The Legbar Thread!

[dretd]

The color name issue is tender for some folks. For me and my rose combed birds, I get lots of people here and on facebook thqt tell me they will never be pure, even though they breed with more consistancy than many of the 'pure' clb's out there.
Remember, the legbars are like lamonas in the fact that we know how they were made since it was fairly recently and they are just a composite. Luckily chickens are judged on their phenotype so it does save some headaches

I am very glad you are developing the rose comb variety. I have always thought of them as a Rose comb project Cream Legbar and agree with everything you have said.

Over on CSU they talked about Delawares and how there is a breeder basically re-creating them from scratch because the Dels had drifted from the original type and were looking mighty washed-out and off-type. Will hers be 'real' Delawares? I vote yes but some might argue. I have also been on the 'what breed is this' forum and had folks argue that someone's hatchery quality whatever was a mutt because it wasn't 'remotely' like the breed but I could still tell it was a Barred Rock even though not a very good quality one. So yes, there are about as many opinions as there are people and some are, shall we say, very vigorous about their opinions.

I remember Nicalandia musing that he had thought about re-creating the CL from scratch. Now some may argue that because you can't replicated the hen brought off the boat from the Araucana Indians that the Secret Sauce will be missing and that you can never get a 'real' CL from scratch. I would argue that you could get South American Composites and get pretty darned close (especially being as how he is in Nicaragua, they wouldn't even be composites).

So to each there own. There are arguments to be made on both sides and I figure this is meant to be a fun hobby and try not to take things too seriously. I certainly am not going to get my panties in a wad about stuff unless someone is crossing the line and actually mis-representing a sport as APA accepted or selling Cream Legbars as pure that are gold, have no crest and lay brown eggs (ie are clearly not just bad examples of the breed but are cross-breds). If 'you' don't think that a Rose comb on a Cream Legbar is right then you are welcome not to buy that project line!

 

[graciesmum]

So should a cream legbar have a rose comb or
not???

 

[graciesmum]

This is my gorgeous girl Percy, what do people think???? I'm in the UK

 

[dretd]

So should a cream legbar have a rose comb or
not???

No, the rose comb is a project by a very creative and dedicated Cream Legbar owner. You should go by the standard which is a single comb. Moreover in a rooster it should not flop to the side, have side sprigs nor have thumbprints.

When a breeder takes on project where they change an aspect of a breed in one area only, the breeder's birds are referred to as Project (fill in what is changed and the breeder here). The most common project is a color variation with the hope that it will catch on and eventually get accepted in to the standard. So for instance, Lavender Ameraucanas are a project breed, or Chocolate Orpingtons. The breeder will start with a base such as Black Ameraucanas and then add in the Lavender gene from another breed. The trick then is to breed successive generations to keep the color gene but remove all other traces of the breed used for the color, such as a straight comb. THe goal is to have a flock that will look exactly like the breed you are calling it in type but is a different color. And breeds the same thing generation after generation so the trait is shown to be 'fixed' into the variant.

Its a very long process and the breeder has to be very dedicated and have a vision about what they are trying to achieve. This sets them apart from someone just randomly breeding some birds together and getting a cross-bred birds and misrepresenting those chicks as the a specific breed. So Flyingmonkeypoop is intentionally breeding a line of birds that will meet the breed standard for Cream Legbars in every way except that his flock will have rose combs. The intention is to have a Cream Legbar that is more user-friendly for cold climates where the rooster's comb gets frostbitten. He has a vision and is selectively breeding and culling to achieve that vision. This sets him apart from someone who's Hamburg roo accidentally mingled with their Cream Legbars and the chicks sort of look like a Cram Legbar but have a hybrid or rose comb. Those birds are not project birds, they are crossbreds or mutts. If they lay blue/green eggs, we commonly call them Easter Eggers.

Clear as Mud?

Disclaimer: I am not an expert, nor to I play one online!

 

[dretd]

This is my gorgeous girl Percy, what do people think???? I'm in the UK

She is adorable and I would love to have one just like her! She looks very sweet and curious.

 

[flyingmonkeypoop]

Thank you for the kind words. I used a rose comb light brown leghorn. Take away the cream and barring and you would have light brown. Leghorns went into the creation of the breed so I used them. Eventually they will just have a smidge of leghorn bloodin them. My rose combed hens lay better and more reliable than my single combed birds. In my area we get to -25 in winter and over 100 in summer so these work for me

 

[dretd]

Thank you for the kind words. I used a rose comb light brown leghorn. Take away the cream and barring and you would have light brown. Leghorns went into the creation of the breed so I used them. Eventually they will just have a smidge of leghorn bloodin them. My rose combed hens lay better and more reliable than my single combed birds. In my area we get to -25 in winter and over 100 in summer so these work for me

You are very welcome. I have a lot of respect for you, although I would love to see more pictures of your progress!

I think that weather-hardiness is why I like your project so much. Last year we went from -29 as the low to 103 as our high. Pretty brutal. This spring it was a balmy 73 and then the April blizzard hit and within 2 days we had 23 inches of snow. Hard on the livestock for sure. Plus we are at 5000 feet so the UV index is pretty high all the time. Great view though!

 

[CowGrrrl]

This is my gorgeous girl Percy, what do people think???? I'm in the UK

She's pretty! Reminds me of my girl Lacy

 

[lawatt]

i took some photos of my ten-week-old CL boy, harold, today -- recently gave his sister away to a friend, her crest was a bit too large for my liking, and she was a bit of a meany -- but he's a sweet little guy:










the only thing that's odd about him is he often carries his tail low, almost straight out from his back -- is it likely to perk up as he gets older & longer tail feathers?

 

[ChicKat]

BTW, in memorium, she has become my avatar.

That is exactly what I did with the first one I lost years ago - she was a black sexlink. Good thing to do for an avatar IMO.