The Legbar Thread!

[Flaming Chicken]

At 18 weeks, 2 out of my 3 girls are developing rosie combs! Yay! Waiting for eggs. All 6 of my legbars have crests and silly playful personalities. One of the girls ruffles her neck feathers and dances around looking like she wants to chase me.

 

[normanack]

I am still reeling from the loss of my breeder rooster last night so I don't feel like addressing those issues this soon.. . . . . It isn't a taboo subject for most people who raise chickens.

Quite honestly, I was hesitant to ask because of the losses you and others have suffered so recently. I also didn't know if culling was not discussed in order not to inflame nonbreeders who might not realize culling is necessary.

Anyway, I'm very sorry for your loss and for others who have lost their birds recently, and I appreciate your candor.

 

[cjwaldon]

On the cocks the comb is more important than the crest. On the hens the crest is more important that the comb. I hope that a balance in the middle will produce good cresting on the girls and straight combs on the boys.

How do you choose your keepers if you're keeping the boys with the best combs and the girls with the best crests? Don't you want to select for features consistently regardless of gender?

 

[Zgoatlady]

Sadly I must report that I will be out of the cream legbar egg business for six months. Tonight my DH put down my beautiful rooster Reggie. I believe he injured his foot and got a systemic infection. Three of his toes were turning purplish black, he wasn't eating or drinking and barely able to move. Watching him try to move into the shade was torture. I tried penicillin injections with no response so we did what we thought was right. I feel blessed to have a husband who will do this for me when necessary. Thankfully it isn't often. I have eight eggs incubating and will put the others in until they are no longer fertile. I should hatch a male or two to grow out as a replacement. I don't bring started birds into my flock so starting from the egg up is all I can do.

Besides losing Reggie, it has been a wretched day and I am going to try to sleep.

Im so sorry

 

[blackbirds13]

Which brings up one of the questions I have for serious breeders, like you all:
What do you do with CLs to be culled?
Cockerels, grown out: send them to the soup pot? Sell as CLs? Sell as Easter eggers or generic chickens? Auction as generics? Give away, again as CLs or as EEs or generics? Humanely dispose of?
Cockerels, as baby chicks: humanely dispose of? Sell? Give away? (As what?) Sub-question: can you tell with a baby chick if it's not up to your standards, or is it simply because of excess males?
Hens. And here I am speaking of those you choose not to breed, as I assume there are never enough worthy CL hens, while there might be too many worthy CL cockerels (and please correct me if I'm wrong). Grown out? And as chicks?
Second question: for what reasons and/or flaws do you cull?
Please note: I am asking these questions repectfully to you as conscientious breeders. I am not making moral or emotional judgments of any sort.
Many thanks for any responses. I want to learn.

Okay - I'll tackle this one 'cause I'm feeling happy today - my pair of Jubilees came in!
Culling - give away, sell, rehome or put down - to quote the Queen of Hearts "Off with their heads". Some find this not to their liking but I think it is a necessary part of the process. I don't use the word humane as it's got different connotations for different people. Some starter fluid works for the really young ones.
Selling extra roosters has it's challenges - and from now to the fall there will be a lot of extras on the market around here I am sure. I've sold some CL roos but not many.
I've disposed of roosters at all ages. i just cannot afford to feed the number of males that hatch during this process. I'm not happy about it but not taken aback by it either.
I've sent some to the soup pot but others were too old to be tasty or too young to make all that work worthwhile so...
I'm looking for roosters with small crests but good combs. I'll take a good comb over a crest. I'm also looking for a more creamier color on hackles and saddles. Females - at this point if it breathes I'm keeping it for now unless they are obvious faults and I'll watch how they grow - they are all way too young. I am hoping for medium crests and not worried about combs. I'd also like to breed towards a creamier hackle on the girls as one of my girls is whiter than the other.
My initial roosters had a floppy comb and no really visible crest but he throws good combs and crests. My younger boy is still developing but i will also mate him to both females if i can and see what differences I see - I like his body and his chest size more than my older boy. I have tagged one male chick to keep, perhaps 2 simply because I like their comb and crest deveolopment and their body color is more 'mellow' .
As I go forward - comb, crest, color and type I will have to prioritize...still pondering it all. It's like a quest in a way...

 

[ChicKat]

Hi The Sheriff and Lonnyandrinda,

So very sorry to hear about your losses.

 

[blackbirds13]

How do you choose your keepers if you're keeping the boys with the best combs and the girls with the best crests? Don't you want to select for features consistently regardless of gender?

Hi,
If you read the UK standard, which is all we can go by for now. Combs and crests are stressed differently for both male and female. The males need a large straight comb with a small crest and females can have floppy combs and a larger crest. The crest should not be overly large in both is what I have garnered. Here are some quotes about what the standard would be...

Behind the large single comb the cock sports a small crest or spiky tuft of feathers inherited from its ancestors of the South American Indians. The hens tend to have a floppy comb and a much neater, larger crest than the male; they have brownish silver-grey plumage with broad smudged barring, and unlike the male, have a warm salmon coloured breast. The hens may show some brown colouring to either side of the crest, whilst the cocks may have some chestnut feathers in the crest and in the saddle hackles. Both - Crest cream and grey, some chestnut permissible.



FEMALE
The general characteristics are similar to those of the male, allowing for the natural sexual differences, except that the comb may be erect or falling gracefully over either side of the face without obstructing the eyesight

MALE
Comb single, perfectly straight and erect, large but not overgrown, deep and evenly serrated (5 to 7 spikes broad at the base), extending well beyond the back of the head and following, without touching, the line of the head, free from "thumb marks" or side spikes.

 

[blackbirds13]

I feel terrible for all the losses everyone is experiencing. I lost a Marans hen yesterday - not sure why but suspect she was egg-bound and the heat isn't helping. I've been lucky with the legbars and all my new chicks. I lost my Splash Marans earlier this year and had to have my husband put him down as I could not do it myself like I normally do - justt oo emotional. I think it sent me into a a weird place for a bit - I think I'm finally working my way back into my original mindset about chickens. I was feeling overwhelmed, disappointed and pressured. I hope your flock recovers and grows and that the process quickly works it's way back to a happy place. I think I'm also done for the year with starter brds. My last hatch went badly at lockdown. I had a temp spke due to the external heat in the closet I incubate in. The max record on my digital reader said 104 and 98% humidity for the temp/humidity in the incubator...oh well. Have more in lockdown today so we'll see how it goes this week. Take care all.

 

[Flaming Chicken]

Here are some pictures of my gang at 18 weeks.

 

[ladyfaeden]

Which brings up one of the questions I have for serious breeders, like you all:
What do you do with CLs to be culled?
Cockerels, grown out: send them to the soup pot? Sell as CLs? Sell as Easter eggers or generic chickens? Auction as generics? Give away, again as CLs or as EEs or generics? Humanely dispose of?
Cockerels, as baby chicks: humanely dispose of? Sell? Give away? (As what?) Sub-question: can you tell with a baby chick if it's not up to your standards, or is it simply because of excess males?
Hens. And here I am speaking of those you choose not to breed, as I assume there are never enough worthy CL hens, while there might be too many worthy CL cockerels (and please correct me if I'm wrong). Grown out? And as chicks?
Second question: for what reasons and/or flaws do you cull?
Please note: I am asking these questions repectfully to you as conscientious breeders. I am not making moral or emotional judgments of any sort.
Many thanks for any responses. I want to learn.

Hi,
I actually tried to answer this, this morning but got called away mid-answer and lost it. Culled females of other breeds find quick homes as layers. I've only culled one CL female so far (for lack of crest) and she's working on a project for me-her first chicks are due in 2 weeks and will be sex-linked. When we decided to raise chickens, my husband and I talked about it and decided it was silly to raise the roos and then give them away for others to eat, we will be learning to butcher them ourselves. Extra baby boys will be sold cheap to people who want to raise meat birds-I'm in a good area for that. I will probably be raising a lot myself as I will be selecting for fast growing boys among other things.

Culling is a subjective process once you get past the topic of major flaws. I've raised goats for years and saw everyone's herds grow to suit the tastes of the breeder, within the limits of the standard. I personally could not stand hocks that weren't perfectly straight (and those goats would wear unevenly on their hooves and were more likely to have joint problems, etc) so that was the first thing I focused on. I also wanted "Pixie ears" because the goats with them looked extremely alert and would get the judges attention in the show ring. I selected boys with all the traits I wanted because you could pick up really nice boys easily and my herd very quickly morphed into what I wanted. I learned if you focused on too many traits at once you ended up with mediocre animals who didn't really excel in any category. I think I put all my goals for the CL on my website, but I'm breeding for utility first-my extra boys will be eaten, so I want big fast growing chickens. Chicks have to be clearly sexable as I'm close to a major city that allows chickens and everyone wants a guaranteed girl. I want girls to lay early and often. I want the crests to be a lighter color as I think my current hens very dark crests are kind of ugly (I've a juvenile girl with a light crest, so I'm hopeful!). At any rate, I got a little off topic-but you can see I have needs and pick traits to focus on. I'm not going to be too concerned with the color standard, but will select towards the correct color palate when everything else is equal. I figure in a couple years I can trade eggs with someone with different goals and we can both improve.... Oh, I also care about egg color because that's the reason I picked these over the rhodebar, but am still getting both blue and green eggs from my girls and am really confused about that.

My very first home-grown CL chick just broke out of their shell! I'm anxiously waiting for them to dry off so I can see what I've got....