The Legbar is a rare British auto-sexing breed of

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adu ...

. It was created in the early twentieth century by Reginald Crundall Punnett and

Michael Pease Michael Stewart Pease OBESupplement to the London Gazette
11 June 1966, p ...

at the Genetical Institute of

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. They

cross-bred A crossbreed is an organism with purebred parents of two different breeds, varieties, or populations. ''Crossbreeding'', sometimes called "designer crossbreeding", is the process of breeding such an organism, While crossbreeding is used to mai ...

American

barred Plymouth Rock The Plymouth Rock is an American breed of domestic chicken. It was first seen in Massachusetts in the nineteenth century, and for much of the early twentieth century was the most widely kept chicken breed in the United States. It is a dual-pu ...

birds with brown Leghorns and created the gold and silver colour varieties. Pease created a cream Legbar by cross-breeding these with white Leghorns; later crossing with

Araucana The Araucana ( es, Gallina Mapuche, italic=no) is a breed of domestic chicken from Chile. Its name derives from the Araucanía region of Chile where it is believed to have originated. It lays blue-shelled eggs, one of very few breeds that do so. ...

s caused this to have a crest and to lay blue or blue-green eggs.

History

The Legbar was the second auto-sexing chicken breed created by Reginald Crundall Punnett and Michael Pease at the Genetical Institute of

, after the

Cambar The Cambar is the first autosexing breed of chicken intentionally created, and the first autosexing breed of poultry in general. The Cambar was developed by Reginald Punnett Reginald Crundall Punnett FRS (; 20 June 1875 – 3 January 196 ...

, which was created in 1929 by crossing

with gold

Campine The Campine (French ) or De Kempen ( Dutch ) is a natural region situated chiefly in north-eastern Belgium and parts of the south-eastern Netherlands which once consisted mainly of extensive moors, tracts of sandy heath, and wetlands. It enco ...

birds. The Legbar arose from

cross-breeding A crossbreed is an organism with purebred parents of two different breeds, varieties, or populations. ''Crossbreeding'', sometimes called "designer crossbreeding", is the process of breeding such an organism, While crossbreeding is used to main ...

of Plymouth Rock birds with brown Leghorns, which at that time were two of the principal egg-laying breeds. As with the Cambar, they set out to breed a bird that would both have brown down and carry the barred gene (B), so that chicks would have

sex-link Sex-links are crossbred chickens whose color at hatching is differentiated by sex, thus making chick sexing an easier process. Sex-links come in several varieties. As hybrids of laying or dual-purpose breeds infused with extra vigor via hetero ...

ed plumage differences that could easily be distinguished. Standards for the gold and silver colour varieties were drawn up in 1945 and 1951 respectively. The cream Legbar was created by chance. Through cross-breeding of gold Legbars with white Leghorn stock, Pease had obtained some cream-coloured birds; their eggs were white, and they had no crest. An experimental crossing of these with some cream-coloured

s from Punnett's laboratory led to the creation of the cream Legbar, a crested layer of coloured eggs for which a standard was drawn up in 1958. Within a short time it became very rare, but has since recovered. It is treated by the

Poultry Club of Great Britain The Poultry Club of Great Britain is a registered charity founded in 1877. Its stated purpose is to "safeguard the interests of all pure and traditional breeds of poultry including chickens, bantams, ducks, geese and turkeys". The club mai ...

as a colour variety of the Legbar, but is considered by the

Rare Breed Survival Trust The Rare Breeds Survival Trust is a conservation charity whose purpose is to secure the continued existence and viability of the native farm animal genetic resources (FAnGR) of the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1973 by Joe Henson to preser ...

to be a separate breed. Both the Legbar and the Cream Legbar are listed among the UK breeds on the watchlist of the trust; neither is considered "priority".

Characteristics

The Legbar has three colour varieties: gold, silver and cream. The cream variant has a crest and lays blue, olive or green eggs. The Legbar is considered a rare breed by the Poultry Club of Great Britain and, until the Autosexing Breeds Association was re-formed, fell under the

Rare Poultry Society The Rare Poultry Society, established in 1969, is a British breed club devoted to the protection and promotion of rare poultry breeds, which the Society defines as breeds that do not have their own breed club in the United Kingdom. The society's q ...

Use

The Legbar was bred as an auto-sexing layer breed. Hens may give 180 eggs or more per year.

References

External links

Information and photos of the ''Cream Legbar'' including chick down colour

Information and photos of the different down colour of male and female ''Cream Legbar'' chicks

Information and photos of Autosexing Breeds published by the UK Autosexing Breeds Association {{British Isles livestock, R.4 Chicken breeds Chicken breeds originating in the United Kingdom Animal breeds on the RBST Watchlist