Cream Legbar chicken
The Cream Legbar is a slender British chicken with a small crest, kept for its blue, green or olive eggs. It is auto-sexing: you can tell male chicks from female at hatch by the colour of their down. Hens weigh about 4.4 lb and lay roughly 180 to 200 eggs a year. The breed was made in Cambridge, England, and standardised in Britain in 1958. It is not on the American Poultry Association's list.
- Temperament
- Docile, Active
- Coop space per bird
- 3 sq ft
Is the Cream Legbar right for you?
Good fit if
- You want blue or green eggs
- You want to know which chicks are pullets on the day they hatch
- Your birds free-range. Oklahoma State says Legbars forage for themselves and do well on range
- You want a docile bird that is easy to handle
Poor fit if
- You want to show under APA rules. The Legbar is not on the APA's accepted list
- You want a meat bird. Hens weigh about 4.4 lb
- You're on a tight budget. Pullet chicks cost about twice what Barred Rock pullets do at the same hatchery
- You need a guaranteed egg colour. It varies by strain from blue to green or olive
Appearance and varieties
The Rare Breeds Survival Trust describes Cream Legbars as slender and elegant. Males have a cream neck and saddle, a grey chest, legs and wings, and barred feathering. Females have a cream neck, a salmon chest and a grey barred body, with a small feathered crest behind the comb. The comb is single.
The crest is what sets the Cream apart from the Silver Legbar at a glance. Oklahoma State gives Legbar weights as about 3 kg (6.6 lb) for males and 2 kg (4.4 lb) for females.
Chicks can be sexed at hatch. Females have very distinct dark and light stripes down the body. Males are lighter all over, with a pale spot on top of the head.21
Temperament and handling
Oklahoma State University calls the Legbar very docile and easily handled, and says the birds forage for themselves and do well free-range. The Rare Breeds Survival Trust describes the Cream as hardy, active and a frugal eater.
On broodiness the two disagree. The Trust says it is quite unusual for Cream Legbars to go broody; Oklahoma State describes Legbars as broody.12
Animals vary within a breed. Treat this as what to expect, not a promise, and meet the animal before you buy if you can.
Production numbers
What our sources report for the breed. If two sources disagree, you see the full range.
| Measure | Typical | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Eggs | About 180–200 a year; medium; blue, green or olive21 | From the Rare Breeds Survival Trust, which says the number and the colour depend on the strain. Oklahoma State gives 4 medium eggs a week. |
| Chick sexing | By down colour at hatch21 | Female chicks have distinct dark and light stripes; males are lighter with a pale spot on the head. |
| Start of lay | About 6 months4 | University of Minnesota Extension's figure for hens in general, not for this breed. |
Housing, feed and health
Housing
University of Minnesota Extension gives a minimum of 3 to 5 sq ft of indoor space per bird, one nest box for every 4 to 5 hens, and a place to roost. That is for chickens in general.
We found no cold or heat guidance specific to Cream Legbars. For chickens in general, University of Minnesota Extension says heavier breeds handle cold better than light ones and advises supplemental heat when the coop falls below 35 °F, with good airflow to prevent frostbite on combs, wattles and feet. Birds start to pant and eat less as the air nears 85 °F, and need shade, ventilation and cool water.41112
Feed
Feed a prepared ration balanced for vitamins, minerals and protein. Laying hens also need crushed oyster shell for eggshells and grit for digestion. The Rare Breeds Survival Trust calls the Cream Legbar a frugal eater. For chickens in general, feed intake can rise by up to 25 percent in cold weather.
Keep clean, fresh water available all the time. Kitchen scraps and scratch grains are fine as treats in moderation.4112
Health
The Rare Breeds Survival Trust calls the breed hardy, and we found no health problems that our sources tie to Cream Legbars in particular. University of Minnesota Extension describes a healthy chicken as active and alert with bright eyes, and says the easiest way to spot disease is to know what normal looks like for each bird. Clean the coop and run weekly, and clean feeders and waterers regularly.
This is a starting point, not veterinary advice. If a bird stops eating, wheezes or seems unwell, call a vet who treats poultry, or your county extension office.24
Price and where to buy
Prices are per female chick, read from two hatchery pages on 9 October 2026. Cackle's page carries customer reviews dated up to 9 December 2025 and listed the chicks as temporarily unavailable; Meyer's showed chicks in stock and carried 2026 notices. The top of the range is for the smallest orders and the bottom for the largest. We could read male and unsexed prices at only one hatchery, so they are listed under that seller and not as a range.
Where to look
Start with a breeder you can visit. Nobody pays to be on this list.
| Seller or directory | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Cackle Hatchery | Hatchery | Pullets $9.93–12.99, unsexed $7.94–10.39, males $5.78–8.44; ships February to October |
| Meyer Hatchery | Hatchery | Pullets $8.38–10.35 |
Similar breeds
| Breed | Hen weight | Eggs per year | Beginner | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cream Legbar (this breed) | 4.4 lb | 180–208 | $8.38–$12.99 | |
| Leghorn | 4.5 lb | 150–320 | $2.27–$7.15 |
History
The Legbar comes from Cambridge, England, and was the second auto-sexing breed from the geneticist Reginald Punnett. Gold Legbars were developed from Brown Leghorn cocks and Barred Plymouth Rock hens.
The Cream came out of Michael Pease's work on the Gold Legbar. Crossing Gold Legbars with White Leghorns produced cream-coloured birds that could still be sexed at hatch; the Rare Breeds Survival Trust says this happened by accident. Oklahoma State dates it to 1939. Those birds were then mated with Punnett's blue-egg-laying Cream Araucanas, which Oklahoma State dates to 1940. That cross brought the crest and the blue eggs.
The Poultry Club of Great Britain accepted the Gold Legbar in 1945, the Silver in 1951 and the Cream in 1958. The Cream nearly died out in the 1970s because nobody wanted blue eggs. The Trust credits the Wernless Collection and David Applegarth with rescuing it. In the 1980s blue eggs began to sell well enough to be a commercial proposition.
The Trust warns that many so-called Cream Legbars today do not meet the breed standard, because they have lost the dilute cream gene.12
Common questions
What colour eggs do Cream Legbars lay?
Blue, green or olive, depending on the strain, according to the Rare Breeds Survival Trust. The blue egg came from the Cream Araucanas used to make the breed.21
How many eggs do Cream Legbars lay?
Around 180–200 a year, depending on the strain. Oklahoma State University puts it at about 4 medium eggs a week.21
How do you tell male and female Cream Legbar chicks apart?
By their down, on the day they hatch. Females are darker with distinct dark and light stripes down the back. Males are lighter all over and have a pale spot on top of the head.21
How big do Cream Legbars get?
Oklahoma State University gives Legbar weights as about 3 kg (6.6 lb) for males and 2 kg (4.4 lb) for females.1
Are Cream Legbars friendly?
Oklahoma State University describes Legbars as very docile and easily handled. The Rare Breeds Survival Trust calls the Cream hardy and active.12
Where do Cream Legbars come from?
From Cambridge, England. Michael Pease bred cream-coloured Legbars from Gold Legbars and White Leghorns, and they were then crossed with Reginald Punnett's blue-egg-laying Cream Araucanas. The breed was standardised in Britain in 1958.12
Sources
The small numbers beside each fact point to one of these.
- Oklahoma State University, Breeds of Livestock: Legbar Chickens (archived copy).
- Rare Breeds Survival Trust, Cream Legbar.
- BreedBarn, Editorial rating, method on the editorial policy page.
- University of Minnesota Extension, Raising chickens for eggs.
- Cackle Hatchery, Cream Legbar Chicks.
- Cackle Hatchery, Barred Rock Chickens.
- Meyer Hatchery, Cream Legbar Day Old Chicks.
- American Poultry Association, Accepted Breeds & Varieties.
- Rare Breeds Survival Trust, Watchlist: Chickens.
- The Livestock Conservancy, Conservation Priority List.
- University of Minnesota Extension, Caring for chickens in cold weather.
- University of Minnesota Extension, Preventing heat stress in poultry.
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