Cream Legbars

[lonnyandrinda]

I think that is more a single personality trait than a Barred Rock trait. I have one or two Black Copper Marans hens out of about 12 that are much more vocal and "supportive" of their girlfriend's laying, but I would not say Black Copper Marans are an especially loud breed.

That being said, I do feel Cream Legbars are quieter than the average chickens I've had experience with, and I have had hens from 6 or 7 breeds. They are very curious and inquisitive, and I have never had an aggressive hen, rooster or cockerel. Definitely a good people-friendly breed, especially if you can get a young one (under 6 weeks old) and socialize it well.

ETA: I did have a CL hen try to go broody and I thought she was going to take my hand off whenever I took her eggs. LOL. I put her in a broody-breaker cage for 2 days and then she was back to normal (no more psycho hen hehe).

 

[KPenley]

Hi TREX! I think you'll find that CLBs have personalities of their own like all birds, but my girls are pretty quiet. They do sing egg songs, pick up a warning call, and kind of chirp gurgle when we bring treats.

 

[TREX]

Hi TREX! I think you'll find that CLBs have personalities of their own like all birds, but my girls are pretty quiet. They do sing egg songs, pick up a warning call, and kind of chirp gurgle when we bring treats.

Thanks for the info! I don't mind the chirps and gurgles and greetings I get when I come to the door.

Even the occasional egg song is O.k. as long as its not constant like my BR.I know they all make noise and I am o.k,. with that.(Well except for my buff,shes never uttered a peep besides the purring noise they all make sometimes) I hate to give up my BR to tell you the truth but the decibel level and amount of noise she makes is comparible to a rooster sometimes and it doesn't work in tight neighborhoods that well,lol!

 

[TREX]

I think that is more a single personality trait than a Barred Rock trait. I have one or two Black Copper Marans hens out of about 12 that are much more vocal and "supportive" of their girlfriend's laying, but I would not say Black Copper Marans are an especially loud breed.

That being said, I do feel Cream Legbars are quieter than the average chickens I've had experience with, and I have had hens from 6 or 7 breeds. They are very curious and inquisitive, and I have never had an aggressive hen, rooster or cockerel. Definitely a good people-friendly breed, especially if you can get a young one (under 6 weeks old) and socialize it well.

ETA: I did have a CL hen try to go broody and I thought she was going to take my hand off whenever I took her eggs. LOL. I put her in a broody-breaker cage for 2 days and then she was back to normal (no more psycho hen hehe).

Thanks for the response! I hope you're right because I have another BR that seems to be fairly quiet so far. I'd hate for both of them to turn out to be noisy.

I'm holding out hope for her though because she doesn't seem as interested as her sister in the laying of the eggs each morning. It just seems to be the one BR hen that is obsessed with it. If she is locked out of the henhouse while someone else is laying she will fly up to the windows in the back and sit in them and squawk.If the door is open she will go and sit with each hen while they lay and squawk.I do have another hen bought as a high production red laying hen that also has a very loud egg song but the difference is she only sings after she lays and only for a minute or 2.The BR just keeps going and going,lol! Its sad too because she really is a sweet hen,but I'd rather get rid of her and replace with a quieter hen than risk angering the neighbors and have to get rid of my entire flock.

 

[dretd]

I have a question for the legbar fanciers here. I have heard that this breed is docile and quiet and a good chicken for families with children.I am thinking of replacing my BR hen because she is overbearingly loud. ... Thanks for any insights and info you can provide.

Hi TREX

I don't have CL laying hens right now-I have 2 sets of chicks 10 and 4 weeks old. The first two pullet chicks are on the very, very quiet side and I they are still very quiet as they grow out. No peeping from them at hatch which I thought was unusual. Average friendliness. The second two are more chatty pullet and roo. The roo is more vocal but not crowing. Very, very friendly chicks. They all make a charming trilling noise when they bed down as well as the traditional peeps.

If you are looking for other family friendly breeds, hands down my daughter's favorites (these are hens with a track record of being quiet and friendly) are her Brahmas (the most friendly is her Dark) and her Salmon Faverolles (socially awkward with the other chickens but super gentle and sweet). She is liking the Cream Legbars quite a but they are too young for us to give you a final assessment and ranking.

If Colleen could only have one breed of chicken she would choose the Faverolles. Too early to tell if she would change her mind to the Cream Legbars. Good Luck!

 

[sol2go]

I like it, too. Sounds like a whole new area for chicken protection: the spikiest, thorniest plants we can find, all around the perimeter. Hmmm.

In Michigan...maybe roses?!

 

[sol2go]

trex - I was wondering if your BR hen is especially loud because you do not have a rooster? If you do not have a rooster, she may be filling that gap?

 

[TREX]

trex - I was wondering if your BR hen is especially loud because you do not have a rooster? If you do not have a rooster, she may be filling that gap?

I don't have a rooster. Not practical for this area. She doesn't crow though ,she just doubles down on the egg song and keeps it going for as long as possible. She's also not head hen. My red hen seems to be occupying that spot at the moment. Her behavior reminds me more of someone obsessed...Lol!

She has to be in with every hen when they are laying(even before she started laying herself), she has to know what's going on at all times with the nest boxes. When she lays she sings before during and after which my other hens don't do. And sometimes she will just go sit in the nest box and sing even though she has already laid that day. I'm hoping her behavior will improve since she just started laying but I don't know if that is actually going to happen.

 

[1muttsfan]

My CL's are quieter than my other birds. Noisiest? the Maradunna Basques. Not only do the girls sing LOUDLY when they lay, the rooster each time would run over and sing back to them just as loudly. There was no missing the big event! The CL roosters do crow, but not nearly as loudly as the big Basque roos.

I would call them polite, hesitant, not flighty but very cautious. They range well, but when spooked run back into the pen very quickly. The one broody pullet I had was evil incarnate - although she never pecked me, she would expand to double her size and let out a blood-curdling screetch,stalking around wild-eyed when evicted from the nest until allowed back on. Fortunately she broke quickly when moved to a small pen.

 

[CibolaChooks]

My CL's are quieter than my other birds. Noisiest? the Maradunna Basques. Not only do the girls sing LOUDLY when they lay, the rooster each time would run over and sing back to them just as loudly. There was no missing the big event! The CL roosters do crow, but not nearly as loudly as the big Basque roos.

I would call them polite, hesitant, not flighty but very cautious. They range well, but when spooked run back into the pen very quickly. The one broody pullet I had was evil incarnate - although she never pecked me, she would expand to double her size and let out a blood-curdling screetch,stalking around wild-eyed when evicted from the nest until allowed back on. Fortunately she broke quickly when moved to a small pen.

Most all of mine are loud when they lay. It just depends if they are in the mood to sing or not. RIW, cochins, black sex links my CL they all do it. All the males ive ever owned always chime in too.

3 out of the 4 oldest CL hens i have are all broody and on nest. The two are sharing a nest sitting side by side