The Legbar Thread!

[RobG7aChattTN]

I should have explained better. I bought 12 eggs most were Blue Orpington. But he didn't have 12. So I got some copper maran eggs and after calling him found out those chipmunk looking chicks are Rhodebar chicks. They look similar to the CL chicks. As he also had CL there I thought maybe I had one, but I was confused because it hatched from a brown egg... haha.
So I have two Rhodebar and three Orpingtons.
I don't knkw what the male Rhodebar chick should look like tho.
I think those light chicks are orpington.
Thanks for the help!

Rhodebar cockerels are quite light colored. You can google it and see a picture. These just may be Rhodebar cockerels.

 

[newchick13wa]

The only reason I think they may be orpington is the blue legs.
The Rhodebar chicks have normal colored legs. The three others had blueish legs at hatching. One has some feathers on the legs.

 

[RobG7aChattTN]

maybe you should call and ask the breeder. Sounds like he has trouble keeping track of which birds laid which eggs and perhaps you have some mixed birds as well but at least he should know what breeds he has.

 

[newchick13wa]

maybe you should call and ask the breeder. Sounds like he has trouble keeping track of which birds laid which eggs and perhaps you have some mixed birds as well but at least he should know what breeds he has.

I know which breeds he had, and I spoke with him. Since this was my first time hatching eggs. I didn't Mark them when I set them. So just thought I would get input. After reading many articles and looking at pictures, I narrowed it down to the two breeds. Rhodebar and blue orpington. I read that blue orpingtons will have a specific blue shade to the legs. My three do. The other two, I am presuming to be Rhodebar hens. As discussed in the Rhodebar thread I posted on after discovering the above mentioned research and now knowing CL only come from Blue eggs.

 

[RobG7aChattTN]

You are probably right as I looked around a bit and it does seem that splash blue Orpingtons are often yellow-white although they can have a bit of silvery grey as well. The Rhodebar cockerels can be quite a range and even be as light as yellow but should still have that white head spot. Blue legs also do point to blue Orpington.

 

[azygous]

I have, had that is, two seven-month old Cream Legbar pullets and one ten-month old CLB cockerel. I just had one pullet die this past week, and the other one came down sick last night.

I fear these pullets have egg laying issues. I'm wondering if the breed has genetic flaws that cause too many eggs to be released within a 25 hour period, resulting in backed up eggs and infection.

Both of these pullets have laid two eggs within that 25 hour window. I noticed the surviving pullet was acting ill last night and I gave her a dose of antibiotics and placed her on a roost in the coop where she usually sleeps. Sometime during the night or maybe at roosting time, she slipped out and ended up in a nest box in the coop where she prefers to lay her eggs.

That's where I found her before dawn this morning. She had passed a soft-shelled egg and it was smashed into the nesting material. Her previous egg had been laid yesterday morning, less than 25 hours previously. The Legbar who died had also laid two eggs withing a 25 hour period in the last several weeks before she died.

I love these gorgeous chickens, and I just hope I don't lose my remaining pullet, too. The cockerel seems fine.

I'll be grateful for any comments or observations.

 

[jerryse]

I have, had that is, two seven-month old Cream Legbar pullets and one ten-month old CLB cockerel. I just had one pullet die this past week, and the other one came down sick last night.

I fear these pullets have egg laying issues. I'm wondering if the breed has genetic flaws that cause too many eggs to be released within a 25 hour period, resulting in backed up eggs and infection.

Both of these pullets have laid two eggs within that 25 hour window. I noticed the surviving pullet was acting ill last night and I gave her a dose of antibiotics and placed her on a roost in the coop where she usually sleeps. Sometime during the night or maybe at roosting time, she slipped out and ended up in a nest box in the coop where she prefers to lay her eggs.

That's where I found her before dawn this morning. She had passed a soft-shelled egg and it was smashed into the nesting material. Her previous egg had been laid yesterday morning, less than 25 hours previously. The Legbar who died had also laid two eggs withing a 25 hour period in the last several weeks before she died.

I love these gorgeous chickens, and I just hope I don't lose my remaining pullet, too. The cockerel seems fine.

I'll be grateful for any comments or observations.

I fear Legbar are too inbred and need a shot of new blood . I have had mine going on 3 years . Lost or actually culled a hen and pullet that got sick . I do not allow sick birds to recover .
My hybrids do great .

I crossed to light brown Leghorn last year and raised 1 cockerel that I hatched chicks from . So those are 3/4 Legbar . I would suggest you try brown Leghorn cross . I have just hatched some of these 3/4 . So it will be awhile before I have any of them laying . I could send you some eggs later if you are interested . You could also contact flyingmonkeypoop as he crossed to rose comb brown Leghorn .

 

[RobG7aChattTN]

Two eggs in a 25 hour period is actually normal. My Cream Legbars are a mix of all the Greenfire lines except the Rees line and my Roos have always been unrelated to my hens. Unfortunately I think that it might be necessary to mix up the limited DNA that we have in the U.S. And then form new lines.

 

[azygous]

Thanks for the observations. Much appreciated.

My CLB pullet is on the nest again trying for another egg within a 25 hour window. Is this the norm for CLBs? Do they belt out eggs like a shotgun?

 

[JakesMama]

Were their legs always white? None of my birds have legs that white but it does seem like their legs fade quickly...even before they start laying. My birds started as a mix of lines and the birds with the most color (the opposite of the trend toward lighter birds) have had the best leg color. It also seems like the birds with the smaller (or non existent) crests were larger and more robust. There are so few lines in the U.S. that this might just represent differences in those first few Greenfire lines but as I try and move toward a more cohesive look over a few generations it will be interesting to see if the size and if leg color remains difficult. I have a new, unrelated rooster and I haven't seen any of his chicks yet so I'm curious to see what I get. The new rooster has better cream, a bigger crest and his legs are darker yellow but my old rooster had a straighter comb and a better tail angle (but most of my new pullets are his daughters). If you are just getting started you may as well start with a really nice rooster as they are cheap and plentiful enough and will represent 50% of the DNA of all your chicks. It's hard to tell from those photographs but unless those birds are really spectacular except for leg color and all your pullets are unrelated with really good leg color I'd probably just be on the lookout for another rooster.

Hi
He is an ok example of the breed
Not good for showing.
He should have yellow legs.
He has too much gold on his saddle feathers
Way too much on the top of his wing
And he has gold in his crest which you wouldent
Usually have that in the crest

Thank you, and sorry for the delayed response! I don't know much about the breeders except a photo my friend showed me of her flock. I noticed a lot of major differences between the hens and roos in the photo, including some with white legs. I knew my guy wasn't SOP, but I still appreciate both of your inputs Sadly, my pullet died a couple weeks ago before every getting to lay an egg. I'll be getting hatching eggs soon from a better breeder and I won't breed them to my dude. I'll just use him for my light blue, ee and OE projects! :-D