The Legbar Thread!

[harriedhomemaker]

Here's an update on my hatch. At last report I had hatched 3/13 eggs. One source half way across the country had resulted in two cockerels from five eggs. Another source a couple hours from me had hatched out one pullet from eight pullet eggs. Both were shipped.
Over the past week I hatched 5/20 of the remaining eggs. The same far away source hatched another cockerel from five eggs. And a source also a couple hours away but different than the first setting hatched two pullets and two cockerels from 15 pullet eggs. Again all were shipped eggs.
In total I spent $254 to buy and ship the eggs. I got essentially 3 pair for $84.50 per pair, with two free spare cockerels. This compares with the started stock that I purchased earlier this year. I paid $156.50 for two pair including shipping, or $79.50 per pair. I only throw that out for those who are considering hatching egg vs chicks/started.
Buying chicks/started is less of a gamble, and you know the sex up front. If you get a good hatch rate, say 50%, then eggs are cheaper, and I think its a little easier to collect unrelated stock.
In the second hatch all hatched at days 19-20. I have two mercury thermometers that I place top and bottom of the cabinate. The average temperature I would estimate ran 99 3/4 F. I did not measure humidity but used the same combination of water pail, pad/pads and ventilation that I've used in the past (as I mentioned last time I hatched 11/17 of the non CL breeds at the same time which were local but shipped). I think the biggest issue was that these were mostly pullet eggs, and the nice sized eggs were shipped long distance.
This time two chicks were initially difficult to sex, but became fairly clear at 3 or 4 days old.

Hatching is such a gamble with shipped eggs and yet the price difference is enough that I am tempted to try it. My only experience with shipped eggs (duck eggs - from MA to KS) turned out pretty good. I hatched 9 out of 15, but 7 of them were drakes so I ended up having to find more females and re-home some males. I would be really frustrated if that happened with CL eggs. I really like hatching my own, though.

Maybe I'll just have to do both! I've convinced my husband to build me a much larger building for my additions next spring, so what's a few more orders of eggs and birds compared to that? LOL!

 

[stoneunhenged]

Lately this thread has generated emails to Greenfire Farms about the possibility of creating an online pedigree registry for cream legbars. I think that would be an excellent idea if a group of legbar breeders and enthusiasts want to build a breed club around the registry. We don't have the time to run the registry for the club, but here's my offer if any of you want to join together and take advantage of it:

• First, there needs to be the formal creation of cream legbar breed club with the election of officers who are willing to volunteer and serve.
• There needs to be a breed standard adopted. This shouldn't be difficult since there is already a written breed standard in the UK and all the birds in the US are just one or two generations removed from their UK origins. I don't know why the UK standard couldn't simply be adopted as the US standard.
• There needs to be an online registry created. We're about to finalize our Greenfire online pedigree database where customers can browse and see the pedigree of our breeding flocks. But, it won't be built to accept data from outside contributors. I'm guessing that for a relatively small amount of money you could get Doug Meyer do modify this for your use. I would be willing to donate $500 toward that effort.
• Rules governing the use of the database need to be adopted by the club.

The approach outlined above has completely transformed a breed organization. The red wattle pig club more or less followed these steps and the group has grown, the pigs are getting better with each generation, and the club took over the registry from the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy with the blessing of ALBC.

If you can come together and make this a success your efforts will be an excellent template to start or revitalize other chicken breed clubs in America. It will take at least a half dozen people who are willing to cooperate and spend a decent amount of time on this project over the course of the next year.

So, while I won't be directly involved in the formation or running of your cream legbar club, I am happy to provide a little seed capital and, of course, make available our own pedigree data if you create a database. If you don't want to do it for whatever reason it's not a problem. But, if you accomplish the steps above PM me and let me know to send in my contribution to Doug.

Below you can see a screenshot of our draft pedigree data page for a bird. Good luck!

 

[ChicKat]

Lately this thread has generated emails to Greenfire Farms about the possibility of creating an online pedigree registry for cream legbars. I think that would be an excellent idea if a group of legbar breeders and enthusiasts want to build a breed club around the registry. We don't have the time to run the registry for the club, but here's my offer if any of you want to join together and take advantage of it:

• First, there needs to be the formal creation of cream legbar breed club with the election of officers who are willing to volunteer and serve.
• There needs to be a breed standard adopted. This shouldn't be difficult since there is already a written breed standard in the UK and all the birds in the US are just one or two generations removed from their UK origins. I don't know why the UK standard couldn't simply be adopted as the US standard.
• There needs to be an online registry created. We're about to finalize our Greenfire online pedigree database where customers can browse and see the pedigree of our breeding flocks. But, it won't be built to accept data from outside contributors. I'm guessing that for a relatively small amount of money you could get Doug Meyer do modify this for your use. I would be willing to donate $500 toward that effort.
• Rules governing the use of the database need to be adopted by the club.

The approach outlined above has completely transformed a breed organization. The red wattle pig club more or less followed these steps and the group has grown, the pigs are getting better with each generation, and the club took over the registry from the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy with the blessing of ALBC.

If you can come together and make this a success your efforts will be an excellent template to start or revitalize other chicken breed clubs in America. It will take at least a half dozen people who are willing to cooperate and spend a decent amount of time on this project over the course of the next year.

So, while I won't be directly involved in the formation or running of your cream legbar club, I am happy to provide a little seed capital and, of course, make available our own pedigree data if you create a database. If you don't want to do it for whatever reason it's not a problem. But, if you accomplish the steps above PM me and let me know to send in my contribution to Doug.

Below you can see a screenshot of our draft pedigree data page for a bird. Good luck!

An amazing and generous offer. I suspect that there is enough 'critical mass' in the USA and on BYC to establish a 'club'

 

[Phage]

I would be happy to be part of the club.

Would using a white male be a bad idea?
Is that a DQ?
I know you can't tell the underlying coloring which is not good.
The reason ask is because of the considerable confusion there seems to be with some people who raise CCL and Basque. Two people I know are having a hard time differentiating the 2 when they are adult. A white rooster is for sure CL.

Also Paul, could you list a brief a "side by side" comparison for CCL and Basque? That would be awesome.

 

[Dahlisgrams]

I would be happy to be part of the club.

Would using a white male be a bad idea?
Is that a DQ?
I know you can't tell the underlying coloring which is not good.
The reason ask is because of the considerable confusion there seems to be with some people who raise CCL and Basque. Two people I know are having a hard time differentiating the 2 when they are adult. A white rooster is for sure CL.

Also Paul, could you list a brief a "side by side" comparison for CCL and Basque? That would be awesome.

I would also be interested in being part of the club.

As far as white roosters go, I have a recessive white Basque...

 

[Phage]

Quote:
recessive white Basque

I had no idea they existed?? I Guess with a land race anything is possible

 

[Dahlisgrams]

recessive white Basque

I had no idea they existed?? I Guess with a land race anything is possible

Yep. Just to complicate things a little!

I'd like to see the side by side comparison as well. It would probably be very helpful.

 

[redchicken9]

Ok, I'm not sure I completely love the UK standards, but it is an excellent framework. A club could adapt these standards until a future ratification (using a measurable mechanism like x years or x number of members). I think I'd be interested in being part of a working group that looks (with you all) at how a club is set up and what people want from a club. If we start a new thread and give a month timeframe for input. I am offering to collect comments and or decisions and organize them by topic and write an outline towards a draft proposal. I'd like to say I have no poultry club experience and if there is someone with specific experience, please step forward. I'm offering what I think I might do best in the short term. Like others I suspect we all might be wary of longer term commitments, but let's get started!

I'm calling out ChicKat, GaryDean, Sheriff, Phage, DirtFarmer, FlyingMonkeyPoop, Blackbird13. Please forgive me if I didn't specifically call your name out. I lost my first writing, this is a rewrite. I know there are others, so please anyone can put names in the hat. Where do you want to go with this?

 

[normanack]

I will happily cheer all of you on from my little corner of beginner's chickendom.

 

[Dahlisgrams]

Ok, I'm not sure I completely love the UK standards, but it is an excellent framework. A club could adapt these standards until a future ratification (using a measurable mechanism like x years or x number of members). I think I'd be interested in being part of a working group that looks (with you all) at how a club is set up and what people want from a club. If we start a new thread and give a month timeframe for input. I am offering to collect comments and or decisions and organize them by topic and write an outline towards a draft proposal. I'd like to say I have no poultry club experience and if there is someone with specific experience, please step forward. I'm offering what I think I might do best in the short term. Like others I suspect we all might be wary of longer term commitments, but let's get started!

I'm calling out ChicKat, GaryDean, Sheriff, Phage, DirtFarmer, FlyingMonkeyPoop, Blackbird13. Please forgive me if I didn't specifically call your name out. I lost my first writing, this is a rewrite. I know there are others, so please anyone can put names in the hat. Where do you want to go with this?

Fwiw, I don't have a lot of experience with breed clubs, but I have time and am willing to volunteer any way that's needed.