The Legbar Thread!

[dretd]

Quote:
Thanks for the clarification. For some reason I assumed that you had infused Leghorn to capture the rose comb and had used the straight comb progeny from that into your regular Legbar line.

Doesn't change the fact that he is really nice on type! So much energy seems to be focused on color and the type is so much more important, IMHO. You can tell he is still a youngster and needs to fill out. I will look forward to seeing pictures of him as he matures!

 

[dretd]

Quote: Yep--every year we get 70-80 mph gusts with huge 50 mph wind storms. One year it was strong enough to blow in our upstairs window. We have open space to our west so we have no windbreaks and it is particularly brutal becasue of that.

The umbrella's thick pole was already snapped in half where it threaded through a table from the wind so I took it and put it on top of a dead peach tree as an anchored skeleton base with branches (the other end of the roost is wedged in the other dead peach tree--fruit trees are problematic in the front range and peach are no bueno) with the pole alongside the trunk. The umbrella top has 2x4's that cross over it and then the whole pen is covered in 14 gauge field fence to keep the hawks out. The whole thing has been able to withstand the high winds for 2 years now. My main problem is actually the snow load. I have to shovel the snow off after each big storm which is not fun!:

 

[Dianne88]

Hi, just wanted to share pics of my 9 week old CLB pullets, any opinions? These are my first CLB and one seems to be lighter than the other.

 

[lonnyandrinda]

They are both lacking the cream gene (or two, can't tell since it's recessive). Other than that they look typical for their age, can't tell much about quality until they get older- and need a nice clear shot from the side for that. Congrats!

 

[Dianne88]

They are both lacking the cream gene (or two, can't tell since it's recessive). Other than that they look typical for their age, can't tell much about quality until they get older- and need a nice clear shot from the side for that. Congrats!

I'll get a better picture, what is the cream gene?

 

[lonnyandrinda]

I'll get a better picture, what is the cream gene?

CREAM legbars are unique because they should carry the cream gene, denoted as /ig/. It is a dilutor gene- Cream Legbars have a gold base and this cream gene "dilutes" the color to a buttery cream color. This was the first time poultry people had managed to isolate this gene- there are a few breeds now that carry it. It is a recessive gene so it only shows up if they have two copies, one from their mom and one from their dad (ig/ig). If they have one (Ig/ig) or none (Ig/Ig) then their neck will look gold. No way to tell the difference between one and none unless you test breed and look at the offspring. At the top of this page there is a really good picture with a gold hen and a cream hen side by side. https://sites.google.com/site/creamlegbarsonline/gallery

The first lines Greenfire Farms imported were utility lines- like a hatchery line here in the US- bred mainly for good egg production. So the "looks" weren't top of the list and some of them did not have the correct coloring (probably from some impure genes/crossbreeding done at some point).

If you just have them for the pretty eggs, it really doesn't matter. If you plan to breed them, get a good cream colored roo (again there are good comparision photos on that UK site above) and select towards cream in the next generation.

 

[Dianne88]

Ok I see what you are talking about, I believe I have one with the cream gene?? Here are some more pics, they are just pets for the pretty eggs

. Hard to get good pics, they hide behind a pallet from the big girls.

 

[lonnyandrinda]

Looks like you have two golds to me, one dark gold and one light gold. When I say cream neck this is what I'm talking about:


Again it's splitting hairs since you just have them for eggs. They should lay pretty blue eggs regardless! And they have such sweet and curious personalities!

 

[Dianne88]

Looks like you have two golds to me, one dark gold and one light gold. When I say cream neck this is what I'm talking about:


Again it's splitting hairs since you just have them for eggs. They should lay pretty blue eggs regardless! And they have such sweet and curious personalities!

Ok, thanks, they do have quirky personalities, they roost at the top of a wooden ladder instead of going inside of the coop with the big girls. They are in a safe place so I just let them be. How old before they start laying? Thanks for all the info!

 

[chicken pickin]

Here are a few more side by side comparisons that I have posted before that may help of a cream in color Cream Legbar pullet and a gold in color Cream Legbar pullet. I also agree that the 2 pullets posted above are gold in color.