The Legbar Thread!

[chicken pickin]

Wow, that is the worst laying record I heard for Cream Legbars....do you worm your chickens? In WA you probably don't have the threat of worms that we have here in the heat...but I wonder why they are not laying better for you. Heat is a factor---I've heard that they lay less in the heat -- because they eat less. They spend all their energy panting to keep cool. That is kind of it with mine--- but one old gal lays everyother day -- and the other one is molting now (smart timing to shed feathers)--- so she will be out of lay until after she finishes. Could some of yours have started early molt? Your weather is really unusual too isn't it. Temps are 20-30 degrees above what they normally would be - so maybe the chickens feel the heat more..... Hope the laying will pick up for you.


4-5 out of seven is more like I would expect the performance...are you planning to enter the egg contest of the CLub?
What nice looking chickens! I especially like the male and the female in the big pictures....something about them.....

I have three young males to process too....... at least they all have wonky combs so it isn't a question of 'maybe they will be better' ...... it's just doing the deed, I guess. Very cool about using the feathers.....

Good eye. The male you quoted above is the male I might hold back from that group. There is something about him and he has a sweet looking face. The 2 males that were my original favorites like 2 months ago didn't turn out so good, just goes to show you cant be to quick to decide on a male because they can change drastically in a few weeks time.

I thought about entering the contest but Im not sure how...

 

[dretd]

Quote:
Hi ChicKat--long time no chat! Just got my life back after my sis's family came for a visit and July band camp is behind me

Very daunting to get back on BYC and see 86 posts to try to get through on this thread alone. Wow.

I haven't been weighing my girls lately, but I just got through a batch of boys that ranged from 11-12 weeks. The lowest weights were 1 lb 8 oz, 1 lb 10 oz and 1 pound 11 oz. On the high end are a group of larger boys that ranged from 2 lb 10 oz to 2 lb 14 oz. There were a few in between, of course. The smaller ones seem to have daintier legs and a rangier build with a larger comb. Very Leghorn-y. The larger boys have much thicker legs and are taller. I think they end up more Legbar-y in type. The problem is of course the cream seems to be better in the daintier ones. Its never easy, is it?

 

[ChicKat]

Thanks Dr. E.

so interesting how they distribute---

The heaviest 12-week old 'on record' in the chick weight tracking is 3.25 - and the following week he was 3.75. at 20 weeks he was 5.25--- so I guess he is the 'biggest' that we have documentation recorded on.

My most recent are 2.6, 2.25 and 1.8 --- again quite the distribution of sizes. Yours and my recent ones have some real parallels.

Glad you have time to come back (and catch up on 86 posts)----

 

[ikkin]

My sweet cockerel I just got I'm very excited about him. He's a cream crested legbar

 

[sillyillyondra]

I am looking for an addition to my small little flock of ladies. We live on .5 acre and let the ladies free range during the day. My girls are getting up in age and production has decreased significantly. I found a local guy who has 9 week old Cream Legbar, Swedish Flower & Maran pullets. We would like a good layer so we are leaning towards the Legbar but I read they can be loud and flighty. I can clip their wings so I'm not too concerned about the flightiness. However the coop is next to our bedroom (I like to be able to hear any disturbances at night) and I will go mad if we have a loud chickens (and would have to turn over too many eggs to keep my neighbors happy). Our priority is a good layer but not at the sacrifice of a noisy lady. Any suggestions? I should add, I am in Northern California and have only raised BO (my favorite), Wynadottes and Light Brahmas thus far. All have been the sweetest girls.

 

[Junibutt]

I am looking for an addition to my small little flock of ladies. We live on .5 acre and let the ladies free range during the day. My girls are getting up in age and production has decreased significantly. I found a local guy who has 9 week old Cream Legbar, Swedish Flower & Maran pullets. We would like a good layer so we are leaning towards the Legbar but I read they can be loud and flighty. I can clip their wings so I'm not too concerned about the flightiness. However the coop is next to our bedroom (I like to be able to hear any disturbances at night) and I will go mad if we have a loud chickens (and would have to turn over too many eggs to keep my neighbors happy). Our priority is a good layer but not at the sacrifice of a noisy lady. Any suggestions? I should add, I am in Northern California and have only raised BO (my favorite), Wynadottes and Light Brahmas thus far. All have been the sweetest girls.

I can only speak for myself but others can chime in. I agree with flighty but loudness no. They are not as quiet as the Brahmas but I would say that don't make any noises especially none at night. They do sing the egg song, but my experiences are that the egg announcements of my RIR, Brahma and Red Star are much louder and longer than the Legbars.

Plus if you handle the Legbars enough, they are the sweetest and calmest chicks ever. They will definitely jump over the fence though if you don't clip their wings.

 

[KendyF]

Sunny is fading with age. Interesting how a bird may fall in or out of a color spectrum with age and molting. He is just finishing his first molt. What do you think?

 

[flyingmonkeypoop]

Long time no post! Figure I should check in since I haven't posted in a while. I hatched quite a few non crested birds this year which was a bummer but it just made culling easier. I only got 1 rose combed male and have a few rose combed pullets, then a few decent single combed birds so far. I had a cockerel that looked great for a while but then got a horrible squirrel tail so he was culled. Lots of legbar x ambar chicks to get that side project going good. I also got some cream legbars from a fellow member that have great cream color but are young so it is hard to tell type yet. I had my ambar and a rose comb legbar set and they hatched out chicks last week, out of 7, there are only 2 pullets. Sold my main breeding pair of single comb legbars this morning since I have some great looking youngsters coming up. I'll get pictures soon. I'll be showing two pullets next month- the single combed bird is from my original GFF hen and she looks amazing! She is about 5 months but already has a big floppy comb and good crest!

 

[tobit]

I have just returned from holiday in France (it was actually sunny and warm compared to cold & cloudy England...) and will update the situation of my chicks tomorrow, if i have the time 0 of course there will be some.... PICTURES

I just had a peak at them tonight when i got back and honestly they have grown HUGE! I was only away for a week, they're now 5 weeks and 3 days old, and half the size of their surrogate pekin bantam mum...

 

[chicken pickin]

I have just returned from holiday in France (it was actually sunny and warm compared to cold & cloudy England...) and will update the situation of my chicks tomorrow, if i have the time 0 of course there will be some.... PICTURES

I just had a peak at them tonight when i got back and honestly they have grown HUGE! I was only away for a week, they're now 5 weeks and 3 days old, and half the size of their surrogate pekin bantam mum...

I wont lie, Im just a LITTLE bit jealous lol. Both France and England sound like amazing places, Id love to see them both some day. I lived in Germany for a while years ago, that was a big change from here in the states, and I visited Austria once. Welcome back I hope you had a wonderful time on your holiday.

I cant wait to see the pics of your little ones, they sure do grow fast. They will outgrow their bantam mom in no time...