Cream Legbars

[Laingcroft]

What are willow toes?

It is a greenish cast on the yellow skin of shanks/feet. I don 't know where it comes from genetically but it matures completely yellow.

 

[enola]

I learn something new every day!

 

[normanack]

Heathcliff's first batch of offspring at a little over a week old. Some are just beginning to show the down lift bump where crests will come in. Four cockerels and seven pullets. Decent hatch rate though I think I have to adjust my incubator - two pipped but never zipped, two zipped but never hatched and one blood ring. Some of the pullets had willow toes....weird.

If anyone has information on what issues might cause pip-but-no-zip or zip-but-no-hatch, I'd love to know.

 

[Ashdoes]

Thank you all for making me feel better.
Does anyone know why my eggs are having this sideways air cell? I store them pointy end down, so not sure what the issue is. It's making me crazy though. I have five in the incubator right now like that, waiting to see if they even hatch. They are all developing normally.

 

[enola]

Some people claim zip but no hatch is caused by humidity problems. But, I am not so sure...... when I have an incubator full of eggs and all of them pip, zip and hatch right on schedule, but one or two just lose momentum and don't hatch, I wonder if it is just the first sure sign of failure to thrive. For that reason, I do not help chicks hatch.

 

[CibolaChooks]

A greenish cast to the yellow skin.   Don't know where it comes from but they will mature completely yellow.

I have some that have 1/4% RIW in them. Some have perfect female coloration. The only way i can tell them apart is they have that greenish tint to their legs

 

[DCchicken]

It is a greenish cast on the yellow skin of shanks/feet. I don 't know where it comes from genetically but it matures completely yellow.

It depends upon the breed. Some breeds like Marsh Daisy have shanks that start yellow and turn willow when mature. It's actually considered a defect if the legs turn any color other than willow. I will have to see if I can dig up what gene causes the willow color, but I would think you would not want to breed any CL that start willow.

 

[TherryChicken]

My hens are still not laying well. I domt know whats going on. Out of 5 hens I will get 2 eggs a day to every other day. In three days I got 6 eggs. Im not sure on how to get the others to lay. Atleast one more, im thinking they dont like the housing, but I cant afored another coop nor buy materials to build again. Im trying to see if anyone would trade for some of my fertile eggs, but not going well. I dont have much to trade, they are my money makers

 

[GaryDean26]

I have learned all about willow legs from breeding Basque Hens. The shank color is created by a combination of both the epidermis color (color of the outside layer of the skin) and the endodermis (color of the inside layer of skin).

The choices for the outer layer of Skin are White or Yellow. White Being dominant.

The choices for the inner layer of the skin are clear (no melonizers) or black (melonized).

White + Clear = While legs
Yellow + Clear = Yellow Legs
White + Black = blue/slate legs
Yellow + Black = Willow legs

Now to complicate thinks a bit, the barring gene is a dilutor of the memorizers that can be found in the inner skin layer, so barred birds will have a lighter color leg than their non-barred counterpart (yes the double Barring does more diluting than single barring).

The melonizer in the under skin is also sex linked, so pullet only carry one melonizer and the cockerel carry two. Double factor cockerels will have darker legs that pullets (unless he is also double diluted from the barring gene then????)

Oh...the e-locus (primary color pattern) also plays into the color of the shanks. For example an extended black bird will have slate legs with the white skin and black under color, while a wild type bird will have blue legs.

So... if you are getting willow it means that the recessive melonizers are showing up in you Legbars. This will show in the hens with just one recessive melonizer in the under skin since it is sex- linked. It would require a double factor for the cockerels to get willow shanks, so your cockerel can have yellow shanks and be a carrier for the recessive melonizer. The willow at hatch changing to yellow later on are most likely carriers for the cockerels and for the hens they barring or other dilutor must be canceling it out or something along those lines.

 

[DCchicken]

I have learned all about willow legs from breeding Basque Hens. The shank color is created by a combination of both the epidermis color (color of the outside layer of the skin) and the endodermis (color of the inside layer of skin).

The choices for the outer layer of Skin are White or Yellow. White Being dominant.

The choices for the inner layer of the skin are clear (no melonizers) or black (melonized).

White + Clear = While legs
Yellow + Clear = Yellow Legs
White + Black = blue/slate legs
Yellow + Black = Willow legs

Now to complicate thinks a bit, the barring gene is a dilutor of the memorizers that can be found in the inner skin layer, so barred birds will have a lighter color leg than their non-barred counterpart (yes the double Barring does more diluting than single barring).

The melonizer in the under skin is also sex linked, so pullet only carry one melonizer and the cockerel carry two. Double factor cockerels will have darker legs that pullets (unless he is also double diluted from the barring gene then????)

Oh...the e-locus (primary color pattern) also plays into the color of the shanks. For example an extended black bird will have slate legs with the white skin and black under color, while a wild type bird will have blue legs.

So... if you are getting willow it means that the recessive melonizers are showing up in you Legbars. This will show in the hens with just one recessive melonizer in the under skin since it is sex- linked. It would require a double factor for the cockerels to get willow shanks, so your cockerel can have yellow shanks and be a carrier for the recessive melonizer. The willow at hatch changing to yellow later on are most likely carriers for the cockerels and for the hens they barring or other dilutor must be canceling it out or something along those lines.

Thanks. You just helped me clear up a mystery as to why one of my Marsh Daisy pullets has slate legs. Sorry about talking about my Marsh Daisy. Let's get back to Cream Legbars.