Can a Cream Legbar chick that looks like a female end up being a roo?

[Sblair2015]

I have had 2 cream legbars before, raised them from chicks, since they are autosexing breed it's easy to tell who "should" be male/female. Anyways... I've raised many chicks before, and always the comb of a pullet will take much longer to grow compared to a roo, and the roo comb is much more pink or red than a pull... so anyways getting to my question... I purchased a female cream legbar, which I now am not sure if she's really a she... because her comb has grown so fast and is pinker than "usual" for a female chick. I have included a photo of how she looked the day I brought her home, she has the typical chipmunk striping down her body. But the other photo is of her at about 4 weeks old, and compared to my other previous cream legbar chicks, her comb is way more advanced which would usually indicate a roo... right? thoughts anyone? This breed is pretty rare so I'm hoping someone out there with cream legbar knowledge can help tell me if they've experienced this before with their female chicks....

 

[donrae]

I think it's a cockerel, but not a Crested Cream Legbar. Not pure bred, anyway.

 

[Sblair2015]

thanks... well I did see the parents and they both are cream legbars, if she wasn't purebred then she wouldn't have the distinct markings which is sexlink trait, right?

 

[cliffsdad]

I'm pretty sure that, while the auto-sexing trait is there, it isn't always definitive. It's comb makes me think roo but the coloring seems too dark and makes me think pullet. My roo (which is the only one I've seen in person) was much more barred and much lighter at this age. Some have more pronounced crests than others too. Good luck & hope someone more knowledgeable than I answers your question!

 

[junebuggena]

Auto sexing is something that must be carefully selected for.

 

[junebuggena]

There are also quite a few 'imposter' Legbars out there. Not everyone who claims to have Cream Legbars actually have them. A lot of the time, they have backyard mixes that look enough like a Legbars to fool the inexperienced.

 

[Sblair2015]

Thanks junebuggena! I guess I'll know for sure soon enough... I'll update here as she/he grows. I sure hope she's a she

 

[junebuggena]

Thanks junebuggena! I guess I'll know for sure soon enough... I'll update here as she/he grows. I sure hope she's a she

Not a chance with a comb that red, so young.

 

[donrae]

thanks... well I did see the parents and they both are cream legbars, if she wasn't purebred then she wouldn't have the distinct markings which is sexlink trait, right?

Those markings are sex linked for pure bred, properly selected CCLs. Otherwise, male chicks of other breeds or mixes could easily have those same markings. It's a chipmunk pattern which is kind of the default color for brown birds.

don't suppose you can post pics of the parents? And are you sure in your heart the owner of the parents had the hen separate from any other roosters for a bare minimum of 2 weeks before the eggs were collected?

I do agree there are lots of "psuedo Legbars" out there. They got so popular so fast, folks were breeding them willy-nilly and not culling for correct auto sexing traits, let alone anything resembling a breed standard. We've seen lots of folks posting birds here they claim to be CCL that are clearly not, unfortunately.

 

[Sblair2015]

Here's pictures of the parents