Chicken Breed Focus - Isbar (Blue Isbar)

[KYTinpusher]

Hi Everyone~ I am fairly new into my chicken breeding endeavor and I come from a horse breeding background. I am really enjoying the chickens and am specifically focused and intrigued with the Isbar as a breed. Coming from a horse background we had so many sources to access in terms of learning and with the Isbars I haven't been able to find much. My question to all of you out there that are a few years into breeding with your Isbar's is what traits you are breeding for specifically. I have been reading all that I can find and I realize that there is no SOP for this breed, so I was curious as to what characteristics you are focused on and breeding for with your Isbars? I have some young birds I am just starting out with and I am trying to learn all that I can. I would love to hear from those of you with some experience breeding Isbars as to what traits you are specifically breeding for and also what you may or may not have had issues with. Any of you breeding Isbars that would be willing to share some knowledge with me it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

As promised, here are pictures!

Here's Iris:


She (I'm hoping!) is so cute! She's part of the first batch of chicks I've ever ordered via mail and I was so happy with her that I'm ordering another one from the breeder!
I'll update again when I get my other chick(s)!

Congrats! Adorable chick!

 

[smorris]

Thank you Platinum Poultry. I will check out that thread. Do you know anyone that is focusing on breeding Isbars?

 

[Exotica]

Congrats! Adorable chick!

Thank you!! <3

 

[PDPercherons]

I just got my first eggs from Orchard Hill Poultry.

 

[jack cha am]

I am not too surprised,we have a beautiful splash and she lays brown eggs also.She looks like the perfect phenotype Isbar but some how there must be a throwback to earlier in the breed.
Isbars are a relatively new breed so things like this can happen,i will let some of her eggs hatch to see what the offspring will be like.
In the first batch we have a female who is a very big hen,a lot bigger than her father.Her first eggs are blue ,what can you say?
I think Isbars are a really nice breed ,not aggressive and easy on the eyes.

 

[BerkeleyChick]

As promised - an update on Stella's eggs. So my armchair genetic hypotheses have amounted to nothing. Stella consistently lays brown eggs, with some variation in protein speckling - but always the same shape, minor differences in size, 5/week, and brown. She's healthy and happy and her eggs are delicious, and I think we have a clear answer on the egg colour.

Alchemist farm, my other half has agreed to a few more chicks next spring, so I hope we can come back to you on your offer. Many thanks again!

 

[akaruby]

I've read that this breed can be sexed at an early age, does anyone have any experience with this?

 

[PDPercherons]

Considering they're blue, black, splash. I highly doubt they can be auto sexed. They thought that was the original idea, but the breed never made it to that stage.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I've read that this breed can be sexed at an early age, does anyone have any experience with this?

No, they do not sex early. You generally know by 6 to 8 weeks for certain with suspicions earlier using comb size and color. No body markers other than sex differences as they mature. Perhaps you are thinking of the Crested Cream Legbars, another British project of about the same time development.

 

[robgray]

I've read that this breed can be sexed at an early age, does anyone have any experience with this?

Sounds like you are thinking of cream legbars (crested and uncrested) which are an auto-sexing breed so you can tell as soon as they hatch. The males have a dark dot on their head and the females have a chipmunk like stripe.