Cream Legbars

[jesirose]

Are Cream Legbars supposed to be small? I have a trio that just doesn't seem to be growing. All of my other chickens have been double this size at this age - I think they are about 8 weeks, and they're so tiny! My husband asked if they are bantam, but there's not a bantam version of CLs is there? (On the plus side, hubby gets major points for remembering the word "bantam"!)

 

[lonnyandrinda]

Haha yes bonus points for him! I believe flyingmonkeypoop on the west coast is trying to work on a bantam version or will be soon, but for now no they are all large fowl. HOWEVER they are in the "light fowl" category- built more like a leghorn- so if you are comparing them to, say, orpingtons or cochins or marans they will seem small. One lady who bought some from me called the other day saying she felt like they hadn't grown since their 3 week mark. I don't know what to tell her because mine obviously grow. It's really hard to say without seeing them. Care to post a few photos?
Rinda

 

[KPenley]

I find Cream Legbars tiny at hatch and small as they grow, but they definitely do grow! I need to weigh the older ones, to see if they're mostly feathers, but they're definitely bigger than my Silkies, like my Silkies can walk under my spare rooster.

 

[jesirose]

I'll try to get some pics tonight, I thought I had one to add but my pics are all 2 weeks old.

It's possible they're younger than I think too. We have a bunch of 7 week old Marans so I bet they just seem smaller - I feel the same way as that lady, they're the same size they were when I brought them home! I know they eat, I see them eating feed and foraging! The cockerel is very protective of his girls and makes sure they get food! It's actually adorable.

 

[wlhtx]

I will also add that, IME, the boys are slower to start growing than the girls. The first few weeks the boys seem a lot smaller than the girls, but they eventually catch up. (Kinda like humans.)

 

[faykokoWV]

regarding comb size - Dr. Bjorn Netland was just sharing the fact that if raised in cold weather vs hot weather, the combs tend to develop smaller. I doubt there have been any studies on this, but if someone wanted to try a fall hatch and growing the birds out in colder weather to reduce comb size... it certainly wouldn't hurt anything

 

[GaryDean26]

Wasn't it Dr. Bjorn Netland who imported the Norweigen Jaerhons? The name rings a bell. As far a size goes I have seen considerable varriation. My last group of 20-24 week old cockerels varried from 3-1/2 lbs to just over 5 lbs. The 3-1/2 lbs boys look small, the 5 lbs boys look about right. I currently have a CLB pullet and CLB cockerel in a grow out group with 14 Black Copper Marans. I think they are getting close of 3 months old (I will have to ckeck the hatch dates) and the Marans are about twice the sice of the Cream Legbars.

I did a fall grow out group of CLB last year. I swore I wasn't going to grow out chick off season chicks again, but since I didn't have the coop space to do a grow out group of CLB in the Spring, I will be doing another fall grow out group this year. I notice that all the offspring from "Lacy" had small combs last year, all the offspring from Lilly had modest combs, and all the offspring from Robin had large combs. I think that in the wild with natural slection that the comb size would adapt to the climate, but I think where we select for color, eggs size, and other traits that aren't crucial for the survival of the breed that we are fighting again nature's adaptations.

 

[ChicKat]

regarding comb size - Dr. Bjorn Netland was just sharing the fact that if raised in cold weather vs hot weather, the combs tend to develop smaller. I doubt there have been any studies on this, but if someone wanted to try a fall hatch and growing the birds out in colder weather to reduce comb size... it certainly wouldn't hurt anything

Very interesting..............

That would make me want to grow out boys in cold weather - - - - This is something we should track down too!!

 

[Dr Bjorn Netland]

Very interesting..............

That would make me want to grow out boys in cold weather - - - - This is something we should track down too!!

Greetings all! Please note that I don't know whether the comb of the bird will shrink after the bird has been raised in a very warm environment until adulthood and subsequently placed in a much cooler location. However, I do know that birds raised in a cool environment and subsequently placed in a hot environment with fairly poor lighting (in insulated, warm barns), the comb becomes larger (and tends to lop on large single comb cockbirds who had nice, straight combs before the move inside).

Regards,

Bjorn

 

[faykokoWV]

Greetings all! Please note that I don't know whether the comb of the bird will shrink after the bird has been raised in a very warm environment until adulthood and subsequently placed in a much cooler location. However, I do know that birds raised in a cool environment and subsequently placed in a hot environment with fairly poor lighting (in insulated, warm barns), the comb becomes larger (and tends to lop on large single comb cockbirds who had nice, straight combs before the move inside).

Regards,

Bjorn

Thanks for clarifying that!! you are a wealth of information