Cream Legbars

[BuffyBugSlayer]

Congratulations! Please share pics hen you have a chance!

Yes, LavenderCrow, please do!

 

[BuffyBugSlayer]

So I had a chance to get some pics of my pullets today. The first two pictures are pullet 1 and 2 and they are both 23 wks old. No eggs yet. The first pullet I believe is gold. She also has a lot of black lacing. But I think she has a nice body type? The second pullet I think is cream? They both have yellowish ear lobes. Any thoughts on either would be appreciated.


The next two pullets are 20 wks. I think the first one is my best pullet. Any thoughts? The second one I think is cream too but I am not entirely sure.

 

[chicken pickin]

@BuffyBugSlayer - I Love your pullets. Im not good with judging birds lol but I will try to write a little about them. They all have some great things about them. First I like that they are more gray in body color than brown or taupe which is nice.

On pullet 1 I like her type from what I can see in the single pic once her breast fills out more she will look very nice. She may be gold its hard to say though my guess would be yes atleast 1 cream gene and 1 gold(again guessing) and she does have lacing that she should not have.

pullet 2 looks cream. I love her barring across her body wings and tail. Most legbar pullets and hens we see are lacking barring across the body and wings or are showing very very subtle barring. She also has nice color. Her breast could be a bit more salmon in my opinion.

pullet 3 looks cream. Im not sure if she is showing barring or lacing. Her markings and coloring seem a little odd. Her back is very U shaped it would be nice to see her with a longer back and lower tail angle.

pullet 4 looks cream. Great coloring. I like her cream hackles and bright salmon breast. She looks like she may have good type though her neck looks short (it might be she is standing funny or the picture angle a little odd).

Pullets 2 and 4 are my favorites.

And also as you mentioned they all are showing yellow/red earlobes which is not great. But over all I like them. Im sure you have already said before but I cant recall, would you mind sharing your source?

 

[BuffyBugSlayer]

Thank you chickin pickin. I appreciate the comments. I got them from a guy named Mark and he lives in Victor, MT. He was advertising on craigslist. I talked to him on a couple of different occasions while getting chicks and he told me that he got his stock from a man in CA.That is pretty much the extent of my information on Mark! These pullets, and the rooster I posted earlier, all came from the same trio he had at the time.

It is funny that number 3 is my favorite pullet but she really does have the worst back and tail angle doesn't she? I also think that the color in the photos that show pullets 3 and 4 are a little washed out. We were really overcast today and sometimes my camera gets a little flat in that kind of lighting. None the less I think the pictures are a pretty accurate representation. I also thought I had a better angle on number 4 but got inside and realized that was the best I had.

So those of you that are breeding...would you breed all 4 or just 2, 3, and 4? I am a little worried about 1's coloration and dark lacing.

Also I got some pictures of the wing triangle of my rooster while he was grooming himself. I still haven't picked them all up and taken wing shots or weighed them but I will at some point.


Does that shed any light on "creamness"?

 

[ChicKat]

Buffy,
I think Chicken pickin gave a really good analysis.
Your pullet 2 has the best tail back and wing barring I have ever seen in a pullet - and I'm not sure if that is what Punnett and the standard meant - I think that maybe that is too much of a good thing.... we just don't know a lot of things we need to know about our CLs.

IMO your pullet 4 is the best example of a CL as I understand the SOP. The gray is definite - a bit warm - and the breast is the correct salmon. I think you have a winner there for a match to SOP as I understand it.

 

[chicken pickin]

Buffy,
I think Chicken pickin gave a really good analysis.
Your pullet 2 has the best tail back and wing barring I have ever seen in a pullet - and I'm not sure if that is what Punnett and the standard meant - I think that maybe that is too much of a good thing.... we just don't know a lot of things we need to know about our CLs.

IMO your pullet 4 is the best example of a CL as I understand the SOP. The gray is definite - a bit warm - and the breast is the correct salmon. I think you have a winner there for a match to SOP as I understand it.

Agreed. The barring on pullet 2 might be a little to "loud" SOP does call for soft barring. And I also agree that pullet 4, like you said, is a good representation of the SOP.

 

[chicken pickin]

Thank you chickin pickin. I appreciate the comments. I got them from a guy named Mark and he lives in Victor, MT. He was advertising on craigslist. I talked to him on a couple of different occasions while getting chicks and he told me that he got his stock from a man in CA.That is pretty much the extent of my information on Mark! These pullets, and the rooster I posted earlier, all came from the same trio he had at the time.

It is funny that number 3 is my favorite pullet but she really does have the worst back and tail angle doesn't she? I also think that the color in the photos that show pullets 3 and 4 are a little washed out. We were really overcast today and sometimes my camera gets a little flat in that kind of lighting. None the less I think the pictures are a pretty accurate representation. I also thought I had a better angle on number 4 but got inside and realized that was the best I had.

So those of you that are breeding...would you breed all 4 or just 2, 3, and 4? I am a little worried about 1's coloration and dark lacing.

Also I got some pictures of the wing triangle of my rooster while he was grooming himself. I still haven't picked them all up and taken wing shots or weighed them but I will at some point.


Does that shed any light on "creamness"?

This would be just a guess without seeing actual open wing pictures. But looking at your cockerel over all he seems to have a bit of ginger/chestnut in the saddle area and also to his shoulders and hackles that to me sometimes makes me think gold. Then when I look over the wing triangle to my eyes on my computer screen when I enlarge the photos I can see faint brownish smudges in the wing triangle. I would venture to guess he carries gold. Open wing shots would give you your best answer.

 

[BuffyBugSlayer]

Thanks for the input chickat and added input chicken pickin. First, I am really happy that they are decent looking pullets. I am proud of them and I didn't even breed them!

I think there is gold in my rooster's wing as well. I know I have been reading of late that the spread wings are a good indicator of cream vs gold but I am not sure why. Is there something about the wing color/feathers that the over-all color of the bird doesn't offer? Or is it that even if the bird appears to be cream (lacking gold) that the wing feathers may tell a different story?

And another question...since my rooster is related to my pullets (siblings) it is probably best practice to find another less related rooster to breed them to, correct? I think I will hold onto the one I have though as he may come in handy in the future. What is the best way to find a good rooster? From people here on the forum?

 

[chicken pickin]

Thanks for the input chickat and added input chicken pickin. First, I am really happy that they are decent looking pullets. I am proud of them and I didn't even breed them!

I think there is gold in my rooster's wing as well. I know I have been reading of late that the spread wings are a good indicator of cream vs gold but I am not sure why. Is there something about the wing color/feathers that the over-all color of the bird doesn't offer? Or is it that even if the bird appears to be cream (lacking gold) that the wing feathers may tell a different story?

And another question...since my rooster is related to my pullets (siblings) it is probably best practice to find another less related rooster to breed them to, correct? I think I will hold onto the one I have though as he may come in handy in the future. What is the best way to find a good rooster? From people here on the forum?

From what we have gathered the wing coloration on the rooster is the "tell" when it comes to knowing if he is cream or not. The wing on a cream male will show only gray and white no other added color. See pic below of my cream males wing(gray and white no color smudges)


And here is the wing of my first CL male he was gold (notice the goldish brown smudges)


As for your other question, breeding brother to sister is not ideal though some work with what they have. If possible try to track down a good source of CL from someone who knows the breed and knows what to be breeding them towards. Here on these CL threads on BYC is a great place to start you can also check out the breeder directory on the Cream Legbar Club website http://www.creamlegbarclub.com/ You are right to still hang on to this cockerel also he may come in handy at some point.

 

[BuffyBugSlayer]

Thank you! I did become a member of the club and I had forgotten about the directory.