The Legbar Thread!

[WyoChickenMamma]

I am very very glad more people here are taking a look at their CLBs.... I hate to say this I really do but....

Originally Posted by rc50
7/28/11


Do some research on Cream Legbars and what the British Standard is... then look at the birds at Greenfire Farms.... they are not close to being to standard....
if you want to see standard Cream Legbars.... take a look here...

http://www.cream-legbar.co.uk/index.html

Keith
SC
USA
Hambar breeder

I told you so almost a year ago... but was ignored...
have a great one

So I have been doing a lot of reading as well and have decided that what we have here are for sure not the breed standard in the UK. For what ever reasons it seems the birds in the US are darker and have more color. It will be interesting to see where this all leads for developing a standard here. Will people try to cull and breed within their own flock to the UK standard or just breed what they like the best. I have six, six week old chicks in my brooder, and ironically the pullet I like best is the one that is far from the UK standard. She is showing a lot of ginger/chestnut color in her breast and a very large crest, the rest of her body is also quite dark. There is another pullet that is closer to the UK standard, but she just looks kind of drab. My eye always gravitates to the darker one..she is a very pretty bird. But now I know that she really should be with my flock of laying hens and not bred, as she is way to dark. This is all very fascinating to me. I hope we can all continue to learn and work our way towards a standard. Thanks to everyone for sharing so openly.

 

[GaryDean26]

Hi Cream Legbar folks,

Here is a site: http://www.huehner-info.de/forum/showthread.php/31519-Fenton-Blues - that I believe is the source of this internet photo - (which I have added the caption to as well as the blue margins) the link to Fenton Blues has a discussion about crossing cream legbars and Marans. If you are Fenton Blues and you come across this---please weigh in with information. Thanks.

A note: If the link brings the site up in German, your Browser probably has a translate feature--- Google Chrome has a push-button translate feature easily used if yours doesn/t but, I digress.....






EARLIER in this thread there was some discussion about the color of the cream legbar roosters. I think we kind of concluded that as the rooster ages it lightens. For those with expertise and aesthetic appreciation, or just like me who are opinionated (lol). does the coloration of Fenton Blues rooster represent what we should be aiming for? Thanks for opinions.

I sent a request to Fenton Farms a several weeks ago. Their Fenton Blue is a Hybrid that is created from the Cream Legbar. They wouldn't give me any information on the breeding of the Fenton Blue. I guess they consider it a trade secret, but Fenton Farm is NOT in Germany. It is in the UK. The photos on their site do not look like they above. The Fenton Blue look like a cross between a New Hampshire or other red bird. Their is also a Fenton Red that lays colored eggs (Fenton Farms list that 80% of the Fenton Blues will lay colored eggs).

Last fall there was a discussion about the color of the Cream Legbar cock on in the poultry genetic section of "The Coop" forums. I gathered from that discussion that from a strictly genetics standpoint that a double barred Wild Type cockerel such as the Cream Legbar breed should have gold colored hackle and saddle feathers that are diluted from the double barring (and cream from the ig gene in the cream legbars), and chestnut feathers on the shoulder of the wings. The genetics guys in that forum pointed out that the Cocks in the UK are NOT genetically correct. A double barred wild type bird should NOT be a black and white bird. They pointed out that the UK cocks must have a restrict or for the red color of modifier that is NOT part of the breed standard. Because I am not seeing any genetics to back that cockerels should lack the chestnut color on the shoulders, and color on the hackles and saddles I am NOT going to breed for cockerels that match the colors that they are breeding for in the UK. I will cull for chestnut no the legs and body, but they should genetically have this color in the saddles, wings, hackles. The Cream Legbar is NOT a Cuckoo breed so breeding for cuckoo cockerels doesn't make any sense to me.

 

[ChicKat]

Thanks GaryDean26,

so, the photo that I posted may actually BE a "Fenton Blue" rooster and not a cream leg bar, although the hens are cream leg bars?

It was strange because the image came up superimposed on that particular forum which was in German, which led me to believe that is where that particular rooster was located.

As always thanks for the insights.

ETA -according to this:http://club.omlet.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=22267
someone thought that the Fenton Blue was a Lavendar Araucana (UK variety) and a Cream Legbar cross. I guess according to that same thread eggs weren't plentiful enough -

 

[rc50]

From my research a Fenton Blue still is NOT a Cream Legbar but like it....

and is a hybrid...

http://www.garden4veg.com/fenton-blue.html


Keith
SC
USA

 

[ChicKat]

From my research a Fenton Blue still is NOT a Cream Legbar but like it....

and is a hybrid...

http://www.garden4veg.com/fenton-blue.html


Keith
SC
USA

okay, thanks Keith, so as a hybrid it would be like a variety of our sexlinks here but not autosexing like a Cream Legbar. -- getting way off topic here...but sound from that garden4veg link like a really nice bird! Almost like a sexlinked easter egger with a female that looks like a Cream Legbar.

 

[rc50]

Hi.. If you like the gold in the neck have you seen Gold Legbars... ? I think they are just beautiful.... they don't lay blue tinted eggs like Cream Legbars but are still beautiful...!!!
take a look at this pic

http://tanyaschooks.webs.com/goldlegbar.htm

have a great one

Keith
SC
USA

 

[boykin2010]

I have a question that is off topic but I was hoping some of you who are good with genetics could help me out.
I have a spare cream legbar rooster so I was thinking about experimenting crossing him with some of my other "spare hens."
It just so happens that my incubator is empty for the first time in about 8 months... I would love to cross the CL and make some interesting crosses. Here is a list of everything I have available to cross with the rooster

Light Brown Leghorn, White Leghorn, Buff Orpington, Black Australorp, Easter Eggers, Turken (naked neck), Black Sex-link, and Red Sex-links

I was really interested in crossing him with the light brown leghorn. I don't know if that would be considered sex-linked? Are any of the other things I have able to make a sex-linked cross? A cream legbar turken would look interesting... I could make some olive eggers and more easter eggers. That is all I got though. Hopefully some of you can chime in

 

[GaryDean26]

Ya, I was guessing that the rooster in the Fenton Blue post looked like it had the Lavender gene too.

I am not sure if these are Cream Legbars or Hybrids in the Photo. The breeders of the Fenton Blue would have to start with Cream Legbars, so these could be some of their starter stock. The hens defiantly look like pure Legbars to me and not the hybrids I had seen photos of though.

 

[longgrove]

I'm not up to date on the complexity of the genetics of crosses. As far as the cream legbars are concerned, it seems that we in the USA have had a hard enough time getting foundation stock that meet the standard, so it might not be a great idea to stress that the crosses are "what ever bars" as some of the hybrids might sneak into the gene pool for the CLs.

It also seems that it is a huge undertaking to develop a stable cross, involving generations of breeding and a lot of culling, moving many of the offspring into the laying flock,but not the breeding stream. That being said, there seem to be a lot of CL roos in excess (am I the only one that gets the impression that the male count in the early hatchings exceeds the female?), they reportedly heve a lot of good qualities for a homestead chicken ( good foragers, not too large, good layers) and might be good to use to breed some hardy "mutt" chickens for home use on family farms.

I worry a bit about the large straight combs as I live in a cold climate, so a cross with, say a rosecomb brown legharn (which is one of its foundation breeds and a good forager and layer) or hamberg might work well for a homestead chicken, but calling them something bars might be a problem and might hurt the chances of getting the CLs accepted as a breed in the future,

However, it seems that excess CL roos would make good sires for EEs, since they are just hybrids that lay blue or green eggs. It might reinforce the blue egg quality and stabilize the size a bit.
i am thinking of hatching some eggs from my EEs and my CL roo as "practice" until I can get a couple of CL pullets or some CL hatching eggs. However, if I sell any they will be "EEs". not "half CL".

 

[blackbirds13]

I am very very glad more people here are taking a look at their CLBs.... I hate to say this I really do but....

Originally Posted by rc50
7/28/11


Do some research on Cream Legbars and what the British Standard is... then look at the birds at Greenfire Farms.... they are not close to being to standard....
if you want to see standard Cream Legbars.... take a look here...

http://www.cream-legbar.co.uk/index.html

Keith
SC
USA
Hambar breeder

I told you so almost a year ago... but was ignored...
have a great one

I really find your post a little disappointing. and it comes across as more of an attempt at a personal satisfaction jab...too bad it could not have been a more positive contribution to the conversation.