexed at hatch. Not only would I support honoring the original intentions of development of the "-bar" breeds (Cambar, Rhodebar, Cream Legbar...), but I support the preservation of production features of any breed when pursuing an SOP (in the case of Cream Legbars, autosexing and good egg production). I have gotten to where I find myself grinding my teeth in frustration when autosexing features are apparently so easily lost, e.g., in some descended from the lauded Jill Rees line (so pretty as adults). I am also concerned that, because in some circles/arenas, Cream Legbars can command a high price (I certainly paid a lot for mine), this muddies the waters further and predisposes to poor decisions in propagating the breed for some.

I confess that I am focused more on production than subtle color/comb aspects in Cream Legbars (and I understand that my goals are different than those of others, and I completely honor that), but shouldn't we work really, REALLY hard to honor an original intention in the development of Cream Legbars - an autosexing breed? As I understand it, that was SUPER important in its development (compared to subtleties of coloring/cream, etc.) - please correct me if I'm wrong. Given the fact that this is a relatively new breed, and there have been some struggles in attaining SOP (as breeders posting in this thread can attest), at some point will we be forced to choose between autosexing clarity vs. coloration? If so, what will we choose? I think it would be a shame if color "won" at the expense of autosexing (which cannot be assessed in adulthood), and the autosexing characteristics were lost.

Thoughts?

- Ant Farm

I read in one of the old annuals from the Auto-sexing Poultry Association of Great Britain (circa 1953) that breeders of the auto-sexing breeds were toe punching day old chicks. The cockerels that were they would know which birds had the best down markings and be able to weigh that into the selection process accordingly.

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

Attention all Cream Legbar Club Members:

Today you will be receiving an email from the Cream Legbar Club with a link to a short survey and another link to an email update form. If you do not receive the email, that means that the email address we have for you is invalid, or we are being blocked on your end. Please PM me, or dretd or KPenley if you have not received our email so that we can get the problem sorted out.

As I'm getting a little cockerel to keep my girls company (soon!), I suppose this means I should join...

- Ant Farm