Pennsylvania!! Unite!!

[TillyPeeps]

I'm not really a fan of the cemani's either. I think they were hyped beyond their truth. For an all black bird I am happy with Black Ameraucanas (blue eggs) or Black Sumatras (fabulous tails). Some people really like them, so I am happy that I can hatch some.

The Opals never seem to be as well crested as the Rees Legbars. I plan to work on that by crossing them to my line of Rees until I get good crests and all blue eggs. I haven't take pics of mine yet, but they are pretty common online.

How about the Opal legbar's personality? Are they more flighty? It looks like they may have isabel leghorn bleed. Can you tell their gender easily? They are very beautiful with or without a crest. I even don't mind if they lay brown eggs.

 

[dheltzel]

How about the Opal legbar's personality? Are they more flighty? It looks like they may have isabel leghorn bleed. Can you tell their gender easily? They are very beautiful with or without a crest. I even don't mind if they lay brown eggs.

The pullets personality is like the Rees Legbars, meaning totally tame. They mob me when I walk in the pen and I sometimes have to shoo them with my foot to have a place to safely walk. Really, almost all my breeds are like this, from bantams to Marans. I don't get nervous breeds as a rule, but even the Leghorn's I've owned have been more mellow than I could ever expect.
I am becoming convinced it is more about nurture than nature in most cases. I say "most" because when I had partridge Penedesencas, they were freaky wild. Surprisingly, they did not do all that well free ranging (I have none left). Also, they seem to need other flighty birds to get that trait, when I crossed them to Welbars and raised them together, I could not pick out the ones with Pene genes, except by the color of their legband.
As layers, the Opal seem equal to the Rees Legbars. I get a *lot* of eggs from that pen. A fair percentage are a very light brown, but those taste quite good
I even considered hatching those as they could still produce blue egg layers and they are lavender and fully autosexing, but considering how hard it is to keep the various autosexing breeds straight, I think it is more trouble than it is worth. The brown egg layers are hard working pullets for sure, and I do need to produce some eating eggs from my flock . . .

 

[TillyPeeps]

I know what you mean by "shoo them". Everytime I went to coop, the 5 chickens were on top of each other at the door! My silver welbar will peck me if she doesn't get treats. My Reese legbar girl was super friendly as a chick and became skittish until she was close to lay, then she became as calm as the other girls. However, she didn't start to lay until 11 month old, so she was skittish for a long time! Weird thing is: no matter how skittish she is, she loves to perch on my arm and will fly to my arm herself. My old legbar Dolly was the same. If they fly to me, they will allow me to pet them while they will run away any other time. Silly girls! Out of the 3 oliver eggers, two of them love to perch on my arm. Of course, Dragon is quite heavy, so I cannot hold her for too long with my arm up. Her eggs are just like her-- very round! That's how I can tell her eggs apart.

If you cross the Opals back to Rees legbars, will the chicks be opal or half/half? I cannot wait to see the new Opals with large crest! I'm sure the eggs taste the same, blue or brown, But my oliver eggers lay larger eggs than both welbar and legbar. Especially Dragon, her eggs are as chubby as herself, usually over 60g. She always lays 4 days and takes one day break.

 

[HeartoftheMatterFarm]

So TSC did not have any more bantams, so I got assorted pullets. Now the lonely chick is happy to have buddies.

 

[dheltzel]

If you cross the Opals back to Rees legbars, will the chicks be opal or half/half? I cannot wait to see the new Opals with large crest! I'm sure the eggs taste the same, blue or brown, But my oliver eggers lay larger eggs than both welbar and legbar. Especially Dragon, her eggs are as chubby as herself, usually over 60g. She always lays 4 days and takes one day break.

Lavender is recessive, so the F1's will not show lavender, but the F2's will produce 25% lavender, and hopefully with better cresting and more blue eggs!
I will keep doing that outcross to the Rees line so that they keep getting more and more like the Rees Legbars (which are very close to perfection, IMO). A "perfect" chicken never poops and lays several eggs a day, so that isn't likely . . .

 

[TillyPeeps]

Lavender is recessive, so the F1's will not show lavender, but the F2's will produce 25% lavender, and hopefully with better cresting and more blue eggs!
I will keep doing that outcross to the Rees line so that they keep getting more and more like the Rees Legbars (which are very close to perfection, IMO). A "perfect" chicken never poops and lays several eggs a day, so that isn't likely . . .

For me, a perfect chicken has to poop in my compost bin, not in their coop. Chicken poo is part of the reasons that I have chickens, but I underestimated how much they poop...

 

[feliciadawn]

For me, a perfect chicken has to poop in my compost bin, not in their coop. Chicken poo is part of the reasons that I have chickens, but I underestimated how much they poop...

My compost pile is in my run next to the coop. it works out!

 

[dheltzel]

but I underestimated how much they poop...

We always do, don't we?
Would be great if we could teach them to use a litter box, like a cat . . .

 

[feliciadawn]

It is possible to litter train chickens using a clicker and operant conditioning.

 

[GoodGuinea]

It is possible to litter train chickens using a clicker and operant conditioning.

I've never heard of this. Sounds like it would take forever.