Iowa Blues - Breed thread and discussion

[karimw]

LOL aren't they cute? I need to separate my NYD hatch. The boys are starting to hastle the girls a little too much. I'm kind of curious too - I've never had a batch of Iowa Blues as tame as these. They jump up and tug my coat to get my attention. My first spoiled boy was an EE that got pretty nasty. I've never had a mean Iowa Blue before, but I've never spoiled them this much either!

 

[WVDan44]

Tame? I wish... YOu must have spoiled mine in the shell!

Every day I spend time with them, feeding out of my hand, moving slowly so as not to scare them. The little punks will flare their hackles and drag their wings and mock attack my hand or arm, then squawk as if I'm about to kill them and fly frantically about their pen, the turbulance from their wings blowing wood shavings into their waterer.

I tell you, they are as wild as starlings. This is done by cockerels and pullets alike! For example, last night when I went in to clean up their waterer, they surrounded it and made threatening gestures towards me as I reached down to lift it out ot their pen.

Six weeks old today, and no matter what little progress I make with them in gaining trust today, tomorrow we start all over from square one - nothing seems to stick, and yet their antics are so entertaining, that I laugh at them a lot, talk at them, and spend money on expensive treats like meal worms and try every day to make inroads. They have been like this almost since day one. It's like living with poltergeists! I just have never seen any quite like them.

Here's one that's eyeballing me as though he's about to take me out any second! Oh and did I mention they don't like cameras?

 

[karimw]

Oh Dan, he's beautiful!
I will admit they are pretty flighty at that age. Hopefully they will out grow out of it some. When I go into the pen with my breeding flock they just move back out of the way so I can do my job and get out. I've got two IaB hens in my layer flock that jump in the scratch barrel every time I open it. They practically dance on my feet waiting for me to pull off the lid.

My rooster Rex got pretty good about being moved back and forth between pens for a while, but he still prefers his own feet to being carried. He never volunteers to be picked up anyway.

They really do have a strong defence mechanism. I have a couple of cats that like to help me do chores and they have learned not to go in that NYD pen with me. The chicks are inclined to bite at me when I pick them up. I guess you're right, none of my other breeds do that. The teen cockerels are really hard on other chickens and each other. Last year I finally had to pull all the Iowa Blue cockerels out of the "bachelor pen" and put them by themselves so they wouldn't pluck my Jersey Giants cockerels bald.

 

[WVDan44]

Thanks Kari, I think he is an awesome creation. He's vibrant and full of life, beautifully perfect in his own right. This group makes me laugh endlessly with their silly antics.

I'm fairly convinced the sp is a pullet, and I have two Birchen pullets for sure, and that leaves this fellow and another slightly smaller male that is just as plucky as this one. I will keep both cockerels, in case something happens to one of them I'll have a back up.

I'll try to get some glamour shots of a few of them in a week or two. There is a birchen pullet that has a beautiful body type, but the sp along with the cockerel pictured are the rock stars of the small group, or so they think. All in all, I'm very pleased, so thank you!

 

[Hurley]

Here's a question. I've got an oddball in this last hatch from Kari's eggs...


All of the SPs look typical cocoa brown with mottling like this





except this one, that is half black, half brown, with facial markings like Kari's yellow/e+ birds (doesn't show well here under the light, but the front of the face is yellow with black markings). It's a cool looking little thing, the back is black, the sides brown. It's darker than the other SP looking chicks and is wearing a black cape. Thoughts?

 

[WVDan44]

Geez Connie, being a novice at this genetics game, I myself wouldn't have a clue. I wonder though if it could be a golden pencil pattern, which would be an incredible departure from the norm; but of course that is only a SWAG on my part, and not based on any knowledge.

 

[karimw]

That is different. Could be extra melanizers?

My "spring hatch" is pipping! I have 48 due tomorrow, though I'm worried about them.It was a dry hatch, but humidity ran really high anyway so the air cells are pretty small.

 

[Hurley]

Yeah, I'm betting on melanizers, but it's the weirdest thing...in the black, it's like a calico pattern...patches of brown, patches of black, completely irregular. The overall appearance of the chick is less "warm" than the others, kind of like silver vs. gold. Curious to watch this one grow.

 

[karimw]

Me too!

 

[Hurley]

That is different. Could be extra melanizers?

My "spring hatch" is pipping! I have 48 due tomorrow, though I'm worried about them.It was a dry hatch, but humidity ran really high anyway so the air cells are pretty small.

I candled and have a good portion of the Easter hatch developing nicely (though those will all be birchens from my older flock). So impatient to have SPs up and egging. Soon!