Cream Legbars

[GaryDean26]

The girls' eggs continue to get a bit bigger over time. Question - at what age do they general settle into their "final" egg size?




- Ant Farm

Quote:

Here is a typical egg size curve vs. age of the hen.

I put in actual egg sizes from a Cream Legbars pullet that some one else provided egg weights on.


My current flock of 9 CLB pullets started laying laying at 20-24 weeks and as of yesterday's weigh-ins I am getting eggs form 54-58 grams (at 30-34 weeks old) so my flock would be more like the curve below. Egg size could continue to in crease for a year or more. Egg size also has to do with diet and time of year. The spring months (March/April) are when you typically see the largest eggs and hens that are well conditioned and health lay larger eggs that hens that are missing a vitamin or mineral from their diet or aren't getting the right proteins, etc.

 

[goldie1234]

Here is one of my girls! She's about 13 weeks old. What do you think? She has s dark crest. The other girl has w much lighter crest. She was hiding!

 

[ChicKat]

Here is one of my girls! She's about 13 weeks old. What do you think? She has s dark crest. The other girl has w much lighter crest. She was hiding!

 

[tdhenson86]

Quote:
Thank you, Kathy! I appreciate that! He's a handsome guy. I can't wait to see him fill out over the next 6 months or so and see his offspring.

Lovely Roo!

I'll take skittish over aggressive any day! I hope my boys don't grow up aggressive. So far so good, but I don't mess with them much. I just put down two English Orp cockerels for being mean. Mean roosters make it not fun having chickens.

Thank you! He's a sweet little cockerel.

 

[tdhenson86]

Quote:
Thanks for sharing! I'm definitely finding that the "Cream" color is not the golden toast color that some get in their saddle feathers, but more of a buttery color. It's not white either. The challenge is breeding for "dark gray barring" like the standard calls for in the breast while also keeping the cream in the hackles and saddles. Each generation of Legbars, I learn something new and am really enjoying the challenge.

 

[MamaKitty913]

Great shot - and great run! I love your set up from what I see! Oh, Robin is so lovely!!!! She's Momma to my Dumbledore, so I'm a little biased. Dumbledore (Robin x Ice, if I recall correctly) has been an AMAZING flock cockerel so far - very sweet, protective, and polite with the three girls. I couldn't be happier with him, not only his lovely looks but also his attitude and behavior. He's only... what, 6 or 7 months old? But he's the oldest boy out there, and I'm letting the CL mini-flock range in a large paddock all day unsupervised (as well as the 12-week-old Naked Necks and the 12-week-old freezer-bound frat boy New Hampshires). Large predators are excluded, but aerial ones are around, and I feel so much more secure at work knowing he's out there with them all, ready to sound the alarm, and if all three of his pullets aren't foraging together, he goes back and forth between them to make sure they're supervised - he takes his job very seriously. He has a very musical crow, only in mornings at sun-up and the occasional afternoon when the mood strikes him, and he's been giving "singing lessons" from afar to my largest and only crowing Naked Neck, Mr. Smith (half his age, almost twice his weight, VERY intimidating boy! He wins staring contests with me!) - I wake up to this hysterical "call-and-response" between Dumbledore's lovely song and a strangled kazoo sound - but Mr. Smith is getting better (under Dumbledore's tutelage - "No, it's like THIS..."). We've talked about this before, and this is only an "n" of one, but I have been SO happy with him as the leader of this little flock - so glad he didn't end up in the freezer!!! - Ant Farm Edit to add for interest a photo of Mr. Smith, aka Bane, on patrol - I think Dumbledore is teaching how to protect a flock from across the fence line. He's heterozygous for the naked gene, which is why he has such a big muff in front. His rose comb (not standard, probably due to a cross) makes him look especially menacing, but despite being twice the weight of the pullets in with them, he's very restrained. Weighed him yesterday - like picking up a bowling ball...)

Great birds! If you hadn't named kim already he could have been... The Donald (Trump) "It's not a toupee" lol

 

[rossfam06]

On the topic of mean roosters, my Legbar roosters have never been aggressive. The adult roos I have tend to be very skittish, but this little cockerel (6 months old) lets me pick him up and even let me get really close to take pictures. He was so good and just stood there. I think chickens are a lot like people in that they all have their own personalities.

Mine is super terrible. He chases my kids and attacks me everytime I go in the coop. I just hatched some other cockerels, so he is going to be dinner.....I want to breed him but my hubby does not want to wait until we find a female. This is what he looks like We'll my phone is being stupid and it won't let me upload a photo. I will try again latter.

 

[henless]

Mine is super terrible. He chases my kids and attacks me everytime I go in the coop. I just hatched some other cockerels, so he is going to be dinner.....I want to breed him but my hubby does not want to wait until we find a female.

This is what he looks like

I would get rid of him and get a new one. Having to watch your back all the time takes the fun out of chickens. Not to mention the danger.

I don't want a bad roo at my house. My granddaughter likes to help me feed & gather eggs. I wouldn't let her while I had my 2 English Orp cockerels around. I'm glad I finally culled them, now she helps me almost every day. I'm new to raising chickens, but I'm sure they are like any other animal. Bad attitude can/will be passed to offspring. I'd rather have to start over with new cockerels then to pass on mean genes.

Good luck with your new cockerels. Hopefully they will have a much better attitude along with some good looks.

 

[rossfam06]

I would get rid of him and get a new one. Having to watch your back all the time takes the fun out of chickens. Not to mention the danger.

I don't want a bad roo at my house. My granddaughter likes to help me feed & gather eggs. I wouldn't let her while I had my 2 English Orp cockerels around. I'm glad I finally culled them, now she helps me almost every day. I'm new to raising chickens, but I'm sure they are like any other animal. Bad attitude can/will be passed to offspring. I'd rather have to start over with new cockerels then to pass on mean genes.

Good luck with your new cockerels. Hopefully they will have a much better attitude along with some good looks. 

That's what I said but a friend of mine says that he has great coloring ....so to breed him once would be good for color.

What do you guys think of his color??

 

[KPenley]

That's what I said but a friend of mine says that he has great coloring ....so to breed him once would be good for color.

What do you guys think of his color??

Is your goal variety cream or gold? The cream standard description is on the www.creamlegbarclub.com site, and the gold standard should be released soon (same shape, but more solid red in the shoulder and gold and gray barred coloring alongside the gray barring). Your Cock looks like an inbetweener (most likely lacking one copy of cream Ig/ig since his shoulder appears solid red and there is such a big difference between the upper hackles and the saddle). The good news is that you could easily breed offspring in either direction in just one generation! Pair him with cream hens for cream offspring (cull the 50% gold or in-between offspring) or pair him with gold hens for gold colored offspring (you will have to watch for recessive cream popping up down the road for a few generations).

Just a warning in terms of temperament. Cocks produce 9/10 cockerels with similar temperaments to their own. Some breeders prefer feisty Cocks because they are great protectors while free ranging. Others prefer calm birds because there are often children nearby. Best wishes with your birds!