I had a group of Legbar chicks I got form a hatchery. I know some Legbar strains have lost their accurate autosexing characteristics and this strain seems to have. I had a few very distinct females, one very distinct male, and a lot of very male looking females. I sold off the females that weren't chipmunk-y as colorful egg layers and kept the two darkest chipmunk females, the lightest male and the next lightest male, and two females who were chipmunky, but not as distinct as the first two females.
These are not my pictures but examples. The two most distinct females looked just like the female above, and the lightest male was like the male above, or maybe even lighter (he was as light or lighter than my Bielefelder males were when they hatched).
The two "less distinct" chipmunk females I kept look like the female above. They have the chipmunk stripes but they are more faded and, well, less distinct. I made sure though that the ones I kept at least had the head dot fully within the faded stripe. The other male I kept looked about like the male above or maybe slightly darker, but no hint of chipmunk pattern. However, as I mentioned I had many females that looked much like the male above except usually they didn't have as distinct of a head spot.
So my question is, of all the chicks I kept what would be the best to breed from? I definitely plan to use the darkest females, but for males, would it be better to use the lightest one that looked most male, or would using such a light male tend to give more light females that look male? Or would it be best to use the darker females and the slightly darker male? What about the females that look like the picture above? Are they female enough looking to be used?
Thanks!
(P.s. I'm not using them to breed pure Legbars but to breed with Bielefelders for and autosexing project.)
These are not my pictures but examples. The two most distinct females looked just like the female above, and the lightest male was like the male above, or maybe even lighter (he was as light or lighter than my Bielefelder males were when they hatched).
The two "less distinct" chipmunk females I kept look like the female above. They have the chipmunk stripes but they are more faded and, well, less distinct. I made sure though that the ones I kept at least had the head dot fully within the faded stripe. The other male I kept looked about like the male above or maybe slightly darker, but no hint of chipmunk pattern. However, as I mentioned I had many females that looked much like the male above except usually they didn't have as distinct of a head spot.
So my question is, of all the chicks I kept what would be the best to breed from? I definitely plan to use the darkest females, but for males, would it be better to use the lightest one that looked most male, or would using such a light male tend to give more light females that look male? Or would it be best to use the darker females and the slightly darker male? What about the females that look like the picture above? Are they female enough looking to be used?
Thanks!
(P.s. I'm not using them to breed pure Legbars but to breed with Bielefelders for and autosexing project.)
