Iowa Blues - Breed thread and discussion

[Candy442]

A group shot in the front yard. My pullets came quite a ways this year; I'm hoping next year to focus a lot more on finding the "perfect" rooster.
Some of these weren't the best and I left quite a few photos out. There will be a lot of pictures coming from me this summer!

Your silvers are very nice! I have a pullet that is much like the one you say has AR leakage on the breast feathers. That may be a smokey pullet? My Sweetie is probably a smokey with clean feathers (no salmon on the breast). I have her and my silver cockerel producing some nice smokeys and one of my birchen girls is giving me charcoals. I have five that hatched today, three brown and two smokeys.

 

[ottbjumper06]

Your silvers are very nice! I have a pullet that is much like the one you say has AR leakage on the breast feathers. That may be a smokey pullet? My Sweetie is probably a smokey with clean feathers (no salmon on the breast). I have her and my silver cockerel producing some nice smokeys and one of my birchen girls is giving me charcoals. I have five that hatched today, three brown and two smokeys.

Thanks Candy, and that's great to hear!
I've grown up all of my current birds from chicks, so that one would have to be a Silver. I keep a log of wing band numbers, and she hatched a normal Silver; a mottled brown.

I hatched out 20 Silvers and a few crosses yesterday... I think it's a fun side project to see what kind of birds come out of different crosses. Most of the time they're meant as meat birds, but they end up as my mother's pets

.

 

[Candy442]

Thanks Candy, and that's great to hear!
I've grown up all of my current birds from chicks, so that one would have to be a Silver. I keep a log of wing band numbers, and she hatched a normal Silver; a mottled brown.

I hatched out 20 Silvers and a few crosses yesterday... I think it's a fun side project to see what kind of birds come out of different crosses. Most of the time they're meant as meat birds, but they end up as my mother's pets

.

I wish we had that luxury of using them for meat...

with only one cockerel and three pullets to breed with ! However, it is necessary when you have to hatch so many. My 11 week olds are one smokey cockerel, a smokey pullet (she has lots of salmon on her, very pretty!) and one birchen pullet.

Interesting that your one silver hen has AR on her.This would be the first girl I have seen a picture of with AR. My silver guy has a tiny smidgeon of brown on his wings.One of the birchen pullets hardly has any collar markings and the other birchen girl is a deep beige/gold collar.

THe smokey chicks I am getting are a very light chipmunk stripe brown and beige....the three dark chicks are solid medium brown and they are easy to see all of their fluff in the incubator is brown! My birchen is throwing off color chicks with my silver cockerel! Maybe I got some more charcoals?


I agree it is very fun to see what these four produce and what their children will add to the mix. I have yet to see a silver baby with the four older birds...

 

[Candy442]

Here are photos of the chicks we are hatching today. What do you think these will turn out to be? I have about five that are dark brown.

 

[IowaBlueCurt]

Here are photos of the chicks we are hatching today. What do you think these will turn out to be? I have about five that are dark brown.

Candy,

These are keepers! The top two are perfect Charcol chicks. P-E-R-F-E-C-T color. Keep these. The third pic is a Silver. Congrats! I think this is your first Silver, right? And the last one is what I like to call "mulberry" because they are half black and half chestnut colored and look sort of purple colored under the heat lamp. I would keep this one too as some develop nice color. Some don't, but I'd keep it anyway just in case it would come along nicely.

I love those chestnut colored chicks Candy! Keep popping those things out! Congratulations!

 

[Candy442]

a few crosses yesterday... I think it's a fun side project to see what kind of birds come out of different crosses. Most of the time they're meant as meat birds, but they end up as my mother's pets

.

speaking of which. I crossed my silver cockerel over my Delaware. They are white versions of the Iowa and the cockerel is feathering out nice. I agree, the crosses are interesting and often pretty!

I would like to see some of Connie's Ameraucana Iowa cross photos because I have one black Ameraucana girl, but my Silver Iowa cockerel does not like her one bit! I am sure none of her babies will be his

 

[Candy442]

Photos of my two Birchen hens
My "clean" smokey hen
and the first generation chicks

First-my silver cockerel ALL DarkHorse Acres stock



My "clean" smokey hen



June Bug

My second silver, looks like a pheasant chick



The backside of the silver named "Tiny Dancer"



This is how JuneBug now looks



Charcoal unnamed



My Smokey cockerel "Rollo" in the middle


Rollo pic 2



Rollo pic 3


This is Betty


and her sister "Boop"



She has the maroon brown under her wings, dull spotty back, is her hackle feathers considered "gold"?

Thanks for any input

 

[Hurley]

I'll have to get some photos of the Iowacanas when the weather clears and/or when I'm home in the daylight.

However, for the last 3 days I've gotten little cute blue-green pullet eggs from the F1s x a big silver IB cockerel. Can't wait until I get some chicks from the pairing that are a bit bigger. I think I have 2 girls just starting to lay as I got a teeny egg 3 days ago, a pretty good sized one yesterday, and another teeny one today. LOL

It'll be a fun little side project.

 

[IowaBlueCurt]

Candy,

From what I can tell by the pics, your Birchens don't look to be carrying gold. But I can see the mossiness we had talked about the other day. I like the way Rollo is coming along. The spread he has between his legs looks "a mile" wide! hahaha. Don't be afraid to use him when he's old enough! He's a looker. You'll have to be sure to post some pics when he's fully feathered.

Thanks for posting these pics Candy. Your Iowa Blue project is coming along nicely! And keep those Charcoals coming...........

 

[karimw]

I managed to snatch a few pics of my flock with my phone to share. I need to take the camera out and see if I can get some cooperation.

A couple May boys and an Iowacana:




January/February girls in with my big Smokey male:




Some of my buddies in the laying flock March/April


My pure silver breeding pen - all 9 broody, 7 crammed in the basket (one for each egg they are sitting on), all of them yelling at me.