Ethan Rivers, UK-based Cream Legbar breeder episode artwork

EPISODE · Nov 22, 2025 · 54 MIN

Ethan Rivers, UK-based Cream Legbar breeder

from Chook. The Podcast · host Chook Journal

Cream Legbars are one of the most sought-after chicken varieties among those of us who love coloured eggs. They’re also one of the more complicated chickens to breed well. That’s why I went straight to the source, to the Cream Legbar’s home country of the UK where they were originally created at Cambridge University. There I found experienced Cream Legbar breeder Ethan Rivers who's been breeding the variety longer than it's even existed in Australia.  In this conversation we discuss the faults found in the variety, how to work with them and mistakes that can trip up beginner breeders. The cream gene is denoted by the abbreviation Ig — you’ll hear Ethan refer to it that way in this conversation. Another term you’ll hear is “gold, split for cream” which means a bird that is gold but carries one copy of the cream gene, hidden because it’s recessive. Is there a topic you’d like Chook to look into? A guest you’d love to hear from? Let us know by sending a note to [email protected] Loving the show? Ensure we continue by leaving a review on your podcast app.

Cream Legbars are one of the most sought-after chicken varieties among those of us who love coloured eggs. They’re also one of the more complicated chickens to breed well. That’s why I went straight to the source, to the Cream Legbar’s home country of the UK where they were originally created at Cambridge University. There I found experienced Cream Legbar breeder Ethan Rivers who's been breeding the variety longer than it's even existed in Australia.  In this conversation we discuss the faults found in the variety, how to work with them and mistakes that can trip up beginner breeders. The cream gene is denoted by the abbreviation Ig — you’ll hear Ethan refer to it that way in this conversation. Another term you’ll hear is “gold, split for cream” which means a bird that is gold but carries one copy of the cream gene, hidden because it’s recessive. Is there a topic you’d like Chook to look into? A guest you’d love to hear from? Let us know by sending a note to [email protected] Loving the show? Ensure we continue by leaving a review on your podcast app.

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Ethan Rivers, UK-based Cream Legbar breeder

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This episode was published on November 22, 2025.

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Cream Legbars are one of the most sought-after chicken varieties among those of us who love coloured eggs. They’re also one of the more complicated chickens to breed well. That’s why I went straight to the source, to the Cream Legbar’s home country...

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