Chicken Breed Focus - Isbar (Blue Isbar)

[KYTinpusher]

View attachment 1237403 Does anybody have white Isbars? I got this one from Greenfire end of September. All the others are black or splash. Late developing splash? Thoughts?

I think I see a couple of blue feathers, so she could be a very light splash. However, I believe there have been reports of recessive white in the stock from GFF. You can test breed her to know for sure. Breed her to a black cock. If all of the offspring are blue, she is splash. If the offspring are black, then she is recessive white. Recessive whites should be removed from the breeding population as they are not accepted in the general description in Sweden. Hopefully she will still lay lots of big, beautiful green eggs for you!

 

[lakones]

View attachment 1237403 Does anybody have white Isbars? I got this one from Greenfire end of September. All the others are black or splash. Late developing splash? Thoughts?

Yep, I have one just like her.

 

[sroy]

I got my first Isbar egg today. It's the cutest little green pullet egg I've ever seen.

 

[Evie in MA]

I got my first Isbar egg today. It's the cutest little green pullet egg I've ever seen.

How old is she? I have some 16-week-old pullets I am waiting on.

 

[sroy]

She was hatched the end of July.

 

[Travelin Chicks]

I am raising my first bunch of Isbar chickens from Greenfire Farm and I LOVE them. I wound up with four roosters (2 blue, 1 black, and 1 splash) and the rest black pullets. Some of the ladies have a pronounced khaki colored collar, some have a varying degree of one, and some are just pure black. The black feathers sometimes look like they have a mallard green sheen and other times have a rich purple sheen. Here is one gal (caught stealing a sip of dog water) who has a more pronounced collar
I find them to be EGGSELLENT foragers

, as well as inquisitive and friendly. I have not lost any to predators (yet) as I have other breeds (yes- there are breeds I have discovered I just can't keep around because they will mingle with the skunks or invite the hawks to tea

)
I am just now starting to get EGGS!! It is the best treasure hunt every day, because not all eggs are the same! Sometimes I have a hard time telling them from the Cream Legbar eggs, but other times the greens are just simply mindblowing! Here is a picture of two that I collected yesterday afternoon
Here is one of my roosters who is 15 weeks old now

And I can't leave out Hank... He is also 15 weeks old, and he is the most vocal and the sweetest of all the roos- used to jump into my lap and hang his head over my arm and go to sleep!! Now he's too big and "grown up" for such nonsense

I would like to clear this up. Originally in Sweden, Isbar referred to any green egg laying chicken, and still does to many there. (Kind of like our struggle here with Ameraucana, Americana and Easter Egger.) The breed we know as Blue Isbar (Isbar Blue in Sweden) was specifically bred by Martin Silverudd as a production breed. He never accomplished the auto-sexing part of this breed before he died, if he intended it to be. There was a white Isbar, bred by Martin Silverudd, that was a precursor to the Blue Isbar, but is believed to be extinct. Blue, black, splash and white are the only recognized colors of this breed. It is also thought that the White Leghorn was used in the development of the Blue Isbar. I have seen some speculation that the Minorca may have been used, and perhaps that is how the blue color was introduced. Many of Martin Silverudd's notes on the development of the Blue Isbar have been lost which is why there is so much speculation.



I was originally drawn to the Blue Isbar because of its beauty and Swedish heritage. (DH's family is Swedish) My Isbars are by far the most productive breed that I own. (I have Swedish Flower Hens, Svarthönas, White Bresse, Black Copper Marans, Black Ameraucanas, a Rhodebar, an Easter Egger, and a few mixed breeds) They are on the small end of the scale for large fowl birds, but are reliable layers of large to extra large eggs. The have easily withstood winters with temps down to -20o F and summers with temps of 100o F+ with hardly a pause in their laying. Even during molt, they recovered and resumed laying very quickly compared to my other breeds. They are a thrifty breed and excellent foragers.

The Blue Isbar is a very intelligent breed (for a chicken anyway.

) They have a calm temperatment, but mine are not overly fond of being handled. I find that integrating new birds in an established flock is easier with the Isbars than with my other breeds. The cocks are not aggressive and take excellent care of the hens.

The Blue Isbar was originally brought to the states by Greenfire Farms in 2011. This first import was plagued by problems caused by inbreeding. Many breeders gave up on them because of fertility, hatchability, and vitality issues. The few breeders that stuck with them were able to solve many of the vitality issues with careful breeding. I know of only a handful of breeders, myself included, who still maintain a flock of 1st import birds.

In 2013, Greenfire imported a second group of Blue Isbars. Though this 2nd import line brought much needed diversity to address the issues that plagued the 1st import line, they also brought much more variability in the birds with some undesirable characteristics.

 

[Travelin Chicks]

Good evening! I realize this is a two year old post but wondering if you still have the Greenfire Isbars & how they worked out for you. I got 9 Isbar chicks from them & ended up with 4 Roos also...anyway the more I research I’m wondering if the 2nd gen imports were the way to go....I’d like to be able to breed/ sell one day so thinking I need to get some first gen imports & start weeding out the qualities others are saying are less desirable.... just wondering how you’ve made out with the GF 2nd gens..., thanks for any info...

 

[lhart3960]

I think I see a couple of blue feathers, so she could be a very light splash. However, I believe there have been reports of recessive white in the stock from GFF. You can test breed her to know for sure. Breed her to a black cock. If all of the offspring are blue, she is splash. If the offspring are black, then she is recessive white. Recessive whites should be removed from the breeding population as they are not accepted in the general description in Sweden. Hopefully she will still lay lots of big, beautiful green eggs for you!

KYTinpusher, do you have any Isbar pullets for sale? I am having a hard time finding any locally, but I would be willing to drive to KY to get a few.

 

[exoticpoultry]

Wow just Wow !

 

[sroy]

My little dainty Isbars. Currently my favorite