Legbar chickens are poultry bringing blue eggs. Individuals are distinguished by excellent survival and high productivity, but they need special living conditions.
Origin history
Homeland - England, Cambridge. Breeding breeders - Pennett and Pease. The ancestors are cuckoo hens, striped Plymouthroks and golden Kempinskie roosters. The resulting chicks differed in plumage color, but their productive characteristics were not high.
Breeders decided to improve the productivity of the breed and crossed the male leggorn males with the striped Plymouth rock females. After that, work continued. After some time, breeders were able to tell the world about the creation of a new breed of Legbar chickens.
Individuals include three main varieties: golden, silver and cream. The silver bird is no longer in nature, the cream ones are considered the most popular and widespread, in the creation of which the English Araucans took part. It is thanks to them that Legbar inherited a blue shell and the presence of a crest on the back of the head.
Breed description
The color of the feathers is cream-beige, characterized by the presence of brown stripes. Hens are darker than roosters, so the bands are practically invisible. The skin is yellow.
The main external signs of Legbar chickens:
- the head is small, proportional;
- in the rooster, the crest is red, in the form of a leaf, erect, has 6 teeth;
- in hens, a crest slightly pressed to one side, not covering his eyes;
- there is a crest on the back of the head, is a combination of long and thin feathers;
- strong beak, slightly bent, yellow;
- big eyes;
- earrings are round and rather big;
- earlobes are well developed, oval;
- long neck with lots of feathers;
- rounded chest;
- the back is not wide, long;
- wings are voluminous, fit snugly to the body;
- the tail is small;
- braids are long and wide;
- legs are not long;
- fingers apart.
Inadmissible external characteristics of Legbar chickens:
- a heaped set of crest in the male;
- earlobes are red, not white;
- crooked fingers;
- small tail;
- metatarsus is not yellow.
Temperament of a bird
Legbar specimens are distinguished by an active and curious disposition. Kloshi love to explore new territories, therefore it is recommended not to let them out for free walking, to keep them only in a walking yard, otherwise the females will run into the most secluded places of the vegetable garden or garden and destroy everything in their path.
Crested females are not conflicting, they show maximum love and friendliness to other individuals. Males behave a little differently, they are also curious and active, but love to fight. Aggressive behavior can be slightly reduced through the use of colored lighting, namely green.
Poultry farmers are sure that the green color has a beneficial effect on the character of the brawlers and encourages them to calm down. In addition, red feeders can be installed in the chicken coop and in the courtyard; they slightly suppress the indefatigable disposition of hooligans. If nothing helps, transplant the males away from each other.
Productive qualities
Legbar females are precocious due to their ancestors. Oviposition begins at the age of 4-6 months, often at 5 months. Full puberty is achieved a little later at 11 months.
The main problem of the crested is obesity.
Overgrowing leads to delayed puberty. At the beginning of oviposition, the birds bring small eggs, the mass of one is about 40 g, after a while their size increases and reaches 75 g.
The highlight of the Legbar breed is the shell of eggs of a multi-colored shade, it is for this feature that poultry farmers love birds. They bring not only blue eggs, but also brown, cream, turquoise and green.
As for the productivity of klush, poultry farmers still argue on this topic. Some argue that 270 pieces a year is not enough, and some believe that such a quantity is enough to call laying hens productive.
The female is very sensitive, she is nervous due to any changes in the weather, chickens, habitat, etc. Because of this, the number of bringing eggs can change for the better, or for the worse.
Legbar chicken belongs to the meat-and-egg direction, therefore, in addition to eggs from hens, you can get a large amount of meat. Roosters reach 3.2 kg, and chickens - 2.5 kg. The meat is juicy and tender, suitable for festive dishes.
Advantages and disadvantages of Legbar
The Legbar chicken breed also has its poles and minuses, as well as other varieties of poultry. They must be considered when breeding the breed.
Advantages of Legbar chickens:
- decorative appearance, although it does not apply to the decorative direction;
- multi-colored eggshell;
- high productivity;
- strong immunity.
The disadvantages of the breed of chickens Legbar:
- the need for a special diet;
- breeding difficulty;
- lack of maternal instinct;
- aggressive roosters;
- termination or partial decrease in oviposition at low temperature.
Features of care and maintenance
The productivity of this breed of chickens directly depends on the conditions and quality of maintenance.
Place of detention
For Legbar chickens, it is better to build a chicken coop from scratch, rather than using an old barn. Birds are very demanding on living conditions, so you should not save on this.
Recommendations for equipping a house:
- The house should be on a hill so that groundwater does not flow into it.
- It is recommended to use a bacterial litter for the chicken coop.
- Inside the chicken coop, perches of a bar with round edges are set. Each female should have approximately 0.3 m poles. The height of the perches is 1 m from the ground, the distance between the poles is 0.5 m.
- Nests for females are located at a height of 0.8 m from the ground. For this purpose, you can use simple boxes of 0.4 * 0.4 m in size. Straw or hay, which serves as warm litter, is placed inside, it should be periodically changed.
The breed of Legbar chickens is very active, so you can not do without a walking patio. It is being built next to the chicken coop, along the entire perimeter it is fenced with a chain link so that the birds can not fly away. It is better to cover the walking yard from above with a small but reliable roof, this way you will protect chickens from heavy rain, burning sun and wild birds.
Watch a video about the features of the Lekbar chicken breed, how to properly maintain and care for them:
Temperature, lighting, humidity
The bird is very fond of heat, so the chicken coop should be heated all year round. The best temperature is +15 degrees Celsius. In winter, the house is warmed or heated, otherwise egg production will drop, and some females will even die. It is better to install heaters and insulate the floor well with straw, hay or peat.
Cleanliness and dryness are two other major factors in keeping poultry well. Change the litter 2 times a month, clean and ventilate the room. As for the litter of chickens, it contains a small proportion of ammonia, which harms not only the respiratory system of birds, but also the digestive tract.
Illumination in the house is also important, there must be windows for the penetration of natural sunlight, additional lighting is installed in the room in autumn and winter.
Diet and feeding rules
Chickens are demanding on the diet, the presence of all important nutritional components is the key to high productivity. An ordinary menu consisting of compound feeds and grain mixtures is not suitable for birds.
To feed this breed, you need to create or buy a special feed. This is a balanced food of blue color. At the poultry market you can buy a similar feed, it contains all the necessary elements for Legbar.
As for the blue color, it does not affect the color of the shell in any way, apparently it is just a competent marketing move by the feed producer.
Legbar feeding mix can be made with your own hands, it consists of the following components:
- a couple of types of crushed grain;
- cake;
- roots;
- meat and bone meal or fish meal;
- dried grass;
- special supplements and vitamins.
Vitamin complexes that increase egg production are added to the feed. But it is impossible to exceed the permissible norm, otherwise it will lead to vitamin deficiency and complete depletion of the body. In the chicken coop should be constantly drinking bowls with clean water. It is also useful to put baths with shells or small gravel.
Legbar chickens drink water twice as much as other breeds.
Poultry farmers claim that occasionally there are times when some individuals peck others - this is due to a lack of vitamins and minerals. Vitamins C play a special role in Legbar's body, experts recommend buying Pentavit, which can give all the necessary components to chickens.
Shedding and winter care
Shedding is an ordinary phenomenon, you don’t need to be afraid of it; on the contrary, birds should be helped during this difficult period for them. Shedding improves health and productivity. This phenomenon may linger in its manifestation if you provide the birds with too long daylight hours.
If the molt is delayed, then you need to contact a veterinarian who will help call her artificially. Chickens do not lay eggs during this time period.
Egg production decreases 2 years after the start of masonry, so an experienced poultry farmer should already take care of the planned change of livestock.
The winter season is the most difficult period. Birds freeze and die. The poultry breeder should take care of the layers, keep them in a heated room, prevent drafts and provide proper nutrition. In winter, minerals and vitamins are added to the menu to help protect chickens from various diseases.
Breeding
Crested females are very bad moms, because farmers are breeding chickens on their own, you can not wait for help from females.
Natural hatching or incubation?
Lack of maternal instinct is the main drawback of birds. The reason for the loss is long breeding work, therefore, without the incubator, it will not be possible to remove the chicks. You can also use hens of other breeds of chickens.
About the features of incubation of chicken eggs at home, read here.
Conditions for chicks
Breeding chicks is a responsible, important, but very interesting process. Toddlers at the age of 1 day already differ from each other: boys have a fuzzy color of feathers and bright black stripes, girls have no stripes. By 1 month old chicks fledge and weigh 0.5 kg.
In the first days of life, they need warmth, a proper diet and reduce all stressful situations for them. They need to be touched as little as possible, disturbed and frightened. Stress will affect the psyche of birds, awaken in the future aggression and hostility.
Nutrition
The first course of Legbar chickens is finely ground wheat porridge. Every day, add something new to the diet: fine grass, boiled vegetables, enough vitamin and minerals. From time to time, give semolina with a grated egg, but you should not part with this dish.
Common diseases
Legbar is appreciated by poultry farmers for their strong immunity and good stamina. However, one problem has haunted chickens all their lives - the deformation of the paws and fingers. Not in vain, because in the unacceptable characteristics a sign is indicated - crooked fingers.
Veterinarians divide this disease into acquired and congenital deformity. The first develops due to an improperly selected diet or poor digestion, the second appears from birth. You can get rid of the acquired disease only with the normalization of high-quality nutrition.
Possible breeding problems
Birds are raised in both small and large farms, and everywhere there are certain difficulties in breeding chickens.
The main problems in breeding Legbar chickens:
- The occurrence of bone deformity disease.
- Lack of maternal instinct.
- Too high sensitivity to cold, as a result of which chickens die.
Legbar Breeding Profitability
Poultry farmers are sure that even a novice farmer will be able to breed Legbar, the breed does not cause much trouble, it just needs attention. The cost of meat is not very different from other breeds of chickens, eggs with blue shells are of particular value. On the market, they are many times more expensive than ordinary ones: white or cream.
Where and at what cost can I buy?
The rates for eggs, chickens and adult Legbar chickens are as follows:
- egg for an incubator - 150 rubles;
- 1 day old chicken - 250 rubles;
- chicken at the age of 1 month - 350 rubles;
- female or male at the age of 4 months - 1700 rubles;
- female or male over the age of 4 months - 3000 rubles.
Similar breeds of chickens (analogues)
The well-known Araucan is considered an analogue of Legbar. The breed has an unusual color and appearance, there is no maternal instinct, the minimum weight is about 1.8 kg. It brings about 150 eggshells a year.
The second analogue is striped Plymouthrock. The rooster reaches 3.5 kg, and the chicken - 3 kg. Eggs are medium in size, annually brings about 175 pieces.
Chickens Araucan
Hens Plymouthrock
Breed Reviews
Olga, 43 years old, florist, Sochi. Before buying Legbar I read a lot of reviews, and not all of them were good, but I took a chance and bought chickens. Order in August 2018, at that time the price of 1 egg for an incubator was 150 rubles. All hatched, the kids quickly grew and developed.
The chickens fledged at 3 months, oviposition began at 6 months. There are 4 breeds in the chicken coop, no one is fighting. I buy the same food for everyone, just add vegetables and dried grass to it.
Dmitry, 36 years old, entrepreneur, Astrakhan. I decided to engage in the sale of blue eggs, and chose the Legbar breed. I regretted it, but it's not the birds, but the fact that I myself did not think about our climate. Chickens were very cold, oviposition was low, some females were dying. Nothing good. I had to install special heating, rebuild the chicken coop, as a result I spent more than I earned.
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The Legbar chicken breed is an excellent choice for a beginner breeder. It has earned its popularity due to its strong immunity, decorativeness and high productivity. Chickens bring beautiful eggshells and can boast tasty and juicy meat.