What does autosexing mean?

Chicks hatch with plumage that differs by sex — Cream Legbar pullets have a dark, well-defined stripe down the back, cockerels a paler, blurrier one. Unlike sex-linked hybrids, autosexing is inherited, so the trait carries on when you breed the birds together.

Are Cream Legbar eggs really blue?

Yes, genuinely blue through the shell rather than a brown egg with a blue coating — the same oocyan gene the breed inherited from its Araucana ancestry. Shade ranges from pale sky blue to a greenish tint depending on the line.

Are Cream Legbars flighty?

They're alert and active — Leghorn is in their background — so they forage hard, notice everything, and can clear a low fence. Friendly and curious with people, but not the breed to choose if you want a hen that sits in your lap.

How many eggs do Cream Legbars lay?

Around 180–220 blue eggs a year, so well behind a production hybrid but strong for a colored-egg breed, and they lay steadily through their first few winters.

Cream Legbar: Blue Eggs and Chicks You Can Sex at Hatch

The Cream Legbar solves two problems at once: it lays properly blue eggs, and it tells you the sex of its chicks on hatch day. Developed at Cambridge in the 1930s by crossing Barred Plymouth Rock, Leghorn and Araucana lines, it was a research breed before it was a backyard favourite.

The autosexing advantage

Buy straight-run chicks of almost any breed and you’re gambling on how many roosters you’ll have to rehome. Cream Legbar chicks arrive labelled: pullets show a crisp dark dorsal stripe and clear head spot, cockerels a washed-out, fuzzy version. This isn’t the sex-linking of a hybrid cross that vanishes in the next generation — it’s a heritable trait, so a Cream Legbar flock stays autosexing indefinitely.

Living with them

They’re handsome birds — cream and grey barring, a modest crest, and a wild, alert carriage. Expect active foragers that use every inch of a run, notice hawks before you do, and prefer a decent fence. Comb size means the usual winter caution: dry, ventilated housing to keep frostbite off the points.

Where they fit

For a rainbow basket, a Cream Legbar covers the blue slot with more reliability than an Easter Egger, which may or may not lay blue. Pair with a Marans for chocolate, a Welsummer for speckled terracotta, and an Olive Egger for green — see the best breeds for colored eggs.

Common questions

What does autosexing mean?: Chicks hatch with plumage that differs by sex — Cream Legbar pullets have a dark, well-defined stripe down the back, cockerels a paler, blurrier one. Unlike sex-linked hybrids, autosexing is inherited, so the trait carries on when you breed the birds together.
Are Cream Legbar eggs really blue?: Yes, genuinely blue through the shell rather than a brown egg with a blue coating — the same oocyan gene the breed inherited from its Araucana ancestry. Shade ranges from pale sky blue to a greenish tint depending on the line.
Are Cream Legbars flighty?: They're alert and active — Leghorn is in their background — so they forage hard, notice everything, and can clear a low fence. Friendly and curious with people, but not the breed to choose if you want a hen that sits in your lap.
How many eggs do Cream Legbars lay?: Around 180–220 blue eggs a year, so well behind a production hybrid but strong for a colored-egg breed, and they lay steadily through their first few winters.