Cream Legbar Chickens

The Cream Legbar is a British autosexing chicken breed that is relatively rare in North America. It was created in the early 20th century at the genetics Institute of Cambridge University by crossbreeding Barred Plymouth Rocks, Leghorns, Cambars and the Araucana. The Araucana blood, specifically, is reflected in the Cream Legbar’s blue to blue green eggs. The aim was to create an autosexing utility breed with a focus on egg laying, where male and female day old chicks could easily be sexed by their color.

The Cream Legbar was standardized in 1958 but nearly died out in the 1970s as blue eggs were not in demand. The crest of the female Cream Legbar is somewhat fuller and larger than that of the male. They are medium sized foul. The roosters weigh between 6 and 7.5 pounds and the hens weigh between 4.5 and 6 pounds. They are known to lay 180 to 250 blue tinted eggs per year.

The Cream Legbar male chicks can be distinguished from day old female chicks by the down color and the pattern they form. Female Legbar chicks in general have a broad, very dark brown stripe extending over the head neck and romp and edges of a stripe are clearly defined and should not be blurred and blending with the background color which is dark brown.  A light head spot should be visible but is usually small. The male Legbar chicks, in contrast, have a much paler down shade and the pattern is blurred and washed out from head to rump.

The Cream Legbar Chicken is a fairly noisy breed, their voice is very much like the Araucana. They are flighty and tend to be nervous. They are not considered to be good winter egg layers and hence seldom go broody. Due to the size of their combs, Cream Legbars can be susceptible to frost. Extra care should be taken in very cold weather. The breed is well suited to free range pasture based systems as they dislike confinement.

Cream Legbars are known for their active foraging. The roosters are vigilant and protective of the hens as the hens efficiently go about the business of gathering every seed and insect. Although the Cream Legbar is still a rare breed, it is gaining popularity with homesteaders and small farmers mostly for the quantity and novelty of their blue tinted eggs.