Cream Legbars

[sol2go]

I sadly just lost my little Cream Legbar, Angel, this evening. She was such a fun, curious girl. She was my favorite. She was just 11 months old (I got her when she was about 5 months because i wanted blue eggs) and had never laid an egg. Don't know if that had anything to do with her death, but I'm going to see if I can get her up to UC Davis for a necropsy. We tried everything and three trips to the vet over the last 7 days to try to save her, but couldn't. I would like to get at least one more Cream Legbar, someday. But not anytime soon. I started with four chickens, all acquired within the last 10 months, and now I'm down to only 2. At the moment I have to admit I'm feeling like a bit of a failure as a chicken mom. I'm loving seeing the pictures on this thread, though!

Hi, sorry for your loss. The early losses always felt like the worst, because there seems to be so many unknowns. If you can figure out that you don't have any residual problems in the remainder of your flock, your flock will probably be happier if it is a little bigger (encouraging you to get a few more CL =)

I also use the UC Davis labs, just wanted to make sure you know you can ship them. Also, triple bag the hen and put her in the refrigerator until you can ship or deliver her; not the freezer. In my case, it always seems like they die right before a long weekend but I have learned if you cool them off right away, they are in pretty good shape even if you have to keep them around for 3 days.
If you need any information, just send me a pm.

Hope you get some good news and better results in the long run.

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

Week Two:

Khaleesi: 01.9 Ounces - Curtis Hale line

^ Please excuse my dog being a creeper. He loves baby chicks.. perhaps a little too much.
Anyways, I absolutely love the little crest forming on this one! It's so adorable!

Eden: 01.5 Ounces - Jill Rees line

^ This one is much more tame than the other one. I like it's coloring more as I'm hoping it turns out to be more silver.

So cute! You're reminding me that I need to weigh my CL girls. (They hate it, so I tend to put it off...)

One of the benefits of weighing them regularly and tracking it is also to confirm their health - I have struggled with what feed to use for my (picky) girls and they were a touch underweight, finally I switched to Layena and added Rooster Booster wormer. By looking at them, they've picked up in growth and their feathers are certainly in better shape and softer/shinier - but the scale doesn't lie, so I need to check that out. My little (non-CL) chicks are getting weighed every week - they hate it, too, but they'll be used to it. I just need to get in the habit of weighing these older girls (and Dumbledore).


- Ant Farm

 

[Red Banks]

I sadly just lost my little Cream Legbar, Angel, this evening. She was such a fun, curious girl. She was my favorite. She was just 11 months old (I got her when she was about 5 months because i wanted blue eggs) and had never laid an egg. Don't know if that had anything to do with her death, but I'm going to see if I can get her up to UC Davis for a necropsy. We tried everything and three trips to the vet over the last 7 days to try to save her, but couldn't. I would like to get at least one more Cream Legbar, someday. But not anytime soon. I started with four chickens, all acquired within the last 10 months, and now I'm down to only 2. At the moment I have to admit I'm feeling like a bit of a failure as a chicken mom. I'm loving seeing the pictures on this thread, though!

I am sorry you lost your hen. Don't get discouraged.

 

[ChicKat]

Just wanted to share that we went to the Utah Fancy Poultry Association show yesterday and there were only 2 Cream Legbars - a hen and a roo. (ChicKat only 2 isbars, too) I took some pics.

Thanks iPickYupik -- that is really interesting to see. They both are showing a lot of dark plumage -- and that seems IMO unaddressed by the SOP. The melanin or eumelanine to be more correct makes them dark -- and my line seems to have a lot -- but they also have a lot of light making for high contrast. . -- And lighting is a factor as well.

Both look like nice 'type' chickens to my eye -- with long backs and rather low tail angles.

The cockerel -- based on his 'leggy' appearance looks quite young...just not in his stride as of yet, has some maturing to do - to be his true self -- but I'm glad that he was put into the show..... He reminds me in a lot of ways of the male that was presented at the London Dairy show in 1947 (we have no color photo but a B&W is on the club's website, in the Breed Guide which you can get to by clicking the item second from the bottom in the navigation bar -- right above 'site map'. )

You didn't say if they were yours.... hmmmm---- They have some good qualities from what I can see in the pictures... Nice yellow legs, nice white earlobes... and the males comb although large appears even and upright.and is that a count of 6-points and they have the broad base and narrow evenly spaced top. The male would be better if his barring was more definite.... Could be my monitor -- or my eyes but it is difficult to see definite barring in his tail and his breast/underside. -- If he were to lack a barring gene -- his chicks would be more difficult to autosex.

There's a lot of "buttery" coloring on the neck areas of these, with some brown/chestnut around the heads (forgive my ignorance not using correct color descriptions or anatomic feather locations). Two of my pullets (Lissa and Jenny) have a lot of this coloring at about 21 weeks - they've always had that buttery background not he necks, and as they continue to grow, there is a bit more brown/chestnut starting to appear in the grey crests and on the face. Could someone remind me of how this is viewed in the SOP? (Not that I don't think my girls are gorgeous anyway, just curious, seeing these at a show.)

- Ant Farm

Here is some color info from the Breed Guide that was put together by Lou -
Cream Legbar Colors
Male - 9 mandated colors listed in SOP

COLOR​

LOCATION

Bright Red

comb, wattles, face

Yellow

beak, legs, toes

Reddish Bay

eyes

Enamel White

earlobes

Cream

head, crest, neck hackle, covert tips, outer web of secondaries, back, saddles

Gray

head, crest, neck hackle, coverts, secondaries, tail evenly barred

Dark Gray

wings, back barring, saddle barring, breast-evenly barred, front of neck

Light Gray

outer web of secondaries

Silver Gray

undercolor of all sections
Male - 2 permitted colors listed in SOP

Chestnut

crest, shoulder, back and wing fronts and bows

White

wing primaries, sickles/coverts

Female - 9 Mandated colors listed in the SOP


Bright Red

comb, wattles, face

Yellow

beak, legs, toes

Reddish Bay

eyes

Enamel White

earlobes

Cream

head, crest, hackles, secondaries

Gray

back, head,crest, neck, primaries, secondaries

salmon

breast, front of neck

Silver-Gray

undercolor of all sections and body fluff. wings fronts bays coverts, main tail and coverts

Lighter Gray

outer web of secondaries
Female - 1 permitted color


chestnut

crest

Note: secondaries on male wings should be gray and white barred, this is one indication of Cream plumage. The new SOP version adds Cream to the secondaries (gray, white and cream barred).
also - IF the male has a white earlobe, and the hackles and saddles are the same as the earlobe then they are white.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here are the London Dairy Show picts:

We don't know since these are from 1947 - how they may be overly dark or overly light with the passage of time -- but overall -- the barring is more prominent in the cock-bird, and hackles probably showing less melanin... so for those of us with dark blacks predominating in places can select for lighter birds in future... One other historic picture we have of a Legbar from UK is this guy -- who has a very upright stance...

looks very leggy, and does show a lot of darkness on the breast -- probably chestnut there on the wings -- He may be a gold legbar -- but that one tail sickle looks almost solid black in that photo and the barring on his legs is very indistinct. -- could be photo age and lighting.....

Nice white earlobe that pops -- and to my eye -- all these pictures share a long back in common..... That is something I'm working on with my flock -- longer backs!
Nice picts. Thanks again for sharing them.

 

[ChicKat]

So cute! I love the dog photobomb!

x2

 

[ChicKat]

I went back today. These two ended up doing well in the show.

Bravo -- now doesn't that just show that someone at that show has a great eye and good taste in selecting winning chickens!! ;O) Good to know~

 

[ChicKat]

I sadly just lost my little Cream Legbar, Angel, this evening. She was such a fun, curious girl. She was my favorite. She was just 11 months old (I got her when she was about 5 months because i wanted blue eggs) and had never laid an egg. Don't know if that had anything to do with her death, but I'm going to see if I can get her up to UC Davis for a necropsy. We tried everything and three trips to the vet over the last 7 days to try to save her, but couldn't. I would like to get at least one more Cream Legbar, someday. But not anytime soon. I started with four chickens, all acquired within the last 10 months, and now I'm down to only 2. At the moment I have to admit I'm feeling like a bit of a failure as a chicken mom. I'm loving seeing the pictures on this thread, though!

So very sorry you lost her after nearly a year.

No one ever warns you of the pain that comes with chicken keeping when you loose them. Like Sol2Go & Redbanks said do't get too discouraged -- chickens do have a way of dying on you........-- I hope when you are ready that you will consider getting another CL. Good for you getting the necropsy. -- If you don't mind, let us know what they tell you - once you find out.

 

[iPickYupik]

ChicKat, not mine but I couldn't resist sharing. . I still only have the one sweetheart I hatched from you. Maybe I'll get to put her in the spring show!

 

[KPenley]

There's a lot of "buttery" coloring on the neck areas of these, with some brown/chestnut around the heads (forgive my ignorance not using correct color descriptions or anatomic feather locations). Two of my pullets (Lissa and Jenny) have a lot of this coloring at about 21 weeks - they've always had that buttery background not he necks, and as they continue to grow, there is a bit more brown/chestnut starting to appear in the grey crests and on the face. Could someone remind me of how this is viewed in the SOP? (Not that I don't think my girls are gorgeous anyway, just curious, seeing these at a show.)

- Ant Farm

ChicKat's chart is a great quick reference guide! Brown is not ideal in the Cream Variety of Legbars, as the head should be gray and cream, but some chestnut is allowed in the crest of the hens (and it's not going to get your bird DQ'd or anything). Even if your birds are not perfect, and none are, I would encourage everyone to show as much as you can for both the experience and to get the word out about Legbars!

 

[ChicKat]

ChicKat, not mine but I couldn't resist sharing.

. I still only have the one sweetheart I hatched from you. Maybe I'll get to put her in the spring show!

That will be good! -- and we need to work on getting that one sweetheart some CL buddies. ;O)

ETA - so glad that you posted those picts. It's nice to see CL cages with blue ribbons isn't it?