Description

Egg color: Blue
Egg size: Medium to large
Production: 180-280 eggs per year
Laying start: Around 5 months of age
Auto-sexing: Yes, males and females can be identified as day-old chicks with high accuracy

The Cream Legbar is a uniquely elegant and practical breed that blends beauty, personality, and productivity. Its small crest gives it a distinctive look that makes it stand out without trying too hard. Roosters are striking with silvery-gray and cream tones, while hens carry a subtler, warm salmon colored breast with the same distinctive upright, alert carriage.

Their temperament is friendly and confident, making them well-suited for small farms or backyard flocks. They’re naturally curious birds that enjoy exploring and foraging but are not overly flighty. Cream Legbars tend to be active and alert, with enough independence to thrive free-ranging, yet they can still become quite tame with gentle handling.

When it comes to egg production, they’re consistent and dependable layers, producing around 180–280 medium to large blue eggs per year. The color ranges from soft sky blue to a deeper turquoise, one of the breed’s most appealing traits for many keepers.

The breed’s history is a fascinating blend of science and practicality. Developed in the 1930s at Cambridge University by geneticists R.C. Punnett and Michael Pease, the Cream Legbar was part of a broader effort to create auto-sexing poultry. By crossing Leghorns, Barred Plymouth Rocks, and Araucanas, they produced a bird whose male and female chicks could be identified by their down color at hatch, males being lighter with a clear head spot and females showing darker, chipmunk-like stripes. This innovation made it easy for farmers to separate pullets and cockerels right from the start, saving time and resources.

Beyond their practicality, the Cream Legbar embodies a bit of history from the golden age of British poultry breeding, when science, style, and farmyard function came together. Today, they remain a favorite for those who appreciate both form and function: a hardy, self-sufficient bird with a touch of class and a basket full of blue eggs.