Cream Legbars

[duluthralphie]

I'm setting my 10 cream legbar eggs this afternoon. I'm soooo excited!!

Are blue eggs harder to candle?

Good Luck. I have no trouble candling mine with just a LED flashlight.

Make sure you candle them before setting, look for porous shells, and mark the air sacs. If I do not mark them, because of their shape I end up putting an air sac on the bottom. Sounds stupid but it happens, the pointy end is not always the end you think it is.

 

[FarmerMac]

Hello, need help verifying the sex of this little guy. I bought some CCL eggs and this is the only one that made it from those eggs. I thinks is a boy since it does not have the chipmunk marks on the head. It has a small white dot. Any advise is appreciated.

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

Hello, need help verifying the sex of this little guy. I bought some CCL eggs and this is the only one that made it from those eggs. I thinks is a boy since it does not have the chipmunk marks on the head. It has a small white dot. Any advise is appreciated.

Boy. (At least that's my vote). White dot on head, light ring around eye with no eyeliner, and blurry markings on back.

- Ant Farm

 

[duluthralphie]

No doubt it is a boy..

Hello, need help verifying the sex of this little guy. I bought some CCL eggs and this is the only one that made it from those eggs. I thinks is a boy since it does not have the chipmunk marks on the head. It has a small white dot. Any advise is appreciated.

There is nothing on this one to even hint towards girl.

 

[ChicKat]

Boy. (At least that's my vote). White dot on head, light ring around eye with no eyeliner, and blurry markings on back.

- Ant Farm

x2

 

[RonoKT]

How does the growth of crested legbars compare to traditional dual purpose breeds? Mine seem to be growing faster than any of my other breeds of the same age; rocks, Sussex, marans.
They have feathered faster than any others, which I expected, but they also seem to be quite a hit heavier. Does this slow down? Does anyone raise their cockerels for the table?

 

[ChicKat]

My cockerels didn't crow till 12 weeks or so I guess..... but they have made up for lost time. They are holy terrors right now with hormones raging. They are mean to the CL hens and mean to the older flock hens. I have three and they help each other be mean. They will all gang up on a hen. My CL pullets don't want to go in the coop at night and be in a no-escape situation. I have to pick out one or possibly two to keep..... but I am not sure I want to keep any. I have written before about what I like and don't like about them. I hope to get some pictures and ask for everyone's help here. I know it won't be long before they realize they can take on my Ameraucana flock rooster. He is small but he is mighty. They are 22 weeks They still give me a wide berth and show no aggression towards me.

That's awful! I hate males that abuse the females....... even raise my eyebrows when it isn't abuse but just being over amorous. Unless there is something stunning about them - I would trade them in for one that is good to females. period.

And understand that is just my view -- and each of the CLs that I have are very good to the females that they are with (to a fault) so it is easy from my perspective to say that. Two of the males -- not so friendly to humans. So bear in mind that is just me. only one of my Legbar males here is particularly human-friendly (will eat out of my hand)--- He isn't quite as smart as my Isbar male who has now trained me to bring a handfull of scratch to the corner of the pen when he jumps up on a diagonal roost there. I never knew before him that a chicken could train a human.

My Isbar and mixed females do try to hide from the Isbar male -- but I think that is just because he is so much larger than they are. He is so stunning and people friendly -- but only one pullet will hang out with him all day long. Perhaps that is something with my chickens.

Funny thing if the male is particularly good to the females in the CL line -- but I can't trust him with people and have to keep an eye on him -- I would be more likely to give him a pass... (since his job is toward the hens- as protector, and chick fathering -- IMO)

--- Once had a friend's EE roo that killed one of her females or perhaps two (so she rehomed him with me) -- and he terrified my "Ideal-236' - and would have killed her if he hadn't been jailed for the short remainder of his life.

My babies are really early crowers - ant farm -- lucky you! -- I had one crow at 1-week old in the brooder. Of course you have to be there for the moment, and it almost sounds more like the chick is in pain and got a foot caught under a leg of the heater or something -- it sounds like a screech -- but it does coinside with when the big boys start crowing outdoors. It is really kind of comical to see a little tyke like that crow.

 

[ChicKat]

How does the growth of crested legbars compare to traditional dual purpose breeds? Mine seem to be growing faster than any of my other breeds of the same age; rocks, Sussex, marans.
They have feathered faster than any others, which I expected, but they also seem to be quite a hit heavier. Does this slow down? Does anyone raise their cockerels for the table?

Because of too many males, or a male that is mean -- I have processed several for eating, I find them good, very lean though (which I prefer) -- less plump than I would expect a true dual purpose breed to be. Processed some hatchery barred rocks some years ago that I had An apples and oranges comparision though -- they were old hens and these are young or mature males -- but I prefer the Legbar taste to grocery-store chickens.

Chicken pickin here on BYC had put up some photos of chickens she had prepared and they looked really good.

For me their growing rate seems about the same as other breeds. You may have a very vigorous strain of CLs. :O) I've only had 7 other breeds though over the years that I have had chickens and several of those I got at POL....so hopefully some others will weigh in with their comparisons.

 

[RonoKT]

Out of 10 batches of shipped eggs, I have had my best hatch rate (4/6) from these birds. They are also my favourite personalities, so I have wondered if they are just a great production line. There is a lot of variation in colouration between them so they are certainly not standard bred.

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

Quote:
Yes, I knew your boys crowed early, and as Dumbledore is from you, no surprise his sons do as well. Perhaps they were crowing even earlier and I missed it. The two that are crowing also have the matching pink-ing up of their combs.

They are doing so well and are so happy and lovely (despite being a little too cramped in the brooder - I'm working on their outdoor home tractor this weekend). Paula's babies (boys and girls) are all the most friendly and bold - just like their mother (must be hereditary). The poor auto sexing girls from her are going into hybrid/layer pens (not the CL pen), so I can ensure the pure CLs in my yard will always clearly autosex. None of her boys will be kept for the CL breeding for the same reason. I just set 8 of Lissa's eggs yesterday... Excited about that, as she is the best looking one, most saturated eggs, and at least so far, has been most Marek's resistant (still relatively well). Dumbledore is doing fine, no signs.

Interesting update. Dumbledore continues to be an amazing and solicitous rooster for his girls, but as you warned me might happen, he has started to make threatening "runs" at me through the wire when I walk by the coop, though when I stop to face the coop, he walks away, no attacks on me directly. But my great big Naked Neck rooster, Severus Snape, does the same thing to a lesser extent when I'm in their coop (and he is also a wonderful and solicitous rooster). I try to pay attention, and it almost always is when I am somehow near one of the girls and my intentions aren't clear (Dumbledore is I think warning me to be careful in general, but I think he's still a bit hypervigilent since the attack. I wonder if he stops when he recognizes me, rather than a large moving shape.) Snape sometimes gently taps me on the back of the leg gently, like "I'm watching you", when I'm with the girls (he could easily rip a pretty big hole back there). As long as I can still effectively take care of them, and can figure out how to avoid setting them off in a way that I get attacked (which has not actually happened with anyone), I am happy to have them protecting their girls. I see it as them doing their job, essentially. If they begin to become unreasonable/neurotic about it, then I will reconsider, if for no other reason than the fact that I need to be able to change food and water safely.

- Ant Farm