Hi all. Just wanted to see how everybody was doing.
Iowa Blues Chicken Club (IBCC) - Breed Standard Discussion / Club Discussion
- Thread starter Hurley
- Start date
Oh, good, not hatching much now just waiting to see what my babies grow up to look like. Trish came out to see my flock and gave me some ideas on where to go from next, but I'm going to wait a little while. I really don't have anywhere to put more babies!
Hello, Iowa Blue aficionados. I only got my first IBs as chicks three months ago. Wow, is it fun to watch the color develop. Now my questions and comments:
Why does the standard not mention the color blue? Why is the breed called blue? Is anyone selecting sturdy birds to breed that prominently show the iridescent blue when in sunlight?
In the hundred-plus posts I've viewed, none have mentioned the blue iridescence. The standard mentions a green shimmer, but not blue. My birds all show beautiful blue in sunlight, especially noticeable when one is right at my feet. Then they fairly shimmer blue. Maybe it fades with time. Maybe there are different strains, one (or more) of which does not exhibit the blue iridescence. One would think that the blue iridescence is a defining feature of the breed.
There is very little recorded history of the breed. It seems to me that this blue iridescence might be the origin of the second word in the breed name. Is there another reason for the name? Shouldn't this quality should take precedence in the coloration over all other markings?
Thom
Why does the standard not mention the color blue? Why is the breed called blue? Is anyone selecting sturdy birds to breed that prominently show the iridescent blue when in sunlight?
In the hundred-plus posts I've viewed, none have mentioned the blue iridescence. The standard mentions a green shimmer, but not blue. My birds all show beautiful blue in sunlight, especially noticeable when one is right at my feet. Then they fairly shimmer blue. Maybe it fades with time. Maybe there are different strains, one (or more) of which does not exhibit the blue iridescence. One would think that the blue iridescence is a defining feature of the breed.
There is very little recorded history of the breed. It seems to me that this blue iridescence might be the origin of the second word in the breed name. Is there another reason for the name? Shouldn't this quality should take precedence in the coloration over all other markings?
Thom
I don't know why they are called "blue", they are certainly not blue
My understanding is they should be a strong iridescent green. If the bird carries the Autosomal Red gene the iridescence will be more of a purple, but then they will also often have a red tint to the breast on females and red feathering on the wings in males. I am trying to breed out the red and strengthen the green as shown by the cockerel below.
The red, if present, will show up clearly on the Silver Penciled males as you can see on this one. You can also see the purple tinge to his tail feathers.
Now we have no idea what the original birds look like, but I am trying to breed out the red and the gold tint on their neck, saddle and hackle. I think I finally have some too! This boy is about 4 months old, but shows great promise.
I need some more recent pictures of this girl, she is almost pure green
The red, if present, will show up clearly on the Silver Penciled males as you can see on this one. You can also see the purple tinge to his tail feathers.
Now we have no idea what the original birds look like, but I am trying to breed out the red and the gold tint on their neck, saddle and hackle. I think I finally have some too! This boy is about 4 months old, but shows great promise.
I need some more recent pictures of this girl, she is almost pure green
I would like to see pictures of your birds with the blue. Typically the irridecence gets stronger as they age from what I can see.
The iridescence is going to be difficult to photograph. Years ago, when I was showing cockatiels, there was a big stink over a new color mutation called "olive." That name came from an olive-green iridescence. The published pictures lead me to think that those breeding the olive were color blind. Then I saw one at a show, which changed my mind.
A guy who came to buy some of my Nankins two days ago commented on the blue iridescence. I had not told him a thing about the IBs, not even their name. He asked if I could get them to where he could see them, so I tossed a split ear of raw corn onto the driveway. Got them all into the sun at once and the blue sheen was stronger than I realized, or maybe it is becoming more prominent.
I'll give picture taking a whirl and post whatever I come up with.
Thom
A guy who came to buy some of my Nankins two days ago commented on the blue iridescence. I had not told him a thing about the IBs, not even their name. He asked if I could get them to where he could see them, so I tossed a split ear of raw corn onto the driveway. Got them all into the sun at once and the blue sheen was stronger than I realized, or maybe it is becoming more prominent.
I'll give picture taking a whirl and post whatever I come up with.
Thom
- Aug 1, 2012
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I'm in favor of a standard that mentions iridescence. I've been selecting towards it myself just because I like the look of it.
This might be a radical idea for a poultry standard but what about including some language on temperament in roosters and egg production in hens?
For example: "Males must be easily handled and exhibit no signs of aggression towards people. Hens must have an abdominal capacity of at least 3 finger widths between pubic bones and 3 finger widths from keel to pubic bones with minimal abdominal fat."
I would like to see the breed develop a good reputation as a useful free ranging bird and a standard that only covers appearances is going to give us very pretty birds that may or may not be all that useful.
Okay now you can all yell at me.
This might be a radical idea for a poultry standard but what about including some language on temperament in roosters and egg production in hens?
For example: "Males must be easily handled and exhibit no signs of aggression towards people. Hens must have an abdominal capacity of at least 3 finger widths between pubic bones and 3 finger widths from keel to pubic bones with minimal abdominal fat."
I would like to see the breed develop a good reputation as a useful free ranging bird and a standard that only covers appearances is going to give us very pretty birds that may or may not be all that useful.
Okay now you can all yell at me.
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I agree with drlincoln on this. I think Iowa Blues have lost a lot in terms of usefullness during their decline. When people want to buy Iowa Blues from me I tell them I don't recommend them if what they are looking for is a good layer. There are far better breeds out there for that. To be a true recreation of the original, they have to be bigger and far better layers. With my huge spring hatching season, I have been able to cull pullets from my breeding flock that have slow development and narrow bodies. (Most breeders of IaBs I have encountered are not hatching enough to cull more than extra roosters). Several are just starting to lay now and I like what I see so far. Their eggs are much more uniform in shape and a darker brown than their mothers'. I'm looking forward to a nice fall hatch!
Temperment may be tough to judge in a show ring because they can be trained to be calm. In most flocks it's the easiest trait to identify. I have raised well over 100 cockerels and none have ever been agressive to people. They are also the worst to raise in a large flock and I have to separate them much earlier than other breeds. They are very hard on the hens until their hormones get under control
. I don't select against it though, because they are the best protection against predators I have! Once they settle down, they get along with everyone.
On the question if irridescence, I keep the birds with blue/green irridescence since the purple/red sheen is an indicator of the Autosomal Red which I am trying to eliminate from my flock.
Temperment may be tough to judge in a show ring because they can be trained to be calm. In most flocks it's the easiest trait to identify. I have raised well over 100 cockerels and none have ever been agressive to people. They are also the worst to raise in a large flock and I have to separate them much earlier than other breeds. They are very hard on the hens until their hormones get under control
On the question if irridescence, I keep the birds with blue/green irridescence since the purple/red sheen is an indicator of the Autosomal Red which I am trying to eliminate from my flock.
- Thread starter
- #59
Sorry, I took a hiatus this summer. Work got the better of me and the extreme heat of this summer took its toll on my flock. The Iowa Blues, bless them, were the most heat tolerant and they came through rather nicely, but the heat wiped out most of my other random members of other breeds.
At this point I've got my two cocks I held back and 4 hens along with about 14 chicks I'm raising up currently. I plan to put every egg in the incubator I can find this spring and work on raising up a number to cull from. Was planning on that for this year, but the heat got me.
So, in regards to the standard, I hopped on the IBCC website and changed the tail to 80 degrees. Anyone interested in hammering out the standard this winter?
I've put the proposed/working standard into my page on this forum so that male and female descriptions are listed side by side, if this makes it easier. The standard mock up was compiled from all the info I could gather from various sources (which isn't much as you know if you've ever tried to search for info on this breed - everyone just repeats the same bits of info, over and over). The silver penciled and birchen descriptions were copied from the SOP from other breeds, since I would guess if we want to get them recognized, the decription should match the historical description of the same color for accepted breeds.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hurleys-member-page
I didn't know if we wanted to try to set a time to online discuss at one time or if we want to go back to piece-by-piece discussion in this thread?
Also just added into to the Iowa Blue listing under the breeds. They are currently ranked in at #74 (were in the 80s before I added to it, lol). We can do better! Anyone want to add some photos/reviews? https://www.backyardchickens.com/products/iowa-blue
Hope to be around more. Will try to obtain more photos as well. Kari, looks like you've made some nice headway on the breed and those photos will be nice for helping us to decide on wording for the standard.
Cheers everyone,
Connie
At this point I've got my two cocks I held back and 4 hens along with about 14 chicks I'm raising up currently. I plan to put every egg in the incubator I can find this spring and work on raising up a number to cull from. Was planning on that for this year, but the heat got me.
So, in regards to the standard, I hopped on the IBCC website and changed the tail to 80 degrees. Anyone interested in hammering out the standard this winter?
I've put the proposed/working standard into my page on this forum so that male and female descriptions are listed side by side, if this makes it easier. The standard mock up was compiled from all the info I could gather from various sources (which isn't much as you know if you've ever tried to search for info on this breed - everyone just repeats the same bits of info, over and over). The silver penciled and birchen descriptions were copied from the SOP from other breeds, since I would guess if we want to get them recognized, the decription should match the historical description of the same color for accepted breeds.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hurleys-member-page
I didn't know if we wanted to try to set a time to online discuss at one time or if we want to go back to piece-by-piece discussion in this thread?
Also just added into to the Iowa Blue listing under the breeds. They are currently ranked in at #74 (were in the 80s before I added to it, lol). We can do better! Anyone want to add some photos/reviews? https://www.backyardchickens.com/products/iowa-blue
Hope to be around more. Will try to obtain more photos as well. Kari, looks like you've made some nice headway on the breed and those photos will be nice for helping us to decide on wording for the standard.
Cheers everyone,
Connie
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- Thread starter
- #60
Scavenged this listing from http://www.poultryshowcentral.com.
Way to go Jim (mrheinz77) for showing an Iowa Blue cock at the Eastern Iowa Poultry Association this weekend.
"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a step."
Way to go Jim (mrheinz77) for showing an Iowa Blue cock at the Eastern Iowa Poultry Association this weekend.
"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a step."
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