[themagicaltoad1]

I promised my daughter we would hatch some chicks when one of the girls went broody and have been looking at different breeds. We have 3 bantams, 1 is a golden silkie, the other 2 are a mystery (maybe someone can tell me what they are?). I'd like a breed that produces blue/ green eggs and have been looking at getting some Legbar eggs. They strike me as a nice looking chicken but I don't know how big grow or whether they are generally friendly. My girls free range in the garden all day so would I need to clip Legbars? Can anyone tell me anything about them?

[chuckmum]

I have a Legbar and she is great, she doesn't really fly much, she just happily destroys my garden with her huge spade like feet!

I think you chickens have a look of Araucana / Pekin about the top one the other has Silkie / Pekin? Both lovely girls though!

Araucana lay lovely coloured eggs too, you never know you might get some colour if I'm right about the top pic

[joyfull]

if they have feathered feet/legs which the top one certainly looks like then it's not an araucana, however they really are pretty 

[themagicaltoad1]

They both lay pale brown eggs, so no araucana there, & both very naughty girls but great pets, my daughter is usually found in the garden cuddling a chicken I don't want to introduce a breed that will be huge in comparison to them, which is why I was wondering about the size of the legbars.

[lucylou]

hi magicaltoiad - i added a couple of large fowl araucanas to my 6 banties - they really arent that much bigger as my banties are sussex and welsummer which are bigger than true banties. the aruacanas are just that little bit bigger,the legbars that ive seen are much bigger than my girls , i am baised though as i love the araucanas so much im off to buy some more tomorrow! lucyloux

[raeburg]

My legbars are quite small and are very flighty!  i recently lost one to the fox as she had flown out of the run and didn't get back before bedtime.  Strangely the cockerels from the same hatching were huge!

[lisa80]

I have 2 cream legbars and they are a bit flighty .however they are an auto sexing breed which means you can tell the girls from the boys on day 1 araucanas are much harder to sex and really you wont know for sure til they either lay or crow

[joyfull]

you can get bantam araucanas so you will have small blue/green egg layers 

[too many girls]

i have just bought 3 of the most adorable Lavender Araucana bantams (and 2 black Araucana bantams) aged 14 weeks, they are so cute if a little skittish, the poor guys wife was making him get rid of them as she felt he had too many, they cost £5 each, he also gave me 5 week old chicks, 4 black and 1 lavender, plus 8 hatching eggs free (he seemed to think i knew my poultry and liked the idea of them free ranging the farm) i felt so sorry for him as he clearly didn't want to give them up, he went to great lengths explaining the need for heat and that they had been on medicated chick crumbs, the older ones on farmgate rearers, fussed over them whilst putting them in the car (don't wobble them) i thought he was going to cry,  i think i got a bargain and will take pics when they are out of isolation, although they do appear very healthy you can't take chances with unknown stock.
however it has reinforced my belief that if i do one day meet Mr Right.......................he  must like chickens

[joyfull]

an absolute bargain - that poor chap what a heartless wife she must be 

[too many girls]

an absolute bargain - that poor chap what a heartless wife she must be 

i told him to sell her 

[joyfull]

Was he nice? 

[too many girls]

Was he nice? 

very nice, but i had on my "Little House on the Prairie" woolly hat and muddy wellies, (and i think i may have smelt ever so slightly of Billy goat poo) i don't think i made a good impression, plus he had a small family.................

[joyfull]

odour de billy goat - bet you left him with a lasting impression if not a good one 

[too many girls]

i sent him text pics of his babies all looking healthy and happy and settled with a promise i would look after them, he said thank you sincerely (no mention of goat poo smell, and billy goats really do smell awful)