Cream Legbars

[ManWithChicks]

Can you tell what their color is when they are born? I have 5 females and they all look quite different, some have brown stripes, while some are almost black. Then some have the standard face marking, but others have more spots and a wilder looking face.

 

[Bantambird]

Can you tell what their color is when they are born? I have 5 females and they all look quite different, some have brown stripes, while some are almost black. Then some have the standard face marking, but others have more spots and a wilder looking face.

There is a lot of variety among cream legbar chicks. Gary has done a lot of documenting on chick to adult colors, but I've observed in my own flock that the down doesn't tell me exactly how they will turn out, or even if they are golden crele or cream, but I can tell if it's a legbar chick....

 

[GaryDean26]

Can you tell what their color is when they are born?

The best way to figure all that out is to take photos of the chicks and mark them with toe punches, leg bands, or wing bands then take pictures ever 2-4 weeks as the develope to see how they turn out.

Some people have reported that dorsal stripe on the pullets will be cream if they are cream colored and will be cold if they are gold. That method hasn't worked more me though. I have also seen people report that the tips of the wing feathers on the cockerels will be cream in cream chicks and qold in gold chicks. That hasn't worked for me either.

There may be some tells between the gold and the cream but you will have to figure out through observations what differenced you can and can't see and what works for you.

 

[Bantambird]

So, Esther is going to have to pick out a pullets for the fair. Do you see any standouts?

 

[GaryDean26]

I have three girls that have to pick out birds for the fair. I try to teach them what to look for, but I have never let them take a bird that I wouldn't have choose myself. Last year we saw that there was a youth egg judging contest for 8-18 year old and so we signed up our 8 year old. It turned out it was a meat, poultry, and egg judging contest, but they canceled the egg portion which was the only thing my girl had prepared for. She had to start by identifying internal organs of the chicken, then she had to grade meet, and finally she had to evalute hens to determine which ones were laying and which ones were not. She was confused on the last portion and picked all the hens that looking like they were show quality rather than the hens that looking like they were in production. So...she only placed 2nd place in the contest. the only dozen or so participants were all Highschool FFA students. So...some of what I am trying to teach my daughters must be sticking but to be honest me letting them pick a bird involves me telling them what bird I think is the best and showing them why I think it will judge the best.

So...good luch with your daughter picking out a bird.

Start by eliminating any birds with defects. That would be any hens hens with small crests, any with folded ear lobes, any with high tail angles, Wry tail, split wing, side springs on the comb, etc.

Then I would evaluate them for laying ability. For that you want to compare the length of the back (longer is better). Compare head point (this is still difficult for me after 7 years but you basically want the eyes to be well centered and alert, you want the beak to be short and well curved, and you want good depth to the dead). Check capacity (this is the the distance from the end of the keel bone to the pelvic bones and the longer that distance the better. Typically a good legbar will have 4-5 finger width distance). Check the thickness of the pelvic bones. They should be about 1/4 inch thick on a Legbar. If they are 1-/2 to 1 inch thick they will perform more like a meat bird than a laying breed. If they are thinner than that that is fine, they will be better layers, but they won't be as study around the barn yard and will be more flighty. Also when you are checking the width of the pelvic bone check to see how straight they are. Hens with straight pelvic bones are going have a lot of longevity as layers. I personally don't think I have found a single Legbar that doesn't have curved pelvic bones. It is an area that the breed could use a lot of work in. Take a bird to the fair with straight pelvic bones and the judge should really like the pullet.

Don't forget to look at vigor. Make sure the hen can walk without any difficulty, make sure she has strong wings, a bright red face, good activity levels, etc.

Also pay attention to the bird's conditioning. You should feel along the keel bone and pinch it to see how much meat it has on it. If it is well conditioned the keel bone will be fully covered with flesh but you often will be able to pinch the end with just skin and bone, If you can pinch the bone 1/4 inch down that is one pinch out of condition. If you can pich 1/2 inch down that is two pinches out of condition, 3/4 inch would be three pinches out of condition etc. A hens that is 4 pinches out of condition will be very skinning and in poor health. If the hen is more than 1-2 pinches out of condition then it isn't ready to show and needs to but put on a show feed diet to plumpen up.

After you have going through that and have identified you best hens then you can pich the one that is the closest to the breed standard. I think that I would focus on the tail for you hens. Choose from the ones with their tail angel close to 45 degs that has the widest fan and smoothest transition from the back to the tail.

I light the on in the top of the 2nd photo and the in the last photo for the best tail. She has a smaller crest that I don't like but she doesn't have any folds in her ear lobes, and doesn't have any rings around her eyes so I think even with the smaller crest she would be the one I would choose.

Good luck. I love seeing the youth take poultry to the fair.

 

[aart]

It turned out it was a meat, poultry, and egg judging contest

Yes.
@Bantambird
Knowing the judging criteria before hand would be important.
Sometimes they judge the bird and sometimes it's the handling of the birds by the keeper of the birds that is judged......or both.

 

[Bantambird]

It's 4h, although they have the classes set up weird. Cream legbars fit into the standard, crested, clean legged class. She gets to compete against polishes. It's whatever bird the judge happens to like that day, but for the last few years they have flown an actual APA judge out.

 

[duluthralphie]

It's 4h, although they have the classes set up weird. Cream legbars fit into the standard, crested, clean legged class. She gets to compete against polishes. It's whatever bird the judge happens to like that day, but for the last few years they have flown an actual APA judge out.

Have the show secretary call me...

I will explain why the legbar should never be in the same class as a dome skull breed!!!

Argggggg

 

[Bantambird]

Have the show secretary call me...

I will explain why the legbar should never be in the same class as a dome skull breed!!!

Argggggg

Lololol well, the classes are divided as such: standard or bantam
Crested or not crested
Feather legged or clean legged.
Since cream legbars are technically crested, and clean legged, and standard, that's where they go.
You know what is funny? First time I brought in cream legbars to this particular local fair, they yelled that legbars are not crested because all crested birds look like ridiculous silkies or polishes. I finally convinced the check in lady that it was really a crested chicken. Really.

 

[Bantambird]

Dome skull should be renamed empty skull, poor birds. Their lack of vision makes them helpless idiots, the big crested breeds.