The Legbar Thread!

[soldier]

I am going to set some eggs this fall. Does anyone know if the fertility decreases in fall/winter?

 

[ChicKat]

@chickkat I am in Tucson, AZ. I am getting my fertile eggs from Padilla Peeps in the Phoenix area. I am so excited. They look like such interesting birds. I like having a mix. I have a RIR, 2 BPR, 1 BCM, 1 cuckoo silkie, and a white leghorn.

That's so great, it sounds like you have a really nice flock already and you will love the addition of Cream legbars to your chickens!

 

[KPenley]

I am going to set some eggs this fall. Does anyone know if the fertility decreases in fall/winter?

No idea about fertility, although mine has been the same, but I have actually had dramatic increases hatching October to March. I lost hundreds of dollars worth of eggs a couple of years ago trying to hatch during the warmer humid months. If my heater is on in my house, I dry incubate, and I up the the humidity in the incubator ONLY during lockdown to 60 ish then I have 50-100% hatch rates ( even shipped eggs). For some reason the AC just kills my hatches. So cold month hatching is for me, plus I end up with bigger straighter combed birds, so it's a win win for us!

 

[dretd]

hi

all these birds are so pretty!
sallysunshine has legbars and i have one of her roosters. i was SOO surprised to see the size of his comb and wattles!!
im starting to get worried now, because i dont want him to be frostbitten.
i know that vaseline will help. but these are the biggest wattles ive ever seen!
maybe i should not have gotten him.........can you tell me about your experiences?
im trying to figure out this ventilation but no draft coop.
tammy

Hi Hammytammy! SO far I have been very lucky with my Cream Legbars. I had one who lost his comb to frostbite, but he was very defective with scoliosis and could not hold his head above his shoulders. I used to put vasiline on the combs and I think it does help as a moisture barrier if you have a lot of humidity. Its the wet weather that is the killer. If condensation forms on the comb and it temps are below freezing then the water will turn to ice and you get frostbite.

We regularly get to -15F for at least a week every winter and every so often it gets to -25F or colder. I have had hens and roosters alike lose the tippy-tips of their combs to that kind of brutal weather but the only serious loss was that one CL roo. It seems that over time the comb will scar back and shrink in size and thicken a little. Here is a before and after winter picture of Clara. In the before you can see her comb is more smooth and thin. After winter, it has thickened up almost like a callus and the tips are more blunted. Overall it is a little smaller than it was before.


I used to put in a heat lamp (red) in the coop, but I found that was enough light that the girls partied all night. They did however produce eggs very well through the winter. I prefer to give them a natural break from laying so I switched the red incandescent light out for a ceramic bulb designed for reptiles. It doesn't warm the coop nearly as well as the incandescent, but it does take the edge off. I also have the lamp hooked up to an outlet cube that turns the lamp on and off depending on temp. I bought the one that turns the outlet on at 20 degrees F and off at 30F ( http://www.amazon.com/Farm-Innovators-TC-3-Thermostatically-Controlled/dp/B0006U2HD2 ) and that has worked for me but there are other temp ranges you can buy, Wouldn't want them to get over-heated or waste electricity! My coop is somewhat drafty with 3 inches of screened area at the eves all around so I don't have moisture build-up but it is colder than the average insulated coop for sure.

I figure they are wearing down jackets, so they are ok. I have let them decide where to roost at night and a few of my older girls prefer to camp out. The Cream Legbars always stay in.

Yes that's snow on Soleil's back at he end. She would rather sleep under the stars than under the umbrella (those mean girls are very scary!). I think it was in the teens that night if I recall, silly girls. All of them know where the lodge is and they will go in it an not budge if there is any wind along with the cold. So cold is tolerable for them but the draft/wind is no bueno.

 

[dretd]

Finally got pics of my legbars from this season. The judge was Jeanette Frank, she took a copy of the proposed standard and placed my birds accordingly. I brought 2 males, 2 single comb pullets and a rose comb. They are a little excited in the cages but still great looking.

Best of breed cockerel

 

[flyingmonkeypoop]

Thanks! He is pure legbar, his grandfather was from line a/first import, his mother was line C, and his father is out of the first pair. I like to line breed when I have good birds. In my case, Ingrid the original hen had the size I want, she just lacks the good tail.
No weights on the young birds yet. The pure male I used this spring was about 5.5 lbs last fall, the rose combed male was about 4.5 lbs. I am thinking he is over 4 lbs right now, very lanky and hasn't started to fill in yet. I imagine he will get much bigger though. When I weighed his mother this summer, she weighed a smidge under 7 lbs.
The rose combed birds are now 7/8 legbar, I know with goats and other stock, 7/8 is considered pure. I plan to breed the pure male to the better rose combed pullets to get the size up more..

As far as numbers go, I hatched about 50 this year. I plan to keep the best 2 trios of both types through winter.

 

[DoubleMM]

Thanks! He is pure legbar, his grandfather was from line a/first import, his mother was line C, and his father is out of the first pair. I like to line breed when I have good birds. In my case, Ingrid the original hen had the size I want, she just lacks the good tail.
No weights on the young birds yet. The pure male I used this spring was about 5.5 lbs last fall, the rose combed male was about 4.5 lbs. I am thinking he is over 4 lbs right now, very lanky and hasn't started to fill in yet. I imagine he will get much bigger though. When I weighed his mother this summer, she weighed a smidge under 7 lbs.
The rose combed birds are now 7/8 legbar, I know with goats and other stock, 7/8 is considered pure. I plan to breed the pure male to the better rose combed pullets to get the size up more..

As far as numbers go, I hatched about 50 this year. I plan to keep the best 2 trios of both types through winter.

Impressive work

 

[horsedirt]

Finally got pics of my legbars from this season. The judge was Jeanette Frank, she took a copy of the proposed standard and placed my birds accordingly. I brought 2 males, 2 single comb pullets and a rose comb. They are a little excited in the cages but still great looking.

Best of breed cockerel

Sister to above cockerel/reserve of breed

Other pullet

Rose comb pullet

Bravo!

 

[hammytammy]

oh poor boy

hes a beauty though!

Quote: hi chicKat!
i see you know your stuff alll around byc!

yes, i learned a LOt about all kinds of chicken raising here. i really understand the ventilation thing, im just trying to figure out the best way to reduce drafts with what i have.
i really should learn to post pics- youd probably get a kick out of all my do it with what you already have stuff!
fact is, im like a chicken myself. i need a nice warm body in winter(me Blankets -hens feathers) and cool fresh air!
my girls will be happy, i know that. anyone use sweaters and slippers?
thanks everyone
tammy

 

[hammytammy]

Hi Hammytammy! SO far I have been very lucky with my Cream Legbars. I had one who lost his comb to frostbite, but he was very defective with scoliosis and could not hold his head above his shoulders. I used to put vasiline on the combs and I think it does help as a moisture barrier if you have a lot of humidity. Its the wet weather that is the killer. If condensation forms on the comb and it temps are below freezing then the water will turn to ice and you get frostbite.

We regularly get to -15F for at least a week every winter and every so often it gets to -25F or colder. I have had hens and roosters alike lose the tippy-tips of their combs to that kind of brutal weather but the only serious loss was that one CL roo. It seems that over time the comb will scar back and shrink in size and thicken a little. Here is a before and after winter picture of Clara. In the before you can see her comb is more smooth and thin. After winter, it has thickened up almost like a callus and the tips are more blunted. Overall it is a little smaller than it was before.


I used to put in a heat lamp (red) in the coop, but I found that was enough light that the girls partied all night. They did however produce eggs very well through the winter. I prefer to give them a natural break from laying so I switched the red incandescent light out for a ceramic bulb designed for reptiles. It doesn't warm the coop nearly as well as the incandescent, but it does take the edge off. I also have the lamp hooked up to an outlet cube that turns the lamp on and off depending on temp. I bought the one that turns the outlet on at 20 degrees F and off at 30F ( http://www.amazon.com/Farm-Innovators-TC-3-Thermostatically-Controlled/dp/B0006U2HD2 ) and that has worked for me but there are other temp ranges you can buy, Wouldn't want them to get over-heated or waste electricity! My coop is somewhat drafty with 3 inches of screened area at the eves all around so I don't have moisture build-up but it is colder than the average insulated coop for sure.

I figure they are wearing down jackets, so they are ok. I have let them decide where to roost at night and a few of my older girls prefer to camp out. The Cream Legbars always stay in.

Yes that's snow on Soleil's back at he end. She would rather sleep under the stars than under the umbrella (those mean girls are very scary!). I think it was in the teens that night if I recall, silly girls. All of them know where the lodge is and they will go in it an not budge if there is any wind along with the cold. So cold is tolerable for them but the draft/wind is no bueno.

yes! i do see the comb diff on clara--
i never heard of that special temp cube-ill def check that link.
too cute all of our chickens eh? how do you hold your umbrella down in the winds in Colorado?
who are the mean ones?
tammy