The Legbar Thread!

[GaryDean26]

I have been two egg sizes with my cream Legbars. The really big ones, and the small ones. All of my hens have started laying after 22 weeks and the one that end up with really big eggs start at about 45-50 gram eggs and the one with really small eggs start with egg between 35-40 grams. The really big egg producers have laid eggs up to 72-73 grams in their 2nd laying season the ones will really small eggs are only producing eggs up to about 60 grams in their 2nd laying season. Anything over 63 grams is a really big egg for a Cream Legbars. A breeder in the UK told me I should would be highly suscpiosue of the purity of the cream legbar if it was laying more than about a 61-62 gram eggs. Breeders in the UK have reported out-crossing cream legbars to white starts in the UK to increase both the egg size and mature weight of the birds. I assume that my large egg hens are the result of some of those type of breeding practices. I will be selecting for the larger body type and larger eggs. I prefer the larger eggs.

 

[ChicKat]

I have been two egg sizes with my cream Legbars. The really big ones, and the small ones. All of my hens have started laying after 22 weeks and the one that end up with really big eggs start at about 45-50 gram eggs and the one with really small eggs start with egg between 35-40 grams. The really big egg producers have laid eggs up to 72-73 grams in their 2nd laying season the ones will really small eggs are only producing eggs up to about 60 grams in their 2nd laying season. Anything over 63 grams is a really big egg for a Cream Legbars. A breeder in the UK told me I should would be highly suscpiosue of the purity of the cream legbar if it was laying more than about a 61-62 gram eggs. Breeders in the UK have reported out-crossing cream legbars to white starts in the UK to increase both the egg size and mature weight of the birds. I assume that my large egg hens are the result of some of those type of breeding practices. I will be selecting for the larger body type and larger eggs. I prefer the larger eggs.

Hi GaryDean26,

What's a white start? AND -- is the size and frequency showing any correlation...such as - smaller but daily, larger but every-other-day?
Interesting information - thanks!! :O)

ETA -- OH is it a white star in the UK - a production hybrid like the red star --black star? -- I have heard of them from over there.....

 

[ChicKat]

Hi, Everybody.
I'm new, mostly lurking and searching since I have limited computer access. I'm a first-time chicken mom, and among my 8 pullets are 3 Cream Legbars.
Quick question--My 20-week old CL has been laying for 2 weeks. We've gotten 12 normal eggs with a soft-shelled egg in the middle. I was anticipating the eggs would get larger after the fifth or sixth one. All twelve of the eggs have been small.
They're perfect and beautiful eggs, but I was expecting at least a medium or large egg. Do cream legbars only lay small eggs?

Hi pg,

You are on the right track -- pullet eggs are notoriously small and one breeder I know calls them "pullet bullet"s. Your CLs are very precocious to start at 20-weeks. When my pullets start, I do weigh the eggs, and believe-it-or-not, day by day they add a bit of weight. It does take longer though than 2-weeks for them to reach the adult egg size. Expect them to be full size (their mature size) after they have been laying a couple of months. An occasional shell-less in a pullet is, as others have said, nothing to worry about. Also, I have heard advice to wait until the pullet had matured to laying her full size egg before hatching any for the best health, size and well-being of the chicks.

 

[pginsber]

Thanks for the great info on egg sizes. It's super appreciated! Aretha, my 20-wk old CL is just as pretty and as reliable of layer as one could wish for--except the 'pullet bullets'--LOL! I Love that saying! She has the cutest fuzzy butt--I need to take current pictures to share.

The girls have free choice oyster shell and free choice grit feeders next to their free choice gravity feeders. It's a veritable smorgasboard in there. Then they get garden scraps, and grass and herbs. It's a very happy bunch.

We have two other CLs, JLo and Ms Jackson, that are 3 weeks younger than Aretha. Feather-wise, they look very different from each other, even though they're from the same clutch. MsJackson has more of a thin, partridge feathering, and JLo looks like Aretha, closer to the typical CL. I think MsJackson's going to start laying in a couple weeks from the look of her comb and wattles.

We have heritage breeds, in addition to the CLs. As I did breed research to select a flock, I had varying facts to work with. I tried to pick flock members of docile personality and about 5-5.5 lbs.
...Of course, when we ordered, the hatchery called and apologized but we needed to select something different due to hatch rates. Based on what they had to pick from, I chose Golden Cuckoo Marans. HA! In the urgency to select a replacement, I remembered only their personality, but forgot about their size!

Diana (the cuckoo marans) TOWERS over the CLs by nearly 4 inches. CLs seem to be short, more like our Dominique, compared to our Delaware who has longer legs and taller body.

CLs seem to have a great temperment, though. They like to be petted, come running to the fence for treats, don't pick fights. I highly recommend them to anybody who wonders.

 

[pginsber]

I have been two egg sizes with my cream Legbars. The really big ones, and the small ones. All of my hens have started laying after 22 weeks and the one that end up with really big eggs start at about 45-50 gram eggs and the one with really small eggs start with egg between 35-40 grams. The really big egg producers have laid eggs up to 72-73 grams in their 2nd laying season the ones will really small eggs are only producing eggs up to about 60 grams in their 2nd laying season. Anything over 63 grams is a really big egg for a Cream Legbars. A breeder in the UK told me I should would be highly suscpiosue of the purity of the cream legbar if it was laying more than about a 61-62 gram eggs. Breeders in the UK have reported out-crossing cream legbars to white starts in the UK to increase both the egg size and mature weight of the birds. I assume that my large egg hens are the result of some of those type of breeding practices. I will be selecting for the larger body type and larger eggs. I prefer the larger eggs.

Thanks for the info on egg size--I knew it was weight, not size, that determind the egg size, but it never occurred to me that eggs would be more/less heavy (dense).
I need to get the scale out. That's an excellent idea, to track the weight.
I've gotten some great info from the member insight on this board. THANK YOU!

 

[CibolaChooks]

I have been two egg sizes with my cream Legbars. The really big ones, and the small ones. All of my hens have started laying after 22 weeks and the one that end up with really big eggs start at about 45-50 gram eggs and the one with really small eggs start with egg between 35-40 grams. The really big egg producers have laid eggs up to 72-73 grams in their 2nd laying season the ones will really small eggs are only producing eggs up to about 60 grams in their 2nd laying season. Anything over 63 grams is a really big egg for a Cream Legbars. A breeder in the UK told me I should would be highly suscpiosue of the purity of the cream legbar if it was laying more than about a 61-62 gram eggs. Breeders in the UK have reported out-crossing cream legbars to white starts in the UK to increase both the egg size and mature weight of the birds. I assume that my large egg hens are the result of some of those type of breeding practices. I will be selecting for the larger body type and larger eggs. I prefer the larger eggs.

i only had one of the larger hens that laid the larger eggs from you. I hatched two males from her one of which grew twice as fast and is still bigger than all his hatch mates. Hes the dark down male ive posted pics of recently showing cream with some color. you have mentioned and another poster that it was that first line of imports that showed the larger hens with large eggs and the males that have a bit to much color. correct or no.

 

[GaryDean26]

Steen,

I still have ten (10) hens from the pairing I was breeding when you got your Cream Legbar. I am not always sure which eggs are from what hen, but judging from the days when I get 8-9 eggs from these birds (mixed with 3-4 egg from the other 5 cream Legbars in our flock) I think that only 2 possibly 3 hen are producing the really big eggs. Big egg size must be a recessive trait.

I will be breeding the foundation hen with the really big eggs to a new cockerel this fall (a cream one) hopefully I will get a good sized, cockerel out of her with cream color that will throw large egg layers.

 

[1muttsfan]

Scroll down for information on best age to start laying, and great info on identifying your best layers

http://albc-usa.org/documents/ALBCchicken_assessment-2.pdf

 

[pginsber]

Scroll down for information on best age to start laying, and great info on identifying your best layers

http://albc-usa.org/documents/ALBCchicken_assessment-2.pdf

Great stuff! Thanks for sharing. This info is going in my chicken files.

 

[lonnyandrinda]

Great stuff! Thanks for sharing. This info is going in my chicken files.

X2!