Cream Legbars

[HaplessRunner]

From a strictly Darwinian perspective, broodiness and good motherhood are advantageous traits. If the hens do not go broody with regularity and function as good mothers, the species would eventually die out. The intervention of man for desired traits, e.g., egg and meat production, over other survival traits is really not advantageous to the species. It serves man but not the species.

One wonders if our production egg layers and meat producing birds would survive to continue their species if left upon their own. The answer is not very likely. Some may but most would not.

As 1muttsfan indicates above, you really need to decide what traits you want to propogate, broodiness, motherhood, temperament, form, etc.

 

[normanack]

Luckily my Bad Broodies are hatchery bantam d'Uccles, who are strictly ornamental in my flock (so to speak) with the surprise benefit of being decent layers. The chicks they hurt are/were Cream Legbars who will be laying flock only as their mother lays brown eggs. We have two excellent Silkie mamas.

 

[1muttsfan]

From a strictly Darwinian perspective, broodiness and good motherhood are advantageous traits. If the hens do not go broody with regularity and function as good mothers, the species would eventually die out.

I am sure that in the world of natural selection, this would be true. However, many of the traits we select for lead to birds that would not have a chance of surviving in the wild - calm placid friendly temperament, size, flight ability (or lack thereof), even coloration (such as white) or feathering (such as that of silkies and cochins) can be detrimental to survival. My neighbor gets rabbits every year, keeps them for the summer, then turns them loose in the fall when they get tired of caring for them. They love to come over to my house and move in, as there is always food and shelter available, but by the following summer they are all gone - the dark colored ones get picked off in the winter, and the white ones as soon as spring comes and the snow melts.

 

[HaplessRunner]

I am sure that in the world of natural selection, this would be true. However, many of the traits we select for lead to birds that would not have a chance of surviving in the wild - calm placid friendly temperament, size, flight ability (or lack thereof), even coloration (such as white) or feathering (such as that of silkies and cochins) can be detrimental to survival. My neighbor gets rabbits every year, keeps them for the summer, then turns them loose in the fall when they get tired of caring for them. They love to come over to my house and move in, as there is always food and shelter available, but by the following summer they are all gone - the dark colored ones get picked off in the winter, and the white ones as soon as spring comes and the snow melts.

This was my point, expanded upon, but the same.

 

[mand7503]

could this be a legbar thought she might be a welsummer but at 6 weeks shes developing a crest

 

[sol2go]

<edited quote>
Poor mothers are more likely to raise daughters who poor mothers, and that is true in all species including Homo sapiens. The advent of large-scale farming and incubator raised chicks meant that selecting for parenting skills was no longer important when producing egg layers.

I was sort of scanning articles and thought the next sentence was going to be about '"large scale" ...parenting of people. I had to reread =)

 

[Desert Springs]

could this be a legbar thought she might be a welsummer but at 6 weeks shes developing a crest

Doesn't look like a Welsummer to me.

 

[mand7503]

this is her bout 2 weeks old

 

[lonnyandrinda]

this is her bout 2 weeks old

I'd say you have a Cream Legbar girl on your hands! Congrats, she is lovely!

 

[mand7503]

I'd say you have a Cream Legbar girl on your hands!  Congrats, she is lovely!

oh i do hope so shes very flighty at the minute doesnt really like being handled do they get better with age or are they flighty birds shes with 2 polish chicks the same age and they are quite happy to be picked up