People wanting to add some colored eggs to their flocks are going to come across both the Cream Legbars and the Isbar now called Silverudds Blue. If you are wanting to add colored eggs to your flock, is there a difference between one or the other? Though both give nicely colored eggs and lots of them, there are some definite personality differences that should be noted.
My first experience with roosters exposed me to their sneaky and aggressive behavior and I wanted to find a breed, halfway people friendly, so I could have a rooster and still enjoy my chickens. I read that the Silverudds Blue are very people friendly and not aggressive and I decided I wanted to get some. While getting to the place where I could get an incubator and hatch some eggs, I got a few Cream Legbars. I ended up enjoying them so much I decided I wanted to raise them too. So, now that I have had both breeds for about a year, I can say there are some definite differences between these two popular breeds.
I decided I wanted to get more Cream Legbars and to take on breeding the birds to the proposed Standard of Perfection. While I am not one to show birds, I want to help the breed get accepted in the APA. Why am I willing to devote time to this? The breed is just a joy to own.
I had my first young Legbar chicks only a few days before I was head over heels in love them. They seem a bit more chatty than others I have had and I could hear their non stop chatter in the back room that is t heir brooder all day long. I find the chicks curious and easy to befriend with scrambled eggs and meal worms. In no time at all they will come out and jump all over my lap looking for their treats.
When I go to pick them up, they give their squawk of protest then pretty much settle down. As they grow I have found they are the first up on roosts and get up as high as they can. I am amazed at how high I will find them when I look at their age. When I have Legbar chicks with other breed chicks I will find the Legbars up much higher than the others. Though I think they are up a bit too high, I trust they know what they are doing.
The Silverudds Blue are a much different chick. I find they are a smaller breed and the chicks that hatch are also much smaller, to the point of being dainty. I do not know if their smaller size is what gives them so much attitude or something else.. but they think they are much bigger birds than they actually are. Think Chihuahua with feathers.
As young chicks the Isbars are much quieter than the Legbars. I hardly ever hear them in the back room even when I have quite a few of them back there. When I take my treats and open the crate door that is their brooder, they tend to be very wary and not at all curious about my goody offerings. In time, their wariness diminished and they too will take treats from my outstretch hand. Though not willing to be instant friends, once you are you are accepted you are good for life. They will become downright bold once they accept you.
When I pick up a young Isbar chick I find it is like grabbing a Tasmanian Devil. Not only will they squawk, they will fight and thrash around trying to get free. I have found a number of them have no problem taking a nip of my hand along the way. I also often get hackle feathers standing up and it takes a bit to get the little thing settled down. Because I get this often from the chicks, I feel it is just their personality and I spend a lot of time with them so they are easy to handle. I do not find the breed mean, they just have a hidden side with a serious fighting spirit that come out if they feel they are in danger.
When the chicks get big enough to go outside, I have found there are differences in introducing them into their respective flocks. Now, it may just be my roosters, but their differences amuse me.
I have found the Cream Legbars easy to add into my Legbar flock. At about two months of age, I just put them in the Legbar pen in the late afternoon. I put them all in at once so there are several that will hang together as a group. I do not get the adults ganging up on a group as much as they do on one or two new additions. My Legbar hens will give the youngsters a peck on the head here and there to put them in their place, but my rooster Lord Darcy, just accepts them. There is no aggression or chasing any of the juvies.. he just seems to shrug his broad shoulders and carries on.
As you might guess with their fiery dark side, the Silverudds Blue are much different. My Isbar rooster, Elvis, notices every new bird and takes issue with them in his space. I have tried using a dog crate for several days to get them used to each other as well as introducing several at a time just in the run, and no matter what, the youngsters are chased down and slightly beat up. There is always a lot of chasing and squawking as he personally makes sure the newbies know he is the boss. It is like he is making sure non of the new kids are going to be a threat to his flock. The hens can also be a bit rough on the kids. Where a head peck is sufficient in the Legbars, the Isbars will head peck and chase off to make their point. There is always a lot of commotion for a good week to get young Isbars settled in with the adult flock.
The first broody hens I experience were in my mixed breed flock. I never had any issues reaching in under a broody hen and removing eggs. Sure.. I get growled at, but there is no real resistance. Legbars and Isbars are more production breeds and are not known to be broody. But I have found they still will want to go broody here and there. When my Legbars went broody, I again had no issues reaching in under the hen and getting my eggs. The Silverudds Blue was another matter. I had my splash hen come unglued and actually come at me. She was not mean, but she was very serious about protecting her eggs. I was more startled than anything else and had to chuckle again at the hidden other side of this breed.
Bad tempered roosters are something we do not allow here. I have yet to find any of the male Isbars so much as even think about aggression to people. If you have a back yard flock and want a good protector you can trust not to hurt you, I highly recommend getting a Silverudds Blue. The breed comes in three colors.. blue, black and splash.. so you can find one that is gorgeous as well.
With the Cream Legbars, most I have had/bred have been good tempered, but we have had some that were not. I do not pass along bad temperaments in genetics or to another chicken owner. Those that show aggression end up being delicious. If you like this breed, take time to get one from a breeder that is also breeding for good temperament as well.
Now, I know it seems like the Isbar are a bit wild and crazy, but that just is not so. They are a very sweet tempered bird with people.. it just takes a little more to get to know them and they you. The hens are quiet and prefer to forage all day long. All my Isbar roosters have been perfect gentlemen with me and there has never been a hint of aggression. I have also found them to be good with the hens and have not had any over-breed to the point the hens look bad. I have absolutely no doubt that if some predator gets into their run, the Isbar will be a fierce force to be reckoned with.
Though both breeds have their differences, they also have some shared things that make them a good addition to a back yard flock. Both breeds are great layers of colored eggs. The Cream Legbars produce a nice sky blue and the Isbars produce eggs in shades of green. The production level on both is also good so you will get lots of those colored eggs.
Both breeds are also a bit unique in coloring and will add color to your flock as well as your egg basket. The Legbars come in Cream and also a more colorful Crele. We are also seeing where people are getting white and breeding only for that color. The Isbars come in blue black and splash.
So, if you are looking for some colored egg layers to spice up your flock, both the Cream Legbar and the Silverudds Blue will make great additions to your flock.
Comentários