Crested Cream Legbar rooster...what to cross with??

[ChickFlick123]

Hi! My CL rooster is finally grown and has just started fertilizing eggs. He is the only rooster in my bunch so he has all the girls going now.

I’m wanting to breed for egg color, particularly the dark browns, deep olives and strong blues.

What would be good crosses to work towards these colors? And what do you think each cross would bring for egg color? My current hens are:

Red production
Cuckoo maran
ISA Brown
California White
Calico Princess
Wellsummer
Golden sex link
Easter Egger
Americauna
Barred Rock
Silver Laced Wyandotte
Golden Laced Wyandotte
Lavender orpington
Salmon Favorelle
Buff orpington

I’m excited to start seeing what I can create but really need some guidance. I also have enough girls that I could get a second rooster...was thinking maybe BCM so I can get that dark brown egg gene but open to suggestions

Thanks!!!!

 

[MillersFarm]

You've got quite the bunch of breeds! All very lovely. If you want that nice, dark, Olive color I'd suggest crossing your LB roo over your cucko maran or welsummer, BCM would be your best bet if you have any.

 

[Angeline1978]

My vote 1. Barred Rock 2. Cal White for mix chicks. I think they would be beautiful.

 

[ChickFlick123]

I’m trying to find a good source for BCM that has ratings on the high end of the egg color scale but haven’t found one yet. The hatchery chicks just don’t have that dark chocolate egg from what I’ve heard but I would love to get my hands on one!

 

[GaryDean26]

...what do you think each cross would bring for egg color? My current hens are:

Red production - Green
Cuckoo maran - Olive
ISA Brown - Green
California White - Pale Blue
Calico Princess - Green
Wellsummer - Olive
Golden sex link - Green
Easter Egger - Blue
Americauna - Blue
Barred Rock - Green
Silver Laced Wyandotte - Green
Golden Laced Wyandotte - Green
Lavender orpington - Green
Salmon Favorelle - Green
Buff orpington - Green

Thanks!!!!

The Blue Egg Gene is dominant so all the offspring from a Pure Cream Legbar should lay blue, green, or olive eggs. We have done several crosses.

For the bluest eggs you need to line breed. Cross the Legbar to other breeds splits the blue egg gene and it doesn't come through as blue. Our crosses to our white egg breed were noticably more pale than the pure Legbar eggs. I am not sure if you would have better luck with crosses to the Easter Eggs or Americauna but in general improoving color requires that you control the expression and saturation through line breeding and any crosses, even crossed to Legbar of another line lightens the egg color.

We also bred Marans for 5 years and it is even more important to line breed them for good egg color. If you want good egg color DON'T put an egg in the incubator just because it is fertile. When you collect eggs every day pick out the one that are colored the best to hatch. That might mean eating 9 eggs and hatching one. Hatching more eggs ussually just means more of what you don't want. Hatching fewer eggs you will get the egg color you are after quicker.

Below is a photo we took in December. Their is a Marans egg, a Legbar egg, and oliver eggs from the Marans/Legbar cross.

And her is the hen that laid the Olive eggs (the Cuckoo hen in the front) with one of Our Legbar Cocks and Marans Hens so show what they produce together.