Cream Legbars

[KendyF]

I am sure enjoying everyone's pictures! CP I hope you stick with the CLB for a bit longer. I really like your birds. I know how hard it can be to make space though. I live on land with no neighbors and it is still a problem. I am trying to do three different breeds (including the CL) and I don't think I will ever have enough space. I casually mentioned to my husband about needing another small coop for all the boys and the look on his face was priceless...

I have had my struggles getting going with my Legbars and was feeling pretty disheartened about the whole enterprise but I then I decided to just make do with what I have for the time being. My birds are not great and the two pullets I managed to hatch earlier were pretty disappointing. However, I set 10 eggs under my best broody and all 10 hatched and I ended up with 8 pullets and 2 cockerels. Finally the percentages are on my side!

I scooped up all the girls and brought them inside and left the two boys with mama. She has turned out to be the absolute best broody, I am so thankful I have her. Here are the little boys:

And the girls:
Awe adorabe

 

[ChicKat]

Originally Posted by BuffyBugSlayer

What nice chicks!!!!!! Love seeing these picts too.

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

To all - I don't know how anyone tolerates daily temps over 100° let alone wearing a down coat. Do you wait until the sun goes down to do your chicken chores? I have thought it might be helpful that chickens don't sweat, at least the feathers don't stick. Happy to see all the shady pics, looks like there's some relief from the heat.

Congrats to the new layers!

Well, in the morning it's only about 80-85F, so if I can get everything done before 8 or 9am I'm good (and I have to get it all done before then anyway because I have to go to work). Even though my coop only gets about two hours of morning sun, it's a pretty rough two hours this time of year - I've got plywood leaned up against the open parts of the run for shade (they love it). And I make lots and lots of ice...

- Ant Farm

 

[phoenix-silkie]

are cream legbar a type of sex link? that would be amazing
is there any way to sex them when they hatch, other than vent and wing sexing?

 

[chicken pickin]

are cream legbar a type of sex link? that would be amazing
is there any way to sex them when they hatch, other than vent and wing sexing?

Cream Legbar are auto sexing. Meaning yes they can be sexed at hatch.

Cream Legbars can be identified by their markings at hatch. You just need to know what to look for when identifying them. Its not as simple as chipmunk marked for female and head spot for male.

They can come in dark and light shades for both male and female. Also both male and females can have head spots, chipmunk markings and eyeliner.

Male and female are identified using the difference in the size and shape (or lack) of head spot, distinct vs fuzzy chipmunk pattern, also distinct vs fuzzy eye liner. Often males have a cooler grayish tone also though not always and females typically have a slight warmer tone.

-Males have large splotchy head spots, fuzzy non distinct chipmunk pattern, sometimes males lack chipmunk pattern. Males have fuzzy non distinct eyeliner sometimes no eyeliner. Typically males will have cooler toned down in shades of gray, Some males are very blonde.

-Females are always to have a very distinct chipmunk pattern, as well as dark distinct eyeliner, they also have a distinct V on their heads. They are often warmer toned in down color in shades of tan and dark brown with a golden or reddish tone(sometimes females can be blondish in color but still have the distinct markings). Females can also have a head spot, though a females head spot is small and tight (sometimes females have no visible head spot).


Here are some examples from my flock and it shows that males and females can come in many different colors and patterns,

Here is a pullet on left, cockerel on right top view (note they both have head spots only they are different)

same pair from sideveiw here you can see the difference in eyeliner, pullets has a dark distinct line, the males is softer and indistinct


2 light colored (blondish) cockerels not showing much of chipmunk marks but still showing head spots and 1 pullet


4 pullets and 2 darker downed, chipmunk marked, cockerels (note the the 2 cockerels have large head spots and have a slight cooler toned down color, different than the 4 females)


4 distinct chipmunk marked pullets (not you can see on the bottom chick her head spot though it is small and tight)


same 4 Pullets with dark eyeliner


Pullet showing her head spot but also distinct markings also warmer toned down


Cockerel showing large head spot with indistinct chipmunk markings and is cooler in down color.


Here is a cockerel that is lacking chipmunk markings and has a head spot


This is a post I wrote not to long ago on another thread that had some confusion on how to sex Cream Legbar chicks. I just copied and pasted from that thread so I hope its not too confusing.

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

are cream legbar a type of sex link? that would be amazing
is there any way to sex them when they hatch, other than vent and wing sexing?

Yes, as I understand it that was one of the primary reasons for their development in the 1940s (?). The "Leg" comes from leghorn (one of the breeds used to develop CCLs), and the "bar" indicates barring. (This can and will be explained at greater length by those on this thread smarter and with better memories than mine). There are also Rhodebars, and other type "-bars". When they hatch, they SHOULD have distinct differences between pullets and cockerels. Since this autosexing feature is one of the major advantages, when one breeds CCLs, it is important to cull (not breed from) any chicken that was not easily sexed by down color/markings at hatch, in order to preserve the good clear autosexing in the breed. (I find it very disappointing that it seems that that is being lost already, even in some "famous" lines, as can been seen by the multiple "is this a boy or girl" posts of chick s that don't have good autosexing features.)

- Ant Farm

Edit: CP, you beat me to it (and with photos!) Not worthy...

 

[ChicKat]

are cream legbar a type of sex link? that would be amazing
is there any way to sex them when they hatch, other than vent and wing sexing?

Cream Legbars are so easy to sex at hatch - that often you can tell even before they are fully fluffed up. IT is AMAZING!!! -- and we folks that have them forget how very spoiled we are that we know from day 1 who is who.

You need to get you some.

As Ant Farm said - there are some lines that autosexing is a bit ambiguous -- hopefully people with problem chicks can breed that ambiguity out of their strains. Lucky me -- no doubt from day one if it will grow to be an egg layer or not, and when I supply people with chicks - I know for certain if they want only pullets -- that they got only pullets.

Here's something else that the others haven't mentioned. With autosexing you will get gender definition on for generation after generation and Ant Farm is right again most consider autosexing the single most important and revolutionary trait of the breed. With sex-links - you need to keep the two parent breeds -- such as Rhode Island Red rooster over Rhode Island White hen for Golden Comets -- and breed the offspring together and sex-link is gone. Not so with CLs -- so therefore a more sustainable alternative.

 

[chicken pickin]

Yes, as I understand it that was one of the primary reasons for their development in the 1940s (?). The "Leg" comes from leghorn (one of the breeds used to develop CCLs), and the "bar" indicates barring. (This can and will be explained at greater length by those on this thread smarter and with better memories than mine). There are also Rhodebars, and other type "-bars". When they hatch, they SHOULD have distinct differences between pullets and cockerels. Since this autosexing feature is one of the major advantages, when one breeds CCLs, it is important to cull (not breed from) any chicken that was not easily sexed by down color/markings at hatch, in order to preserve the good clear autosexing in the breed. (I find it very disappointing that it seems that that is being lost already, even in some "famous" lines, as can been seen by the multiple "is this a boy or girl" posts of chick s that don't have good autosexing features.)

- Ant Farm

Edit: CP, you beat me to it (and with photos!) Not worthy...

Lol. I did a simple copy and paste. I knew where to find my post that I already had wrote up in some detail. Your post is good and you are exactly correct about not breeding from chicks that don't auto sex well. It takes careful consideration when choosing your breeders, starting with the chicks (some say starting with the eggs due to egg color).

 

[chicken pickin]

Cream Legbars are so easy to sex at hatch - that often you can tell even before they are fully fluffed up. IT is AMAZING!!! -- and we folks that have them forget how very spoiled we are that we know from day 1 who is who.

You need to get you some.

As Ant Farm said - there are some lines that autosexing is a bit ambiguous -- hopefully people with problem chicks can breed that ambiguity out of their strains. Lucky me -- no doubt from day one if it will grow to be an egg layer or not, and when I supply people with chicks - I know for certain if they want only pullets -- that they got only pullets.

Here's something else that the others haven't mentioned. With autosexing you will get gender definition on for generation after generation and Ant Farm is right again most consider autosexing the single most important and revolutionary trait of the breed. With sex-links - you need to keep the two parent breeds -- such as Rhode Island Red rooster over Rhode Island White hen for Golden Comets -- and breed the offspring together and sex-link is gone. Not so with CLs -- so therefore a more sustainable alternative.

That is good. Glad you explained the difference between auto sexing and sex link!

Cream Legbars should be auto sexing generation after generation when bred to another Cream Legbar. You will lose the auto sexing feature if you breed a Cream Legbar to a different breed.

 

[napdognewfie]

Anyone near MD or I am willing to drive if need be.