Ice Cream Bars

[SvenskSvarthona]

Well I just completed my first hatch of "Ice Cream-Bars" with 11 out of 12 eggs hatched. So far it looks like I may have a 100% sex-link cross. Male Isbar (yes, I'm going to still call them that- at least for now) over 2 different Cream Legbar females (one female lays the traditional blue egg color for the breed, and the other female lays a light mossy green egg). All birds from GFF lines but purchased from from a breeder local to me. All that hatched were either blues or blacks- no apparent splash (8 blacks and 3 blues). The black males have a stark white spot on their heads, the female blacks do not. There is one blue that has a white dot, but harder to see due to the lighter coloring, time will confirm. The males also all seem to have yellow-ish beaks and combs, whereas the females all have grey to black. I'm not looking to create an auto-sexing breed, rather an interesting cross that hopefully is reliably sex-linked and lays well and colorfully. I have included pictures of the parents as well as the chicks. I hope to update as I have new info regarding their development.

 

[Silvia2234]

Any updates anyone? I don't have any ice cream bars but wish to have some soon.

 

[FoxyRedHen]

Does anyone have pictures of your grown ICB or eggs laid by ICB hens?

 

[WestCoast Farm]

I'm still hoping to see some more ICB egg pics too. Anyone?

 

[SvenskSvarthona]

Ice Cream-Bar Follow Up: The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful

Born March 9, 2017: 5 males (4 black, 1 blue), 6 females (4 black, 2 blue)

Sex-Linking: Hatch was 100% sex-linked (males all had a white spot on their head- however the 1 blue male was harder to see due to minimal contrast with white on light blue coloring)

Coloring:
Males: All black males born took their mother's barring throughout; the one blue male is mostly blue with red bar-like patterned throughout hackles and wings just like their mother. All males have yellow legs like their mother.
Females: All black females are mostly black and most of them have their mother's brassy red color on their eyebrows and very subtle lacing throughout their body (primarily chest)
Of the 2 blue females we have 2 distinct shades of blue, one light, one darker blue. The light blue female has almost the exact same coloring as a blue isbar including the variegated black flecks in the tail like her father. The darker blue female is much more uniform in color throughout. All females have slate legs like their father.

Laying:
Age at Start: Most pullets began laying between 21 and 25 weeks of age (however we are a soy-free and organic farm and typically expect later than average starts). The two pullets that were raised on another farm that has soy in their feed started laying between 18-19 weeks of age.
Egg Color: As referenced in my original post, there are 2 legbar mothers with this hatch, a blue layer and a green layer; however only one hatched from a blue egg (which was the light blue female). Based on our previous research and feedback from our breeder, we knew that the isbar genetic pool is dismally small. Because of this, we also knew there was a possibility that our isbar rooster MAY not have the green egg laying genetics the breed is so known for. Sadly I am now quite sure that is indeed the case based on our results, which are as follows:
67% of the pullets lay either a green or blue egg; 33% lay a pinkish tan egg
The one light blue pullet from the blue egg laying mother lays the only powder blue egg; the dark blue pullet lays a pinkish tan egg; one black pullet lays a pinkish tan egg; 3 black pullets lay a mossy green egg (with some minimal variant of shades).

(Egg on far left is the powder blue which did not transfer well on camera)​

Quantity: Since we know what each pullet lays, we were able to track the frequency of lay for each of the 4 pullets we have raised thus far:
Light blue pullet (blue egg layer and only one with blue egg laying mother): avg 6 eggs per week
Dark blue pullet (light pinkish tan egg layer): avg 6 eggs per week
Black pullet with dark brown eyes (green egg layer): avg 6 eggs per week (then just recently stopped with the change in light/season; not clear as of this writing)
Black pullet with light brown eyes (darker pinkish tan egg layer): avg 6 eggs per week

Plumage: All males had crests like their mother. Only one female (black, green egg layer) has a crest.

Temperament: It's important to note here that the temperament of both crested cream legbar mothers was not great. As they grew into full size hens they only became more grouchy and would frequently attempt to bully the entire flock. In stark contrast our blue isbar rooster is pure delight. He is respectful to the hens, is appropriately assertive with cockerels, teaches newcomers, is vigilant with predator watch, and has NEVER shown aggression toward a human. Sadly ALL males in this hatch ended up becoming aggressive towards humans. In contrast, all females thus far are assertive (never picked on) but are not bullies. All but one actually like being picked up and patted and rubbed like a cat. Two of them even seek us out when we are in the yard, run and jump on our arms, shoulders, or back and are only satisfied when we grab them, hug them, and rub their faces. We've never seen anything quite like it, except for each cross we've done since with this rooster (isbar over wyandotte and isbar over BCM).

(Black pullet with light brown eyes; darker pinkish tan egg layer)​

(Black pullet with dark brown eyes; green egg layer)​

(Light blue pullet; blue egg layer and only one with blue egg laying mother)​

(Dark blue pullet; light pinkish tan egg layer)​

(Barred cockerel; hatched as a black chick)​

(Left: Blue cockerel; Middle: Black pullet w/ no crest and green egg layer; Right: Black pullet w/ crest and green egg layer)​

 

[WestCoast Farm]

Great answer!! Thank you so much!!

 

[ZurcherFarms]

Hi I'm new to BYC and this hybrid breed. I'm curious what others are doing after the original F1 cross between Isbar and Cream Legbar?

To have a true Ice Cream Bar, do you breed the F1s to other F1s or are others breeding the cross back to full Isbars or Legbars? Making them 3/4 one over the other? I'm concerned about genetic diversity in my flock, but want to be able to sell "true" Ice Cream Bar chicks and eggs.

 

[The Moonshiner]

Hi I'm new to BYC and this hybrid breed. I'm curious what others are doing after the original F1 cross between Isbar and Cream Legbar?

To have a true Ice Cream Bar, do you breed the F1s to other F1s or are others breeding the cross back to full Isbars or Legbars? Making them 3/4 one over the other? I'm concerned about genetic diversity in my flock, but want to be able to sell "true" Ice Cream Bar chicks and eggs.

There is nothing after the first generation.
You can breed them however you want but to sell ""true" ice cream bars" you have to make the original cross and sell the F1s only.

 

[lantanalane]

I have been fiddling with CL x Isbar crosses from a few years now, and will continue to plug away at it. I was disappointed with the hatching issues and heat intolerance of the Isbars I was working with, and almost gave up on them completely.

I want a heat tolerant, good foraging, blue-feathered, single combed, clean legged, good to excellent layer of brilliant blue or blue/green eggs (I fancy the ones with white speckling). It's a long list of requirements!

I originally crossed a splash Isbar roo on CL hens. I've experimented with backcrosses to both Isbar and to CL, and I've bred the F1 offspring together (brother x sister).

As SvenskSvarthona mentioned above, I have been able to sex the chicks either on typical barred sex-link traits (white spot for males, chipmunk for the girls), or, in the case of 75% Isbar and F2 crosses- face&shank color (males are yellow, females are green or slate).

Currently, all of my project hens are blue or splash. Some have black napes like the beautiful birds SvenskSvarthona shared. Some have blonde napes. They all lay some version of a blue or blue green egg, save one, who lays a pretty green.

They have filled the criteria pretty well so far- they've been easy to hatch, smart free-range foragers (I turn my chicks loose at 10 days old and collect them when they get to laying age), have tolerated our brutal 100 degree with absurd humidity summers, and been good to excellent layers.

Last year, I added one each "Sapphire" (CL x production leghorn) and "Emerald" (Isbar x production leghorn) to the project. Unfortunately, the "Emerald" doesn't lay a blue egg (it's pink). So, I'll be crossing her with a CL rooster and will eventually cross the offspring of that pairing into the project.

 

[ZurcherFarms]

, the "Emerald" doesn't lay a blue egg (it's pink).

Check out this thread:://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/pink-egg-project-interest.1220962/



I love hearing about all your ice cream bar plans! I bought some hatching eggs on eBay on a whim, and then was thinking maybe I should have just bought an Isbar to pair with my cream Legbar... I wasn't sure how best to breed them. I have two speckled roosters that kind of look like Cream Legbars with more red tones, then I have one very red rooster. The two hens look like cream Legbars with more red tones than silver and less of a crest.

Thanks!