Iowa Blues - Breed thread and discussion

[Jake Levi]

I am shopping for a camera now, but they could well be through their first molt by the time I get any posted, I need to post some too on the Icelandic thread.

I am getting a lot out of this conversation, chicken genetics is a new study for me. I am enjoying what I am reading. I am satisfied that what hatched from Kari's eggs are IBs, now its just to see how they grow out, and I know I do have a pair of SPs to start with, all of the rest will follow. Got the five Birchens, and the what I am calling 'light Birchens' for want of a better handle. Life goes on !

 

[IowaBlueCurt]

Jake, can you search the photos from this thread and see if there is anything already posted that resembles the different colored chicks that you have? Maybe that can help us to get a jump start of figuring out what you have......

 

[Jake Levi]

Good morning Curt

I have started that, to me they look like the 'partridge' but with a very light breast, and belly, attractive, I am really interested in how they will mature. The two lighter Birchens are of the same hatch, the last eggs that kari sent. My dark Birchens are from the first set of eggs she sent. All are keepers of course. There is diversity in this group ! It is fascinating to watch all of them develop, a real learning experience. The SP cockeral is already showing his stuff. Right now it looks like sexes are skewed towards pullets, which is fine with me.

There are a LOT of pics in this thread, all welcome and of value, keep them coming!

I am looking at a Nikon, DSLR, it will be.

 

[IowaBlueCurt]

Well today will be a bit of a photo bomb from me! Enjoy!
I will have some follow up pics and then some pics of the chicks I got from Dennis....

Remember this beautiful chick? You can see how his coloration is coming along......just over a month old now.









And this chick.....(the older pics of him were from last night when I woke him and his friends up)






Here's what the solid chocolate chick has developed into.......

 

[IowaBlueCurt]

Here's the chicks from Dennis...

 

[IowaBlueCurt]

Here's some choc. chicks from Dennis..


2 mo. old chocolate chick that is now a young cockerel.....the second pic is of his breast. Notice his u shaped lacing incstead of the barring in the chocolate chicks in the above post. He is more brown than he appears in the pics....



Here's one of the chocolate pullets that I got from Dennis. The first pic of here is bleached out because of the flash.

 

[IowaBlueCurt]

Next up are a couple of pics of the light colored cockerel from Denny. I believe this is the male equivalent of the light colored Dubbie hens. (W.C. Fenton raised a VERY white version of the Iowa Blue. He went by the nickname Dubbie, so Esther and I have been calling his light version of the Iowa Blue by his nickname.) Anyway, I was THRILLED to see two examples of the Dubbie type this past weekend. One hen in Glen's flock and the other hen in Denny's flock. I'm excited to see how this fella finishes out. The color is hard to see in the pics, but his chest is completely white with very little markings. Those markings that are there are the characteristic black U shaped pattern that accompanies the Dubbie type mid to lower breast marking (again, very hard to tell from the pic, gotta see him in person)...........This fella is fantastically built, has great shape and will be a big boy.

 

[ottbjumper06]

I have a cockerel like that as well Curt!

I also have a chick with a very white breast...

 

[ottbjumper06]

I am going to post pictures of my Denny chicks tomorrow, light is running out for me now. Hopefully you guys can help me distinguish my two Dark Brahma crosses from the rest of the batch. Their bands came off....

 

[IowaBlueCurt]

That could prove a challenge.....I noticed one of his Brahma cross hens that looked more Iowa Blue than most of the Iowa Blues I've seen.........His 3/4 Iowa Blues look identical to the Sandhill purebreds as well, and you wouldn't know there was anything other in there........

He does keep his Iowa Blue flock pure, and has a sideline project with some Brahma added similar to Kari's project with her Silver Penciled Rock added in. Interesting enough, Denny was sharing with me that when he crosses an IB cockbird over a B hen, the pullets are born with green legs and the cockerels yellow legs and feet. Also, the males carry the feathered legs and the pullets are clean legged. So there must be some sort of sex link trait for the leg feathering....... Very interesting.