Iowa Blues - Breed thread and discussion

[gracefarm]

Really happy with the number of Iowa Blue chicks that I got out of my incubator last night!

 

[gracefarm]

One chick of this last Iowa Blue hatch stands out from the others & I am very much looking forward to seeing it feather out!

 

[gracefarm]

"The Iowa Blue was developed in the early 1900's near Decorah, Iowa.  A folk legend tells the story of a white Plymouth Rock hen emerging from under a building with a clutch of chicks colored solid chestnut to striped.  Old-timers tell the tale that the chicks were sired by a pheasant."

If you notice the chick description in the beginning had no mention of a black/birchen chicks. For that reason I believe it is still clearly possible to get the "pheasant striped chicks & the more solid colored chestnut chicks in the same hatch today" as what was seen in the first Iowa Blue chicks in the beginning. This is my opinion & will be the path I take in my Iowa Blue breeding plans in the future.

 

[Candy442]

One chick of this last Iowa Blue hatch stands out from the others & I am very much looking forward to seeing it feather out!

We also like to see the chestnut coloring in our babies. This one is a good indicator of what we are breeding for. Some of ours this type of coloring will be on the lighter charcoal side of the spectrum. Others will feather out very similar to a Fayoumi.

Congrats

internet example of what Fayoumi chicks look like:


If you haven't seen the variations we can get from our flock in chick down, here is a photo :

 

[gracefarm]

We also like to see the chestnut coloring in our babies. This one is a good indicator of what we are breeding for. Some of ours this type of coloring will be on the lighter charcoal side of the spectrum. Others will feather out very similar to a Fayoumi. Congrats internet example of what Fayoumi chicks look like: If you haven't seen the variations we can get from our flock in chick down, here is a photo :

Nice looking chicks Candy, I plan to concentrate my attention on breeding more for the "pheasant striped chicks & more solid chestnut colored chicks" in the future. One of my goals in the future is to start getting more of a 50/50 split of the two color pattern chicks above. I will be keeping photo records of all my Iowa Blue chicks to see how each one feathers out as adults.

 

[gracefarm]

Really happy in how this Iowa Blue cockerel has filled out over the last 3 months.

 

[gracefarm]

A couple pictures I got yesterday while doing my chores.

 

[pioneerchick816]

I'm totally fascinated by Iowa Blues

They are so beautiful & I love the story of how they became a breed. I hope everyone is successful in their programs

 

[gracefarm]

Looking forward to seeing this 7 week old Iowa Blue cockerel chick grow out, maybe in a few months he will look like his father but with a better comb.

 

[gypc84]

Can someone tell me if this guy is an Iowa Blue? If he is then I would like to get him some hens. I was told that he was but there seems to be a little diversity among the breed as far as color so I guess I wanted more expert opinions. Sorry about the mess, they were brought home and in quarantine at the moment.