Hi all, I'm new here, but not new to chickens. I've 4 chickens, but 2 are Cream Legbars I bought together as eggs from My Pet Chicken. Both are hens, about 2 1/2 years now.
Health, housing, feed are good: A handful of worms for a breakfast treat, they all free range on pretty barren land, so I supplement with kale for greens when it's on clearance at the market. They have oyster shell free choice, and a basic balanced lay pellet. No scraps other than weeds or greens because there's really nothing for them to scavenge in their area. (New house, no landscaping yet)
One hen has a lighter color face and neck feathers, the other hen has a darker face and neck. Both have floppy combs, same body coloring, and white ears. The lighter hen is friendly, personable, and lays pretty consistently all year except for the darkest days of winter.
The darker hen remains very standoffish even today and won't be bribed with worms. Her comb and wattles are suspiciously roo looking. She has grown very long spurs, and does her best to crow in the morning. She also is prone to laying shell-less eggs, most often while still asleep on the roost, as I find them splatted below in the morning. One day she dropped an egg while walking around and didn't even seem to notice. Every now and then she lays a 'proper' egg in a nest, but it's pretty random when she will grace me with a hard shell egg.
Given the spurs, crowing, and odd laying problems, I kind of wonder if the genetics of this breed aren't too stable. Has anyone else had this problem? Could it be the source, or the breed? I would love to hear your thoughts.
