Chicken Breed Focus - Isbar (Blue Isbar)

[Beecreative]

Hi all! I am very new to having chickens and would love some help. I have one Isbar, approximately 4 months old and I need help sexing it. Is it a cockerel or pullet?

 

[rotagen]

Definitely Looks like a little rooster to me, my Isbar hen is 6 mos old, same color as that cutie and much smaller wattles and comb than yours. You'll love the isbar roo if you keep him...super intelligent and super friendly. My hen of same color (falcon is her name) is the new addition so she is bottom of pecking order, but she still gets tons of treats because she's the smartest and fastest in the flock, and super friendly and sweet. If he is around 3 mos old he should start crowing.
I have a black with gold isbar roo who just turned 6 mos and I'm trying to hatch hybrids with faverolle and red hens...having trouble telling how many eggs are fertile but I think it's around 50%...My first batch of eggs didn't hatch...it's difficult for me telling anything by candling the eggs...but he was only about 4 1/2 mos old at the time...and jumping on every hen he could...I wonder if anyone knows when Isbar roos are old enough to give lots of fertile eggs?

 

[Lilalienangel]

I know this is an old thread but I have been getting some amazing mixes in my flock I would love to share. They make such pretty birds. Daddy is the Isbar roo..

 

[rotagen]

Wow I couldn't have hoped for a more perfect post. Exactly what I was looking for. My only roo looks exactly like yours in the 6th picture, the roo in the last pic looks different, not sure if he's the same one? I mean exactly, they could be siblings ! I have been trying to get some eggs hatched from him, in fact I've been trying to see a real nice bullseye but I have had zero luck so far, he's about 9 1/2 mos old. Super friendly and curious, I had a grey (blue) isbar roo that was insanely aggressive to my older hens and everyone else at only 2 mos old so I got rid of him.

What are your crosses? I am trying to get my Isbar crossed with my salmon faverolle and my red hens, he's trying but no luck so far. I wonder if he is too young or just too small ? Beautiful birds you have there.

PS...My Isbar hen is the most stubbornly broody thing I've ever seen, same age as the roo. I've a feeling when my Appenzeller chicks hatch in a few weeks I will have to use a few to try to cure her.

 

[Lilalienangel]

The Isbar in the 6th is everyone's papa. The 2nd 3rd and 5th are isbar/millie defluer, cochin. The first is a Isbar/Maran. 4th is Isbar/Swedish flower. The last photo is the first pictured bird's brother they hatched on Valentine's day so that bro still has alot of growing to do. He isn't mine now though. I couldn't keep a second roo. The 7th pic is all the mamas but one with my roo. The Isbar in that picture is broody right now and she already raised one clutch this season! I am hoping to turn that broodiness to my advantage later. I can't hatch her eggs though. There is to strong of a chance my roo is her brother. She's a great broody and mom though. If it somewhat resembles an egg; she'll take it!! These are the first eggs I just got from the maran and the swedish flower mix.

 

[PNWskye]

Let’s try again with pics!!

I have a new batch of babies. Looks like 3-4 out of 5 are boys too!! Here’s three sets of 2 photos each, going from most likely cockerel to least likely. They’re between 4-5 weeks old.

What do you think?!

 

[rotagen]

Cuties ! It's still too early to tell but it looks like you got the order correct from most to least likely male. I would say you have more than one hen there though and possible three. Hopefully you will not get a crazy aggressive cockerel like I had. I had to send him to freezer camp. At 8 weeks he would attack anything in sight, including my big faverolle hens, grab them by the neck, pull hard and never let go. It's a shame, he was a blue and he grew almost twice as fast as everyone else. The hens are the most self-sufficient intelligent chickens I've ever raised... just quiet, friendly and supreme foragers who can handle any situation. Tough as nails.

 

[PNWskye]

Cuties ! It's still too early to tell but it looks like you got the order correct from most to least likely male. I would say you have more than one hen there though and possible three. Hopefully you will not get a crazy aggressive cockerel like I had. I had to send him to freezer camp. At 8 weeks he would attack anything in sight, including my big faverolle hens, grab them by the neck, pull hard and never let go. It's a shame, he was a blue and he grew almost twice as fast as everyone else. The hens are the most self-sufficient intelligent chickens I've ever raised... just quiet, friendly and supreme foragers who can handle any situation. Tough as nails.

Thank you. I have two definite roos. We have a black one similar to your blue where he was just like that to his broody mama. I’m thinking that quality is definitely a no-go! Here’s a pic of him. He was also fast to show his “boy”ness too!

 

[rotagen]

He sure is pretty though, just like my crazy aggressive one was...my blue isbar hen is only about 9 months old and she's been broody for what seems like forever... I'm hoping to drop some almost ready to hatch appenzeller spitzhauben eggs under her in a few days...She's smart though, she takes some breaks to eat and drink. My Isbar roo is not making fertile eggs yet with my older reds and faverolles even at 9 mos old, not sure why..

I'm establishing a second (almost) free-range flock out back with my barnyard mix I hatched from a local lady... amongst all our red tail hawks, etc...I'm thinking my roo is too small for my faverolle hens and hoping he will do better with the appenzellers free-ranging.

Anyways...what fun !..... My 13 little barnyard mix/hybrids I hatched from a local lady are from the survivors amongst mountain lions, bobcats, skunks, raccoons etc...and you can tell ! They're smart and they'll eat anything edible.

 

[fatcatx]

Hello - I am new to Isbars and just hatched some 3 months ago. right now I have 4 pulleys and debating which 2 to keep. Can someone tell me the typical age they start laying?