Iowa Blues - Breed thread and discussion

[IowaBlueCurt]

Jake-

We too feel the same frustrations as you do. I can only speak for myself, but I was definately disappointed and frustrated to have invested so much time in something that ended up the way it did. However, I've had some time to "cool off", and as I think about this experience, it makes me realize that this is the sort of thing that will test a young and budding breed club. Looking from a big picture, the Iowa Blue has been around for nearly a century without the aid of a dedicated group of breeders, breed club, or standard....that is until now. As we consider this, not only has the lack of support for the breed been a difficulty, but then we add on the multiple controversies, and now it's nearly a miracle the breed has survived at all. If that wasn't enough, then we have the issues of a lack of knowledge concerning breed identity and type and 90 years without a standard, that resulted in people breeding to what they felt/thought was the "ideal". (Even if it included outside blood).

All this goes to show how important our work as a club is. Not only do we have to dig deep for breed information, but we have to bring that information to light, find a media that can spread that word and then do our best to develop our lines into a Standard form. The Standard Committee did a fantastic job of really analyzing the information and putting forth a Standard that embodies what we were seeing in the old lines of Iowa Blues. Not an easy task, as no one on the committee really had any experience with lines like the Bolson and Moore lines, all we had to go off of were pictures. Then we had to take into account the current examples of the breed and disscuss how we were going to get our present day birds to morph into a Standard that relflected the original type. It requires us to constantly stay diligent in our study of the breed (particularly the Standard) as well as the discovery of new breed information.
Upon a discussion with Alison from the ALBC, she shared that until our club has created a solid education on breed type and identity, this sort of thing that has happened with The Poultry Hatchery will, unfortunately, be all too common.

So, my challenge to you all on this thread. First, study that Standard till you know it inside out. It's the key to developing in your mind what the Iowa Blue embodies. Second, do what you can to educate those in your sphere of the true Iowa Blue identity. Don't let those with little skin in the game deter your vigor for the breed. We have come such a long way already, and the future is exceedingly bright for the Iowa Blue. We have an amazing breed club, a sound and solid club leadership, and a fantastic membership of dedicated and enthusiastic breeders. Our commitment to you all is that we will continue to hunt down new leads and "test" the validity of all claims so that each breeder/new member will be directed to the stock that will best serve their needs and the needs of the breed.

 

[karimw]

Well said Curt!

 

[IowaBlueCurt]

Below is a breed description from Efowl.com. Please take note that there are some discrepencies between their description and the breed club description as far as body and type go, however this description was put out before our Standard was adopted. That said, I want to point out particularly what I have highlighted in blue;

Iowa Blue Chicken The Iowa Blue Chicken is quite rare, but is a great dual purpose backyard breed. The breed was developed in Decorah, Iowa sometime during the first half of the twentieth century. Besides being a good producer of both meat and lightly tinted brown eggs, the Iowa Blue Chicken is a sex link chicken, meaning the gender of the chicks can be determined by color upon hatching. This can prove invaluable for farmers or chicken breeders needing to quickly sex baby chicks because the offspring of Iowa Blue Chickens crossed with other American Breeds like the White Plymouth Rock and the New Hampshire Red will also be sex link chickens. Like many other backyard chicken breeds, the Iowa Blue Chicken is a good foraging breed and make excellent free range birds. The actual coloring of the Iowa Blue Chicken is not technically blue by poultry standards. The breed has a silvery white head and mostly brown plumage with laced with silver white coloring. The silver can appear with a bluish tint, but the roosters of this breed are silvery white and black with a penciled plumage pattern. The breed has a bright single red comb, and a bright red medium sized wattles and earlobes. The Iowa Blue Chicken will lay a good number of eggs and will also go broody. The breed is docile and will make a great addition to any backyard or barnyard chicken flock.

Iowa Blue Chicken Product Facts
Iowa Blue Chicken Info

Adult Weight - Male: 7 pounds; Female: 6 pounds Color - Roosters: Penciled plumage patterns with a white colored head, black, dark blue, and dark brown body feathers. Hens: White heads, brown and silvery white laced body, back and tail feathers. Purpose - Dual Purpose: Meat and Eggs Egg Production - Good Egg Color - Tinted Brown Region of Origin -United States

Currently the Iowa Blue is NOT exhibiting sex link traits as a purebred bird. There is sme speculation that it may be possible to sex the Silver Penciled chicks from Kari McKay-Widdel's line (once they are 1-2 weeks old based on wing color, down color, and possibly tail length), but this has yet to be confirmed in any substantial way. Sandhill's line of Silver Penciled IBs are not sexable as day olds.

Regarding the production of sex linked offspring when an Iowa Blue cock is put over a red (RIR/NH) or white (Rock) hen, also has yet to be confirmed. W.C. Fenton claimed that he produced sex linked offspring by the said crosses, but he is not living so as to verify the account.

I'm sure in time breeders will experiment with such crosses and document the results. I have some RIR that will start laying in August and I've toyed with the idea of putting my IB roosters over them and see what happens.

**************A strong point to take note of. The sex link cross (if it does work on the red and white hens) would only be obtained by using a Silver Penciled cock as it is the pattern (Pg) gene that produces the sex link in this situation. The Birchen would NOT produce a sexlink as the extended black (E) gene will dominate*******************

I have seen on other chat forums/hatcheries occationally that the IB is a sexlink breed. It efinately is not a sexlink breed, it is only claimed to produce sexlinks when crossed to other breeds. Which is, again, yet to be determined.

Yet another misconception that the club must do our best to educate on.

 

[WVDan44]

Hi Everybody!

I have been soooo busy with gardens, travel, chickens, building pens and MOWING GRASS!!!!! that I've not checked in live for a while. I see there was a bit of talk about pullets laying - my three were hatched 1/29/13 and we started getting eggs about 10 days ago. I believe all three of them are laying. You should see the tiny eggs - they are sweet. I'm wondering when they will start producing full size eggs, but right now, I am enjoying the fact that they are laying at all, and so young.

In a few days, I will post some photos of my yard, pens, and birds for y'all. I'm having such a good time with the IBs as well as my Australorps.

If anybody knows of a rock breeder in the mid-atlantic region that might be able to sell me a silver pencil roo, please let me know.

IBCurt, you spent a lot of time on that project trying to build a relationship with that guy, but even tho it didn't work out, you flushed a phony out from under his rock. Well done. You just saved untold numbers of people a lot of misery.

Dan

 

[Jake Levi]

Welcome back Dan, I was wondering where you were.

Right on about Curts efforts, they paid off for the rest of us and alerted us not to fall sleep on the predators around us. He did an excellent job flushing this creep out.

I am very positive on the future of the Iowa Blue breed, because of the efforts of the folks here.

 

[IowaBlueCurt]

It looks like the Iowa Blue is slated to be part of a breed focus with the Backyard Poultry magazine!!! I was just informed that they are to be featured in the August/September edition. So keep your eyes out for that one, and if something changes in the mean time I'll keep you all in the loop.

I just recently learned that Ransome Bolson (who's line of Iowa Blues are featured as my avatar) and was the flock rescued in the 80's rescue, owned and operated a hatchery with his brother Marlon, called Bolson Hatchery. Steve Matter who now co-owns the Decorah Hatchery (and hatched the chicks in my avatar for Kent) has in his possession many of the Bolson Hatchery brochures and will be going through them to see if anything was advertised in regards to the Iowa Blue. Ransome has been deceased for quite awhile now, however Marlon is still alive and I have his contact information. I have yet to get connected to him even though I have made a few phone calls to him. But maybe, just maybe I can find out more about this breed and its history..........
I will be making a trip to Seed Savers this summer (which is located in Decorah) and I'm going to try to visit with Marlon while I'm up there if it works out.

 

[Hurley]

Oh, wouldn't that be a nice lead! Keep up the awesome investigation efforts, you rock!

For the Backyard Poultry magazine, where are they getting their photos for the feature? Perhaps we could get them some fresh ones, with older SP birds?

 

[Jake Levi]

Good on you Curt !!

The Seed Savers Exchange event is one I really wish that I could make. Its a great organization, some members who have since gone over the bridge really left their mark on people, one , Carl Barnes, had the largest collection of open pollinated corn in the world, he maintained it with a core of satellite breeders and between them they kept a collection of over 500 varieties going, raising and harvesting 100 different ones each year so the entire collection was renewed every five years.

I got a strain of yellow corn about 20 years ago from him, and have kept it going, no outside crossing to it, its still going, along with an 'Indian Corn' I got at the same time. They were both no names on them, so I call them 'Carls Sweet' , and 'Carls Indian'. Works for me. Both are excellent eating corn, the Indian one roasts well, although chewy, and it dries and grinds well.

Ask some of the folks there if they remember Carl Barnes and his collection, and what happened to it.

I believe that this same process is going on with the Iowa Bluess. It takes a core of dedicated breeders, and I believe that they are here and working hard just as Carl Barnes did. Which is why I went into this so much.

I really wish I could be at Decorah, but, am going to be busy watching incubators and building pens. Life goes on.

I am looking forward to hearing of the new leads Curt.

 

[IowaBlueCurt]

The pics that were sent in to Backyeard Poultry were from Kari's new pics of her Silver Penciled Iowa Blues and a couple pics of my young cockerels and pullets. I don't know which they are using yet. All the pics that were submitted were, to my understanding, of the Silver Penciled variety. I also worked with Christine Heinrichs (SPPA secretary) to get the information put together for the spread. But again, we'll see what the editors end up using. I suggested they interview the club leadership for the article, but to my knowledge that hasn't happened........

 

[IowaBlueCurt]

Wait, I think there was a pic of Rex in the mix which would be a picture of a Birchen.......