The Legbar Thread!

[CowGrrrl]

Beautiful picture in your avatar!!! Nice "herd" too.

Thank you! I think so too!

 

[lonnyandrinda]

So 1 month ago I read this post and thought....hmm, I'll give that a try so I dropped my temp to 99.9. Well, my hatch ended up with the following totals. 3 unhatched, 1 Jubilee (have to wait on the sex) and for legbars - 12 females to 7 males. Not scientific proof but I'll take it.
My Jubilees seem to take a day longer to hatch than my Legbars.

The only thing that leaves me shaking my head is that you can't CHANGE the ratio of male to female eggs, so if you have an extreme imbalance but few or no unhatched eggs then the temperature didn't matter. Still unsure what to think about the method itself....

ETA: blackbirds did you pop open the unhatched ones to see if you could tell gender?

 

[Laingcroft]

Finally getting around to posting pictures of my new young cockerels from the "new" Greenfire line. Light one looks VERY promising. The other looks like he's carrying gold instead of cream but I'm keeping both to see how they grow out. Fingers crossed on the cream boy.

 

[ChicKat]

Finally getting around to posting pictures of my new young cockerels from the "new" Greenfire line. Light one looks VERY promising. The other looks like he's carrying gold instead of cream but I'm keeping both to see how they grow out. Fingers crossed on the cream boy.

Laingcroft!!! Your pictures are really WONDERFUL! wow. so sharp you can see all the warm fuzzies. Those would have been nice entries for the "Cutest Chick" photo contest (which ended June 30th) to add more agony of tough decisions to the people who voted....

diabolical aren't I? congrats on the beautiful chicks....and definitely keep posting pictures as they grow out.

 

[blackbirds13]

Quote:
That's interesting, do you have a forced air or a still air incubator (I ask because I used a forced air with a target temp of 99.5)?
I have a couple Hovabator Genesis, with the new humidity reader. I just wondered if it would make a difference. I know it's not scientific at all and Rinda, no, I never open the unhatched eggs - no desire to do that on my part

- I can chop of their heads and gut 'em but that's still to icky for this former Marine. I'm still trying to figure out the best humidity methods that will work for me - getting better but not perfect yet. I just figured if last year when I had the temps at 101 my chicks were hatching on or prior to day 20 and I lowered it and they now start pipping at day 20 and hatch for the most part on day 21 that I'd try it.
I don't really do all the things some others do, like weigh my eggs or count them or worry about how blue they are (I do think my creamer girls lay a bluer egg). I don't sell eating eggs to the public just to friends and family (mostly I give away) and I have tried Ebay but I really don't sell hatching eggs or birds on a large scale, so all of this is really just for my personal entertainment. I did contemplate becoming more commercial and shipping and was working on a website but I really don't have the time if I want to get back to making, exhibiting and selling my artwork like I did before my last son was born.... and seeing that I have 4 sons and 2 grandsons (2nd grandson was born on FRIDAY!!!) I tend to think that when it some to the sex of offspring... it's pretty much a crap shoot. I just found it a bit funny that my hatch was so skewed to girls and was happy about it, my post was a bit tongue in cheek. I enjoy the challenge of bettering my flock and learning about genetics; it's this or I go for another Masters or a PHD in something.

I am going to have a slew of birds to sell off in a few weeks. I'm wondering how others market their culls? I'm going to try locally first and was thinking of just calling my darker cream, more golden girls just Legbars and price them the local going rate for a blue egger and then the cream ones as Cream Legbars and a higher price. The whites I will hold on to seeing I have a nice trio - I have some ideas on what pairing they may be coming from. The market price of chickens here is really low. Gold roosters would be free if I sold any as maybe I will just cull them early or process older boys but maybe I could see what the more correct boys will fetch in a few months or if I should just give them away also and process the rest? What do others do with their culls? My husband really wants me to try rarebreeds and BYC and shipping birds but I'm still thinking about it.

I'm going to restart incubating eggs the beginning of August along with some BCM eggs. I'm going to hatch from one pen only first. Very excited to start.

 

[dretd]

I have a couple Hovabator Genesis, with the new humidity reader. I just wondered if it would make a difference. I know it's not scientific at all and Rinda, no, I never open the unhatched eggs - no desire to do that on my part

- I can chop of their heads and gut 'em but that's still to icky for this former Marine. I'm still trying to figure out the best humidity methods that will work for me - getting better but not perfect yet. I just figured if last year when I had the temps at 101 my chicks were hatching on or prior to day 20 and I lowered it and they now start pipping at day 20 and hatch for the most part on day 21 that I'd try it.

.... and seeing that I have 4 sons and 2 grandsons (2nd grandson was born on FRIDAY!!!) I tend to think that when it some to the sex of offspring... it's pretty much a crap shoot. I just found it a bit funny that my hatch was so skewed to girls and was happy about it, my post was a bit tongue in cheek. I enjoy the challenge of bettering my flock and learning about genetics; it's this or I go for another Masters or a PHD in something.

I am going to have a slew of birds to sell off in a few weeks. I'm wondering how others market their culls?

I'm going to restart incubating eggs the beginning of August along with some BCM eggs. I'm going to hatch from one pen only first. Very excited to start.

This really cracked me up--no eggtopsy but gory blood and guts a-ok

Congratulations on the birth of your Grandson!

I have only had fun hatches and charged nominal amounts of money for the mixed breed roos on Craigslist. I think your idea of listing the non-cream girls as Legbars is fine, I was thinking if I ever got to that point I would list them as pet quality Cream Legbars or if they were really off-type, just Easter Eggers or Easter Leggers. The roos are harder because if they are really poor type I wouldn't want anyone getting them to breed Cream Legbars so I will have to cross that bridge but going with Easter L/egger is also an option even though they are not technically cross-breed.

I am very excited for you and will keep my finger's crossed...

 

[normanack]

I think your idea of listing the non-cream girls as Legbars is fine, I was thinking if I ever got to that point I would list them as pet quality Cream Legbars or if they were really off-type, just Easter Eggers or Easter Leggers. The roos are harder because if they are really poor type I wouldn't want anyone getting them to breed Cream Legbars so I will have to cross that bridge but going with Easter L/egger is also an option even though they are not technically cross-breed.

Don't forget Muttbar! ;-)

 

[lonnyandrinda]

Don't forget Muttbar! ;-)

 

[1muttsfan]

Don't forget Muttbar! ;-)

 

[elliechooks]

Now 12 weeks old and although several of you have said its not a good cream legbar I am more and more convinced that it should be called Stu rather than Sue!!