Breed of chickens Legbar: description and characteristics, features of breeding, diseases

To successfully breed poultry, you need to choose the right pair and species. The Legbar chicken breed is a successful hybrid species that farmers quite often breed for industrial purposes. In order for these feathered birds with an interesting appearance to please with high productivity, you need to know the features of keeping and breeding.

History of Legbar chickens

In the middle of the last century, two breeder scientists from the Cambridge Genetic Institute tried to develop a breed of industrial-type chickens that would have autosex properties (it would be possible to determine the sex of a day-old chicken).The first results were satisfactory, but far from ideal.

As a result of further crossings, a hybrid of the Leghorn rooster and Plymouth hen breed was bred. And so, after a couple of generations, they managed to breed a new breed that is highly productive.

Description and defining characteristics of the breed

Legbar chickens are meat-and-egg types. The weight of an adult rooster reaches 3.5 kilograms, and chicken - up to 3 kilograms. Breeders value this breed for its excellent characteristics and high egg production rates.

Appearance

The Legbar breed is cream and chestnut-colored crested hens, roosters are light in color with cream and gray tones. Feathered coloration is inherent in birds, there is a tuft of medium size, a wedge-shaped body. Bright yellow shins, white medium-sized earrings and a red leaf-shaped comb with 6 teeth in males, and in females with 8.Chickens with thick, lush plumage and well-developed wings.

Character

Legbar chickens are quite mobile birds, especially if they are released into open areas. Their character is calm, peaceful and non-confrontational. The main feature is that chickens of this breed get along well with other breeds of birds. However, roosters tend to have aggressive behavior, and they also protect hens from possible threats. To calm the roosters, it is recommended to install green lamps.

Productivity

Productivity is one of the advantages of the Legbar breed. One chicken can give up to 250-270 eggs per year, they start laying eggs from 4 months of age. Chicken meat by weight reaches three kilograms, and the weight of one egg reaches the mark of 70 grams. But, despite the high productivity, the birds lack a maternal instinct, which is why they cannot hatch eggs on their own.It is possible that the purchase of special incubators will be required.

Pros and cons of the breed

A breeder who plans to purchase this breed of chickens should familiarize himself with all the nuances of their content. Legbar is characterized by a fairly large number of positive aspects:

The unusual color of the eggs is a delicate blue tint, sometimes greenish.
High egg production.
Birds have a calm nature.
High immune protection and good he alth of chickens.
Birds are autosex - you can easily tell a rooster from a hen, even if the chicken is only a day old.

However, it is extremely important to note some of the shortcomings of this breed: increased sensitivity to temperature conditions (at low values, egg-laying is absent or reduced), and also maternal instinct is absent in hens.Hens need to be replaced every two years as productivity plummets.

Tips on maintenance and care

Keeping Legbar birds is not difficult, but the conditions of keeping and nutrition necessarily affect productivity. If the basic rules are followed, hens will provide large eggs of an unusual shade.

Chicken coop, walking area, feeders and drinkers

Birds are not demanding on the chicken coop itself: they are more interested in the presence of feeders and an acceptable temperature regime. Since the Legbar breed is extremely mobile chickens, they will need to provide maximum space. The poultry house must be equipped with perches, nests for laying hens and drinking bowls with fresh water.

Chickens consume twice as much water as feed. Therefore, it is important to monitor the condition of the drinkers and prevent droppings and debris from getting into them. For walking, it is recommended to prepare a specially equipped aviary.Quality fencing will protect livestock from various threats and give them free space.

Temperature, lighting, humidity

Since the Legbar breed is a heat-loving bird, it is important to monitor the temperature in the chicken coop - the mark should always be above zero. It is also required to exclude drafts, however, the influx of fresh air is necessary. The issue of illumination is acute in winter, when it will be necessary to artificially extend the day.

As a rule, additional lighting is provided in the chicken coop - so that the chickens can rush, daylight hours must last at least 12 hours. Excessive humidity should not be allowed - the flooring should be changed regularly.

Winter care, shedding

To get eggs in the cold season, you will need a serious insulation of the house, as well as the installation of an additional heater.It is extremely important that the temperature remains positive in the room. The previous volume of egg production is possible with positive indicators of 15-17 degrees. The floor should be covered with sawdust, hay or peat.

In winter, chickens often develop beriberi, so it is recommended to add calcium supplements to food. Shedding will be required to improve egg production, but sometimes it can be delayed. In this case, artificial stimulation of this process will be needed.

What do chickens eat?

Legbar chickens need food of animal origin, which they can get on their own (for example, worms). But also, in addition to this, they will need a balanced diet. The most preferred option is compound feed. Birds of this breed do not bring big problems to breeders, however, it is extremely important to follow the basic rules when feeding young and adult birds.

Chicks

Chicken food must contain calcium, which ensures good bone growth. To do this, you can place a bowl of limestone near the main feeder. The water in the drinker needs to be changed at least twice a day. Day-old chickens are fed with cottage cheese and finely chopped greens, but young animals are also allowed to be given yogurt and boiled porridge in water or broth. And only from one month old chicks are allowed to give whole grains.

Adults

Laying hens are encouraged to give premixes that increase egg production. However, you should not add them often - chickens can develop beriberi. In order for adults to be able to get a full supply of all the necessary trace elements and vitamins, they will need food with the following components: whole or sprouted grains, prodel, fish or bone meal, vegetables and complex supplements. They can also be fed with fresh grass and vegetables.

There is an opinion that adult chickens require special food to give the shell an unusual bluish tint. However, this is a false statement - the color of eggs is genetically based and does not change due to additives.

Features of reproduction

As noted earlier, Legbar chickens have lost their maternal instinct and are unable to incubate eggs. If the breeder needs to breed this breed, he has two options: use an incubator or lay eggs under other birds that can hatch them. If eggs were originally taken from hens with quality indicators, then the survival rate of young animals can reach 100%. But, as a rule, this indicator is within 90%.

Young growth is extremely fast - by one month the weight is about 500 grams. But for this you need to follow the main rules of breeding and maintenance.As soon as the chicks hatch, do not rush and take them from the incubator. Leave them there for a couple of hours. At this time, you can prepare brooders or boxes with flooring for them. After eight hours, they can be fed cottage cheese.

Litter should be changed at least once a day. It is also extremely important to provide young animals with round-the-clock lighting, especially in the first two days.

Common diseases and possible problems

Despite their high immune defenses and disease resistance, Legbar chickens are sometimes exposed to various lesions. In particular, young animals are susceptible to various infectious diseases. It is also worth noting that Legbar birds have a genetic predisposition to congenital deformity of the toes. A common cause of such a defect is the wrong diet. If laying hens did not have enough vitamins and minerals in their diet, chicks were more likely to develop limb deformities.

In case of diarrhea in chickens, a weak solution of potassium permanganate is used, with which the chicks are soldered - this helps to restore the work of the stomach. However, this method is only suitable for those cases in which medication is not needed.

In addition, chickens are exposed to the following diseases: salmonellosis, pasteurellosis and Newcastle disease. Non-infectious disorders are also not excluded: atony, cloacitis, gastroenteritis. To avoid such problems, it is necessary to follow preventive measures: keep the chicken coop clean, regularly disinfect, give the birds vitamin complexes, and monitor the condition of the water.