The Poultry Keeper

mojo · Posted: Mon May 08, 2006 1:41 pm Post subject:

can someone download the british standards for cream leg bars here please and also list colour types and whether all are crested

Sparklepeeps · Joined: 17 Jan 2007 Posts: 1901 Location: Cheshire

I am researching the breeds that I would like to keep when Im ready to bring the first guests to my first ever coup.

Im desperate to keep hens that lay blue eggs (being a city girl born and bred this is such a novelty!!!). I thought it was a leghorn that I was after, but perhaps I should go for the legbar?

It is mentioned here that they are very noisy, Im not sure that would go down well with the neighbors, bit of a shock to the system? Im also picking up that they tolerate petting but are not particularly friendly and are a bugger to catch if the escape. Would this quick summary be representative of the breed?....would you recommend them to a new hen keeper?..are there any other blue layers that you could recommend I look at?

CP · Posted: Sat Jan 20, 2007 1:39 am Post subject:

As far as I know (& I may be wrong!) leghorns lay white eggs.

For blue eggs you can go for Cream Legbars or Auracanas. I don't know much about either breed though.

We managed to get some eggs marketed as 'Old Cotswold Legbar' - supposedly just like the ones you can buy in the supermarkets. Despite the name sounding like it has a history it's actually not an old breed at all.
Our 1 hen is now our largest bird (we only have bantams & she's not! Shocked

) & started by laying quite a bright blue egg but it's now more of a muddy blue.

Sparklepeeps · Joined: 17 Jan 2007 Posts: 1901 Location: Cheshire

Brittany Chick · Joined: 26 Sep 2006 Posts: 231 Location: Brittany

Wish me luck, I've 'won' some Cream Legbar eggs on ebay. If they survive the trip to France and then hatch I'll be amazed, but it's worth a try Very Happy

Sparklepeeps · Joined: 17 Jan 2007 Posts: 1901 Location: Cheshire

good, luck..Ive got some more to put in the incubator tomorrow as well!

Brittany Chick · Joined: 26 Sep 2006 Posts: 231 Location: Brittany

We can compare results Very Happy

Gilly C · Joined: 22 Jun 2006 Posts: 2380 Location: South Cumbria

<sorry the pics haven't copied but there is a link at the bottom hope this helps Smile

The male chick is on the left and the female chick is on the right (Courtesy of Ket).

The Cream Legbar originated as a cross between Brown Leghorns and Barred Rock with a bit of Araucana blood in them, shown in the crest and the blue eggs they lay. We now have a small breeding group from one of the best breeders. Other Legbars are the gold and silver.
Egg colour : Blue - although some will give olive
Origin : Developed in the 1930's but the number of breeders of true Cream Legbars has declined recently so getting true cream legbars is difficult. Our foundation birds come from some of the best breeders with a great track record. We have high hopes for the future.
Unique characteristics: A firm and muscular bird with an alert and perky carriage, a wedge shaped body, broad at the shoulders tapering to the rear. A long flat back, prominent breast with straight keel, the wings are large carried close to the body. The tail is held at 45� from the line of the back and is moderately furnished.
The head is fine with a strong beak and large single comb, straight and erect, five to seven even spikes with broad bases. Smooth face, well developed pendant ear-lobes, long and thin wattles. Long well feathered neck.
Strong clean and round shanks, four toes evenly spaced
Male - Cream slightly barred neck hackles, saddle hackles cream barred with dark grey tipped with cream. Back & shoulders cream, barred dark grey. The wings have dark grey barred primaries and secondaries, grey barred coverts with cream tips. The breast is barred dark grey as is the tail but with paler sickles some white is allowed. The crest is cream and grey.

Female - Neck hackles cream with soft grey barring. Salmon coloured breast, silver-grey body with broad indistinct barring. Wings, primaries peppered grey, secondaries lightly barred, coverts silver grey as is the tail with light barring

Both - Yellow beak, legs and feet. Red face, comb and wattles. Ear-lobes white or cream

With the Cream Legbar there are very few good birds left - I have it on very good authority that several of the larger poultry centres are selling birds that are not Cream Legbars. There are also coloured egg layers which are not Cream Legbars either. We only have a few so far but will be being very careful how we increase our flocks. We should have more hens available this year [2003]and we will sell surplus cockerels which will be very useful for upgrading or refreshing your stocks if you are interested in this rare and fascinating breed.
As always we are more interested in good production from a good stamp of a true breeding bird. We will be working to improve the blue egg colour and consistency and numbers.

copyright all pages and images Jill Bowis 1999-2007 - if you would like to use any images on this page PLEASE add the link: http://www.creamlegbar.co.uk - thank you.

fairislefaerie · Joined: 12 Mar 2007 Posts: 542

They are beautiful chooks !!

there goes another breed on my *eggs to look for* list

Angela

nigel · Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2007 10:17 pm Post subject:

www.thehatchingegg.co.uk · Joined: 13 Mar 2007 Posts: 15 Location: Kinninvie

Most cream legbars tend to lay greenish eggs these days(including mine) as they have been crossed to improve egg numbers.
One of mine has been crossed so much that she now lays a white egg!! but she still looks like the others.
If its proper blue eggs you want then check out my araucana eggs selling regularly on ebay under the name pc-wurld.

Brittany Chick · Joined: 26 Sep 2006 Posts: 231 Location: Brittany

My cream legbar eggs from ebay have arrived - amazingly, none of them are broken despite their long journey! They're a 2 days behind my other eggs in the incubator, but fingers crossed I get a decent hatch rate and more importantly I get at least one female and one male Very Happy

Pyxel · Joined: 23 Mar 2007 Posts: 70 Location: Carlisle, England.

kvl8924 · Joined: 30 Apr 2007 Posts: 2

I'd recommend the cream or cream crested legbars if you want blue eggs Sparklepeeps. The crested legbars are bigger. The two I used to have weren't noisy at all and were very curious birds, especially about toes oddly. I'm really looking forward to having more as I have a broody hen sitting on 6 cream crested legbar eggs and 6 silver legbar eggs Smile

mojo · Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2007 6:06 pm Post subject:

could you post piccys of your differant colours please kvl8924.................or may i call you 24