The Legbar Thread!

[CibolaChooks]

No not too wound up---- I think that we in the USA may be bouncing around on this question for a bit longer in our lives. There are a lot of things--- I'm considering are a bit open to interpretation....

"Carriage: sprightly and alert but free from stiltiness" so I have a webster's dictionary moment -- what in the heck is stiltiness in a chicken?? :O{

Thanks for the pictures lonnyandrinda

i think this is stiltiness. legs look like stilts. haha just joking i have no clue.

 

[Dirt Farmer]

Quote:
"Carriage: sprightly and alert but free from stiltiness" so I have a webster's dictionary moment -- what in the heck is stiltiness in a chicken?? :O{"


My barred rocks suffer from this to some degree. They, especially the males, are set high on their legs, giving them a long legged, flat chested look.

Quote:
"I have been lurking but I guess I'm in a holding pattern. I'm interested in what others are doing and wondering what direction these birds will take and what they will look like as a breed in the years to come. I wonder if they'll end up like Marans where it's hard to really get you own decent flock going because there are so many faults in them and I guess the Marans gene pool is small. I also wonder about all the folks that buy them just to breed and sell with out any concern for advancing the breed positively. I wonder how precipitously the price will go down next year or in the years to come. In a state like NH where a chicken is just a chicken and everyone wants pullets and only pullets I can see this as a popular breed regardless of conformity. I'm breeding my gold girl but really would prefer not to advance that color outside my flock but at the same time need to make culling decisions while wondering about all the gold birds and colorful roosters and how we have a preponderance of them here,while they seem totally unacceptable in the UK. Torn because I like some color but personally I really want a Cream colored Legbar flock. I think this is a wonderful breed of chicken and I'm hoping that at some point there will be some uniformity that we can all strive towards but wondering if it will be one that I personally will concur with. I don't have the time to do everything I'd like to do with my 3 year old running around (should stuck with my 26, 25 and 22 year old sons JJ

). I would love to do an open discussion and I hope to attend some fairs this fall (as an observer) but summer's over and the work begins anew. Wish I could hatch larger batches and had time to really keep detailed records and the like but...."

All of the rarer breeds suffer from a small gene pool, and also because they haven't been worked on for decades by master breeders. I've noticed that over the course of time various breeds get very popular, prices skyrocket, everybody jumps on the bandwagon, and prices pummet. (I remember an auction by Greenfire Farms where a pair of Sussex's were bid up to over $4000.00; I once paid over a $100 for 6 BCM hatching eggs.) Today people are getting big money for the Jubilee Orpington, in three years, auctions will go unnoticed on Ebay. I think if this breed is hang on here in the U.S., we will all have to agree on a standard and breed towards it to get APA acceptance. The U.K. standard of course makes sense. Personally I would consider a more colorful standard, with crest and blue egg laying ability. Maybe more the color of a Gold Legbar but with the other two traits of the Cream. Could call it a Crested Gold Legbar to distinguish it from the original two varieties. At some point we would have to have some organization (not necessarily an organization) so that 10 or 15 breeders are working on the same look. Thanks for all the posts guys. This is one of the most active threads I've ever seen. (And kindest, not any nastiness here.)

 

[Thespoiledchicken]

Hi everyone. Sorry I have not been on in a while- looks like I have lots of pages to catch up on

Just wanted to let everyone know that my Recessive White Cream Legbars started laying a couple weeks ago and eggs are a nice Blue to Blue Green

Eggs are already a nice large size so I am separating them now and planning to put some in the incubator in a few weeks. They should hatch 100% Recessive Whites

Will have fertile eggs for sale next month if anyone is interested


Trish

 

[redchicken9]

Blackbird and all, Yes, summer's flown by! I agree, lots of fall projects and lots to think about. I have 3 roos. One I am giving away because, low and behold, his ears aren't pure white. While a bit of red on an otherwise good rooster is OK, standard is clear that not white or cream is a defect. Anyone know about the gene for ear color or seen this? I'm only a little bummed as this rooster is one of two contributing to my B line. He'll be out of action ASAP, but I have collected eggs for me to go into the incubator. They're headed in tomorrow. I do often wonder what Greenfire Farms started with, seemingly from the faults (comb, leg, plumage color, maybe ear lobe color) not a UK standard line. That said, I like some color. I like the salmon on the girls with the softer grey, as well as darker hens, but I definitely like the wild type boys! For males, I prefer this over silver or very lightly barred (too white). Still not convinced if I've seen a good cream, lots of silver or bleached white (for a lack of a better description). I'm also OK with pure white as another color variation within the breed. Just thinking next time I hatch maybe I'd be smart to do a trade with someone with nice birds. Well, I've got my own crazy beautiful little world to be apart of. Thanks all for the updates!

 

[Miss Molly]

I have been hatching a lot of Cream Legbars So dang Cute <3

 

[normanack]

I am in love with them all.

 

[RachaelS]

So does anyone else just adore the "cooing" that the babies do? Sounds almost like what I would imagine a chicken would sound like if it could purr, LOL

Do they do that when they get older or is that just a baby trait?

 

[ChicKat]

i think this is stiltiness. legs look like stilts. haha just joking i have no clue.

LOL!!! Now I know! :O)

 

[longgrove]

"Wicked cunnin' "chicks, Miss Molly! So far I just have a cockeral a bit short of 4 months. He seems to be in no hurry to grow up, have seen pics of younger birds who look more mature.
That is OK with me, tho, I have no interest in raising for meat. Perhaps a super fast growth rate is good for cost effective meat production but maybe not as good for longterm health and productivity? Anyway, he is just getting the start of his roo saddle and hackle feathers. So far, has some gold on the body but none in the hackle. Will watch. He is gentle and friendly, hope it stays that way.

I'm not going to be in a position to breed in a large way, but would like to do some and want any that I do breed to be a positive contribution to the breed. Perhaps birds that are seriously off standard could join the ranks of EEs? On the other hand, (I'm extrapolating now from breeding dairy goats) is focusing on the look primarily a potential problem if it takes too much focus on other desirable traits like high lay rate, good egg size, cold hardiness, disease resistance, and good temperment, etc? Especially in light of the small gene pool. I'm reminded of the damage to many dog breeds that occured when they became very popular and were bred (often in-bred) just to win shows, or worse, bred to the max, regardless of quality to get the maximum number of salable pups. As a result, a lot of hereditary problems (such as hop dysplasia) became a lot more common. Look at the vigor of the "land race" heirloom chicken breeds.

Since I live in Maine, with temps going below -20F amd sometimes below -30F, in the winter, I can see the value of a rose combed version (my sense is that the climate in UK is much more mild, hence the viability of those pretty, huge red single combs). After all, brown leghorns come in a rose comb variety and I believe that I read that rose combs occur spontaneously in purebred crested cream legbars (but are culled out when they occur). Not as sure about the whites, as it would seem to defeat the auto sexing trait?

Hoping to get a couple of pullets or a clutch of hatching eggs in the Spring (if possible, without shipping). I do believe that a loose coalition of many small but conscientious breeders could help to increase the genitic pool over time and contribute to the breed's development. (After all, it is not a good idea to put all the eggs in just a few baskets! lol)

Hope I'm not offending anyone, just musing out loud.

Nell

 

[ChicKat]

...
I think if this breed is hang on here in the U.S., we will all have to agree on a standard and breed towards it to get APA acceptance. The U.K. standard of course makes sense. Personally I would consider a more colorful standard, with crest and blue egg laying ability. Maybe more the color of a Gold Legbar but with the other two traits of the Cream. Could call it a Crested Gold Legbar to distinguish it from the original two varieties. At some point we would have to have some organization (not necessarily an organization) so that 10 or 15 breeders are working on the same look. Thanks for all the posts guys. This is one of the most active threads I've ever seen. (And kindest, not any nastiness here.)

I agree with Dirt Farmer and blackbirds13 that perhaps we would want more colorful birds than some of the ones that I have seen in UK pictures which look almost white to me. That being said. we have a lot of really pretty birds in the white variation....and I see in post 2565 Miss Molly has some very light boys.

'betcha we will all agree on blue or blue-green eggs and crests. Maybe the USA could have Crested Legbars in Gold, Cream, Light and pure White varieties... Hmmmm something for everyone.
to a certain extent too....each of us has a definite preference for a certain set of traits. It is a pretty good thing to bring up these considerations and see where they lead. Thanks guys!