Cream Legbar / Araucana whinge

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Cream Legbar / Araucana whinge
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chez

Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 35935
Location: The Hive of the Uberbee, Quantock Hills, Somerset

Posted: Thu Apr 16, 15 12:22 pm Post subject:

The Araucana eggs are a more sky-blue range, the Legbar eggs are a less vibrant colour. I think it depends on strain, though.

I have blue/black araucanas, which also breed splash - they are very pretty. Although again, as a breed, they are more flighty than I'd like.

I have one Barnebar hen left, who I have in with the Legbar cockerel. Progeny should lay olive eggs. I am considering keeping a pen of the progeny and working on their form, because of the Barnebar they should be heavier and therefore more placid. And abandoning the Legbars completely.

I feel very dissatisfied all round with things at the moment.

Nicky cigreen

Joined: 25 Jun 2007
Posts: 9887
Location: Devon, uk

Posted: Thu Apr 16, 15 1:10 pm Post subject:
funny enough i was playing around with genetics calculator trying to work out how to make a heavy olive egg layer, this morning. Also tempted to try to breed Rhodebars too. So many directions

chez

Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 35935
Location: The Hive of the Uberbee, Quantock Hills, Somerset

Posted: Thu Apr 16, 15 1:42 pm Post subject:

If you put Legbar over Faverolles, I think you would get something that did the trick - and would be relatively quick to sex. Or Araucana over Faverolles, even.

I'm fed up with not having quite enough space for everything and desperately trying to rein in my expansionist tendencies. I've knocked two pens in to one for the Barnevelders now - they really didn't have enough space - and so the Legbars are in a small pen, in a different area to my main runs. Letting them go and concentrating on what's working is very tempting.

BahamaMama

Joined: 21 Sep 2006
Posts: 2315
Location: Away with the fairies

Posted: Thu Apr 16, 15 1:44 pm Post subject:
Arucana - we had a wonderful tiny bantam, very tame, very good layer and the best chicken we have ever had.

marshdaisy

Joined: 08 Feb 2010
Posts: 109

Posted: Thu Apr 16, 15 1:47 pm Post subject:

Umm, I really like my Cream Legbars. Over the years I've had a few "not rights" but am happy with how I've got them now (colour, size and shape of the birds, and of the size and colour of the eggs). I would research well and get in new stock or preferably hatching eggs from a good source.
As to olive egg layers. I have two which I bred from crossing my Welbars and Cream Legbars. The progeny autosexed well so I could just keep a couple of girls and the olive eggs are a good size and I love the colour.

sean
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42219
Location: North Devon

Posted: Thu Apr 16, 15 1:48 pm Post subject:

Chez wrote:

Letting them go and concentrating on what's working is very tempting.

Careful. You're in danger of making sensible decisions and running a profitable business.

chez

Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 35935
Location: The Hive of the Uberbee, Quantock Hills, Somerset

Posted: Thu Apr 16, 15 1:53 pm Post subject:

@marshdaisy - I think it's a very personal thing. I much prefer the heavy breeds and the Barnevelders and Faverolles are really where my loyalties lie. The bantams have sort of crept in to odd corners and the Araucana bantams I find fascinating because of the blue/black/splash thing they have going on. The Legbars have never sat quite right with me and I think I might be looking for a reason to ditch them! I will give it some more thought before I make a pie.

Sean. I know. It's depressingly mature.

Bodger

Joined: 23 May 2006
Posts: 13524

Posted: Thu Apr 16, 15 2:01 pm Post subject:
A friend once compared chickens breeding with a pail of milk. If you drop a rabbit turd into it, then no matter how much you strain and clean it, you're always going to have milk with s*** in it, so if it was me, I'd get rid of the lot and start again.

Cathryn

Joined: 16 Jul 2005
Posts: 19856
Location: Ceredigion

Posted: Thu Apr 16, 15 5:29 pm Post subject:
Just don't get rid of your araucana bantams until I am "getting more hens" as I have vowed not to hatch anything this year. Handy thing this downsizer for thinking out loud. Barnevelders and faverolles it is?

Shan

Joined: 13 Jan 2009
Posts: 9075
Location: South Wales

Posted: Wed Apr 22, 15 7:42 am Post subject:
Rationalise the amount of varieties you are breeding. Get rid of the Legbars.

chez

Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 35935
Location: The Hive of the Uberbee, Quantock Hills, Somerset

Posted: Wed Apr 22, 15 8:10 am Post subject:
Thank you Shan. I think that's what I'm going to do. They can go in to the big pen of layers and the cockerel can go in the pot. Nenna's waking up literally every hour at the moment - I am homicidal with exhaustion. I can't problem-solve chicken genetics in this state. Do I owe you faverolles hens btw? Because I have seven little girls that will be off heat in a month if you'd like a couple.

Shan

Joined: 13 Jan 2009
Posts: 9075
Location: South Wales

Posted: Wed Apr 22, 15 10:28 am Post subject:
Remember to be kind to yourself. Thanks Chez. Don't worry about the Faverolles, I have 15 chickens including our cockerel Boris - so far more than I need!!!! Isn't that always the case with chickens!!

vegplot

Joined: 19 Apr 2007
Posts: 21301
Location: Bethesda, Gwynedd

Posted: Wed Apr 22, 15 11:53 am Post subject:
And there's me thinking Laplace transforms were complex.

sean
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42219
Location: North Devon

Posted: Wed Apr 22, 15 12:09 pm Post subject:
I like the idea that Chez sidled up to Shan at some point and said 'Errm, hope you don't mind but I'm a bit short at the moment, could you lend me a couple of Faverolles? Just to tide me over like. I'll pay you back soon as...'

Shan

Joined: 13 Jan 2009
Posts: 9075
Location: South Wales

Posted: Wed Apr 22, 15 2:20 pm Post subject:
Actually, she sidled up and said she needed a big cock.

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