Cream Legbars

[chicken pickin]

I also find that my CL are middle to the bottom of the pecking order, They do well with all the other breeds that I have in my flocks including my Silkies ( I trim crests) and often the Silkies are more dominant than the CL. My Barred Rocks, though the youngest of my chickens have dominant personalites and they are all heading toward the top of the pecking order all ready.

I do find my CL to be flighty, They are nervous and skittish and do bounce of ceilings if I move to fast or drop something etc. They are not mean though and are very good around people and will come follow us for treats, they are and even good with chicks that run the chicken yard. But due to their nervous nature, mine are not the "love bug" sit in your lap to be pet kind of chickens that I see others often describe. But with that said they are sweet and gentle chickens.

I find my self thinking, is flighty a trait I can live with after all. Sometimes I think no because I want to be more hands on with my chickens to be able to scoop them up to handle them when needed(not to be loved on but looked over/evaluated in hand). Other times I think these are the perfect flock chickens because they are sweet natured with each other and do well in mixed flock. It really depends on what you want for your self and your flock. Flighty might be an undesirable trait for one flock owner, but for another if might be perfectly suited.

 

[fowlman01]

Oh wow. Mine are very calm and if we sit on a crate in the run, they will jump in our laps, settle down. Try that with dried mealy worms ;-) But mine are 2 1/2 months old. It is the Brabanter who is more shy and flies all over the pen if we reach near him.

I have over 500 birds. here. The chickens I was talking about that can fly so well are OEG's and they will jump into my lap....they just can fkly well when they want to. Most, but not all of the birds here are pretty calm....some can just fly well.

Walt

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

Sylvester, I forgot to specify that the other younger chicks coming up to be integrated may or may not include Naked Necks and New Hampshire Reds (chicks in brooder now), depending on whether I decide to keep them in a separate flock (which I'm actually strongly considering), vs. integrating them all together.

Bawk - I have one that follows me around, and one that doesn't go out of her way to be near me, and one in between. But all three jump up and crawl all over me when mealworms are involved. I have no problem with bribery.

One of the Naked Neck chicks is already showing puppy-like tendencies - it will be interesting to see how his/her behavior develops...

- Ant Farm

 

[fowlman01]

I will be attending this show and while there I will be talking to CL breeders. Any particular questions from the Standard organizers?

Walt

 

[KPenley]

I will be attending this show and while there I will be talking to CL breeders. Any particular questions from the Standard organizers? Walt

How great! I will message you after talking with the Board. Thank you for your help!

 

[sol2go]

I will be attending this show and while there I will be talking to CL breeders. Any particular questions from the Standard organizers?

Walt

Big Fun!

 

[napdognewfie]

Oh you are so lucky. No poultry gatherings at all in MD. I would love some very blue egg layers. Sigh.

 

[GaryDean26]

I will be attending this show and while there I will be talking to CL breeders. Any particular questions from the Standard organizers?

Walt

Here are some that have been brought up but not fully answered that I would like to know.

1) How do they define "wedge shaped body" and "narrowing slightly to the root of the tail" for the body type?
2) ...
3) They list the tail as "moderately full". What are they looking for here? Specificly are they looking for a zero fan on the hens tail like their Leghorns have. Does a "moderaetly full" tail indicate anything on length. I know I like longer tails with more arch but usually end up with a medium length tail with less arch that I am looking for.
3) Are they looking for the color on the saddle feathers to match the color on the neck hackles. Or for them both to just be a shade of cream with not preference for them to match
4) For the comb on hens the UK standard allow either an erect comb or for it to fall gracefully over to either side. For the graceful flop are they looking for the first point to be erect and the rest of the point flopped over or are they looking for all the points to be flopped over? Also is the "S-shaped" wickle comb with a fold in it it accepted as a graceful flop or a defect.
5) I have to ask...what do the think about hen spurs on Legbars hens?
6) What do they think about green dermal spots on the legs of hens?
7) Their standard list the Hens Primary Wing feathers as peppered and the secondary feathers as vary faintly barred. Which feather do they designate as Primaries and which do they designate as secondaries? I get stiped secondary feathers and faintly barred primary feathers on my hens.
8) How much barring are they looking for on the "Silver Grey Faintly barred tail" on the hens. I do get some hens with silver grey faintly barred tails, but most have a brown tail with no visible barring at all. About the same is true for the faint barring on the hens wings. Do they look for barring that is visible from 15 feet away or just barring that can be seen when handling the bird if you get the right angle of light on the feathers? I ask because the one the hens with brakkin on their tails look more cuckoo than crele.
9) Do they have any guidelines for "some chestnut permissible"? Does "some" mean less that 50%? Less than 10%? Other?
10) How much "white feathers permissible" are allowed on the male's tail. Is the less than 1" of positive white on one feather what we need to shoot for or are entire feathers and/or multiple tail feather okay to be white?
11) Do they give any allowance for pink on the ear lobes? I ask this especially for older birds?
12) Are they looking for pure yellow beaks or are black streaks through the beak permitted?
13) Should the throat of the hen be with out chestnut, or is the red throat allowed (this probably goes back the the allowable chestnut question)?
14) Do they look for the thighs to show in the silhouette of the bird or should the bottom line of the bird take in the thighs?



I know I have missed some. Kpenney I sure will catch most of them.

P.S. Could you write a short article one the airplane ride home with what you learn about the Cream Legbar to be submitted to the Cream Legbar Club Newsletter.

 

[Sylvester017]

Oh wow. Mine are very calm and if we sit on a crate in the run, they will jump in our laps, settle down. Try that with dried mealy worms ;-) But mine are 2 1/2 months old. It is the Brabanter who is more shy and flies all over the pen if we reach near him.

Pullet chicks and juveniles are always fun but give me a false sense of security about how they'll turn out as adults. I've been disappointed a couple times with incorrect breed choices for our small yard flock once the youngsters became adults. I believe Brabanters are usually classified as agile active birds so not surprising he's less calm but a very beautiful bird. Let me know how your CL individuals turn out after they're adults since I have a bit of time to decide on a final last breed to add.

It's hard to draw conclusions from a small sample, but here's my experience, FWIW. In June, I got two Cream Legbar chicks from Meyer, with a variety of other rare breeds. One of the CLs was among the my most friendly chicks, and the other, among my most people-fearful. I would not describe either as nervous or flighty in the least, except the fearful one would would get dramatic to avoid being handled. I did not force it, and that one is more agreeable now.

The chicks are now 12 weeks and I have integrated them into my older flock, which includes two very passive, low-ranking EEs. The CLs get along well with others. The CLs have shown no aggression, and one has been accepted on the "big chicken" roost with the senior hens. Before reading this thread, I had made a mental note that I think CLs may be one of the better breeds for integrating with an existing flock. In fact, relative to some others, I would describe them as "unflappable." My two both seem to be very sensible, calm, steady eddies, in my limited experience. They sit back and observe while the other chicks react and make a fuss.

I, too, wanted smaller birds, strictly layers. Meyer lists their mature CL hens as 5 lbs, not 6. Too early for me to report on egg color.

How interesting your two CL chicks are so different. My experience with Leghorn type breeds is that as chicks they will run up to look for treats and get bored quickly and run off or never approach and just go about their individual chick foraging - the Leg types are very good independent mind-their-own-business kind of birds and not the type that stay to cuddle in the palm of your hand unless there's treats. We had a Dom chick that was very outgoing unafraid and always came running up to us and even if we had no treats would stay to explore our fingers, our eyeglasses, our hair, sit on our arm to preen or settle in the palm of our hand to go to sleep. I was surprised you integrated your youngsters at 12 weeks - I usually wait until 5 to 6 months when they pretty much have reached adult size - but in your case I might've done the same since I consider EEs and Ameraucanas as non-combative and accepting of newcomers without incident. I was thinking it's not so much that your CLs were good for integrating into an existing flock but that EEs and Ameraucanas are kind flockmates and readily accept orphaned chicks or injured birds or newcomers to the flock without incidents where other breeds might not be so willing. A very good stroke of luck that you had an established EE flock to meld with your CLs. I have time to wait before adding my last breed to our flock so please report further on your CLs and their eggs - thank you!

I also find that my CL are middle to the bottom of the pecking order, They do well with all the other breeds that I have in my flocks including my Silkies ( I trim crests) and often the Silkies are more dominant than the CL. My Barred Rocks, though the youngest of my chickens have dominant personalites and they are all heading toward the top of the pecking order all ready.

I do find my CL to be flighty, They are nervous and skittish and do bounce of ceilings if I move to fast or drop something etc. They are not mean though and are very good around people and will come follow us for treats, they are and even good with chicks that run the chicken yard. But due to their nervous nature, mine are not the "love bug" sit in your lap to be pet kind of chickens that I see others often describe. But with that said they are sweet and gentle chickens.

I find my self thinking, is flighty a trait I can live with after all. Sometimes I think no because I want to be more hands on with my chickens to be able to scoop them up to handle them when needed(not to be loved on but looked over/evaluated in hand). Other times I think these are the perfect flock chickens because they are sweet natured with each other and do well in mixed flock. It really depends on what you want for your self and your flock. Flighty might be an undesirable trait for one flock owner, but for another if might be perfectly suited.

I've had BRs and Doms both and prefer the Doms. The BRs have Dom breed history but don't always turn out with the calmer nice personality of the Dom temperament. So many other breeds were used to increase the size of BRs that the temperaments can be all over the page yet my feedbacks on Doms stay consistent. People love their BRs and most love them even if some become dominant. I agree about the Leg types like the CLs - lovebug is not their thing compared to other breeds but we did manage to have a Leg that was somewhat nice for about 3 yrs before she decided to get aggressive toward flockmates. Of course I speak about chickens in our tiny open yard environment and not a large acreage with space to have a big flock of assorted breeds. Owners who have a lot of space seems to have less issues with mixed flocks. Knowing the number of birds in your mixed flock will give me a good idea about your evaluation. Thank you.

Sylvester, I forgot to specify that the other younger chicks coming up to be integrated may or may not include Naked Necks and New Hampshire Reds (chicks in brooder now), depending on whether I decide to keep them in a separate flock (which I'm actually strongly considering), vs. integrating them all together.

Bawk - I have one that follows me around, and one that doesn't go out of her way to be near me, and one in between. But all three jump up and crawl all over me when mealworms are involved. I have no problem with bribery.

One of the Naked Neck chicks is already showing puppy-like tendencies - it will be interesting to see how his/her behavior develops...

- Ant Farm

I've heard nothing but good feedback about NNs - never heard one negative comment about these gentle giants. But with our blazing SoCalif climate I just couldn't submit their skin to our brutal sunrays. I correspond with a NN owner who has many other breeds and she always raises new NN chicks - but she will process her EEs around 2-yr-old or younger because they are her poorest layers (she has an egg business and processes any hens that aren't producing) - I can't blame her as our Amer is a poor layer too. I had a NHR as a single individual backyard pet decades ago and she was a hoot foraging through my vegetable garden all day long - but having RIR breed history I never knew what she would've been like in a mixed flock since she was alone. I bet you'll wind up really liking your NNs and I understand they're decent egg-layers too.

 

[chicken pickin]

I've had BRs and Doms both and prefer the Doms. The BRs have Dom breed history but don't always turn out with the calmer nice personality of the Dom temperament. So many other breeds were used to increase the size of BRs that the temperaments can be all over the page yet my feedbacks on Doms stay consistent. People love their BRs and most love them even if some become dominant. I agree about the Leg types like the CLs - lovebug is not their thing compared to other breeds but we did manage to have a Leg that was somewhat nice for about 3 yrs before she decided to get aggressive toward flockmates. Of course I speak about chickens in our tiny open yard environment and not a large acreage with space to have a big flock of assorted breeds. Owners who have a lot of space seems to have less issues with mixed flocks. Knowing the number of birds in your mixed flock will give me a good idea about your evaluation. Thank you.

I currently have 58 chickens (hopefully cutting this number down soon) and they free range my small yard, no large acreage here. Current flock consists of 19 Cream Legbar, 6 Silkies, 6 Marans, 1 Cochin, 21 Barred Rocks, and 5 mixed breeds.

Here are my DDs feeding some of them treats in the front yard