Cream Legbars

[lonnyandrinda]

Yay!

 

[Laingcroft]

Hi everyone! I'm a relatively new member, but long-time lurker here....and due to city ordinances just recently (November) finally allowing up to 6 backyard HENS) I am just starting to get my small flock together. I became interested in Cream Legbars when I first saw a picture of a crested one. I'm not a fan of the "crazy feathered" birds like Polish or Crested this or that, but THESE are beautiful, just something about them.... ANYWAY, when my hubby decided that 2 of our hens MUST lay a colored egg, then I found out that CL's lay blue ones, I almost fell over. This was it! We simply must have 2 of these for our flock. LOL

Congrats on getting the ordinance passed! Richmond is still trying.


However, I have been hitting roadblock after roadblock trying to get 2 pullet chicks, or laying hens... It seems they are only sold in pairs or trios (except for this one website that had females for $45 each!!ack!

I know it's hard to accept the high prices but most of the folks who have laying age hens purchased them as one of a young pair for $399 or more, or like me, purchased them as day old chicks for $99. The price for those day old chicks from Greenfire has come down to $59 and $19 for the cockerels. Prices will eventually go down more if you can be patient. $45 for a purebred hen isn't too bad by comparison, especially if she is ready to lay.

The other difficult part, for me anyway, is that some of the original stock did not have crests and the club has decided that the crest is a key feature of the breed. All three of my foundation chickens do not have crests. That makes the rooster pretty much useless in my breeding program so I am looking for the BEST crested rooster I can find now. To get my crested girls, I had to purchase four shipped hatching eggs. My two foundation hens and two of their daughters with the retired rooster will be used to keep their bloodlines available.

Possibly you, Laingcroft, I don't know where in VA you are, but I am in Chesapeake.... I found someone online selling a trio of chicks for $55...not too bad, I think?

Be careful with purchasing "cheap" CL. Because the pullets look so much like brown leghorns, you might end up with crosses that lay white or very pale blue eggs.

I'm 45 miles west of Richmond so we're a bit far apart. I'm also limited in what I can add to my flock because we are NPIP certified so I can't share a trio. However, I do have one pullet that is NOT crested and NOT suitable for breeding stock, but she is still purebred CL and will lay that beautiful sky blue egg (which is why I was planning to keep her in my layer flock.) If you have your heart set on a CL and don't care about the crest, I could sell her to you for $15, which is a standard price for a POL more common breed pullet. Just need to find a way to get to Richmond area.

If you do have your heart set on crested birds and decide you can stomach the price, there are several chicken swaps out your way at local Tractor Supply stores and a couple of people in the area that have CL. Check out the Pet Chickens of VA group for local listings. Enjoy your flock!

 

[Laingcroft]

so excited, I finally got my first eggs today! 2 pullet eggs... now if I can get them all laying.. and in the nesting box I'll be happy!

 

[farmhand]

Is there a best month to hatch Legbars eggs in the Fall so that your hens are ready to start laying in Spring when they naturally would thereby saving on feed cost? What month do they normally start laying in the spring?

 

[Laingcroft]

You'll probably get as many answers as there are chicken owners owners. LOL!

I'm in central Virginia - Ag zone 7a. We get snow, sleet, ice, in winter and high heat/humidity in summer. My first CL arrived as chicks during March last year and started to lay in early July right up to November. They started laying again at the end of February. I also hatched eggs in November and those pullets are getting ready to lay now.

I personally prefer to hatch early in the year as soon as they start laying. That way I get 1) stock that is genetically predisposed to lay early, and 2) hens that are ready to lay by late spring/early summer rather than briefly in the autumn or not until the following spring.

It can be a real hassle to hatch in Jan/Feb/Mar because the weather is so unpredictable, but I've found with a secure building/barn/coop and heat lamp they do just fine...unless you loose power. Then you have to bring them to a heat source, in our case, inside near the fireplace. That can be unpleasant smell and dust wise.

Spring/Summer is when most people seem to hatch.

 

[ChicKat]

so excited, I finally got my first eggs today! 2 pullet eggs... now if I can get them all laying.. and in the nesting box I'll be happy!

Wooo HOOOO -- -there is nothing like the first eggs...... Congratulations.

 

[CountryFriedChicken]

Just arrived, 4 females and 1 male. 3 weeks of age.

Congratulations - where did you get them from?!

 

[ChicKat]

very nice looking chicks! Congratulations.

 

[1muttsfan]

I hatched fall chicks for the first time, and think I will be doing it more often. They were sturdy enough to winter over well outside, even up here, and will hopefully be laying this spring. Up here early spring chicks will not go outside until they are much older, as we really don't get that great weather until May, and we are lucky if they start laying that year as they mature just as the days get shorter.

 

[Atlantanna]

First pullet egg today! I found it in the bedding when I was catching all of the birds for NPIP testing Woohoo!!!