Isbar thread

[atmaclean]

The second hatch for Isbars finished and these were much stronger than the first hatch. I talked to the man for whom I am hatching them, and he confirmed that eggs were from different sources. I was much more impressed with the second group of chicks than the first group of chicks. Without knowing more about the sources from whom he purchased the eggs, I am left with a mystery. Was the weakness of the first batch genetic OR was it from sick or poorly cared for parents? I guess I will never know.

thanks again to everyone who helped answer my questions. I have put all the chicks in the hands of their owner, and I may never hatch any again, but it was fun to observe these rare birds.

So glad things went better for you this time. It is nerve-wracking enough for me when I am hatching my OWN eggs - I can't imagine doing it for someone else. I would be a worried mess Great job!

 

[atmaclean]

OK. I was finally able to snap a few pictures of my Isbar babies today. They are a few weeks old now. These are the babies out of my spalsh Isbar hen and my splash Isbar rooster. They were able to enjoy some outdoor play time today and really liked playing around my coop cleaning tools for some reason. The one with the crest really likes being held and rode around on my son's should for a long time. Any idea why she/he has that crest?

Let me know what colors they are. Also, if you see some tail feathers that look odd, it is where they got them too close to the heat emitter and burnt them off! I have since put cages around the heat emitters. We had an unexpected cold snap after it fooled us into thinking that spring was coming!
Angela

 

[flitter]

Love that perky topknot on picture 5 from the top.
My eggs are in lockdown 5 out of 9 eggs are in there and looking good.

 

[Ihilani Coffee]

OK. I was finally able to snap a few pictures of my Isbar babies today. They are a few weeks old now. These are the babies out of my spalsh Isbar hen and my splash Isbar rooster. They were able to enjoy some outdoor play time today and really liked playing around my coop cleaning tools for some reason. The one with the crest really likes being held and rode around on my son's should for a long time. Any idea why she/he has that crest?

Let me know what colors they are. Also, if you see some tail feathers that look odd, it is where they got them too close to the heat emitter and burnt them off! I have since put cages around the heat emitters. We had an unexpected cold snap after it fooled us into thinking that spring was coming!
Angela

Aloha Angela~

It's sometimes difficult to accept that what we got was not what we thought we bought. We've all had it happen. It seems your Isbars are not purebred and this happens more than any of us would like with breeds that do not have a standard where a trio was imported and then crossed to increase the genepool. Most often in an effort to recoup the very high cost of importation, the importer will sell off the crossbred chicks as purebred with VERY high prices. It's unethical to say the least, and those interested in these rare breeds buy them up and support these practices, often unknowingly.

There is no way Isbars have a crest. There is no way scientifically that two splash birds will produce any other color than splash. Is it possible one of your hens got out one day to another pen or a neighboring cock/erel got into your Isbar pen?

 

[atmaclean]

Aloha Angela~

It's sometimes difficult to accept that what we got was not what we thought we bought. We've all had it happen. It seems your Isbars are not purebred and this happens more than any of us would like with breeds that do not have a standard where a trio was imported and then crossed to increase the genepool. Most often in an effort to recoup the very high cost of importation, the importer will sell off the crossbred chicks as purebred with VERY high prices. It's unethical to say the least, and those interested in these rare breeds buy them up and support these practices, often unknowingly.

There is no way Isbars have a crest. There is no way scientifically that two splash birds will produce any other color than splash. Is it possible one of your hens got out one day to another pen or a neighboring cock/erel got into your Isbar pen?

No, I only have 4 roosters and the Isbar was the only one out with the hens during that time. The others have their own indoor/outdoor pens where they stay safely away from the hens. No one around here has any chickens. I DO have about 50 guinea fowl, but I seriously doubt that was a factor! LOL!

I will certainly look back in my records to find out where I bought those expensive eggs from!! That is really maddening because I have been trying to wait until the hen and rooster were mature enough to breed and be strong and healthy. They are just now over a year old. I carefully selected the eggs for the good spotting and color, size, etc. Now I have wasted an entire year and have nothing but a bunch of mixes, I guess. Who knows what they are!? How could I find out? Should I keep them or get rid of all of them? My hen lays the mossy green eggs with speckles??? I am really confused.

 

[Ihilani Coffee]

No, I only have 4 roosters and the Isbar was the only one out with the hens during that time. The others have their own indoor/outdoor pens where they stay safely away from the hens. No one around here has any chickens. I DO have about 50 guinea fowl, but I seriously doubt that was a factor! LOL!

I will certainly look back in my records to find out where I bought those expensive eggs from!! That is really maddening because I have been trying to wait until the hen and rooster were mature enough to breed and be strong and healthy. They are just now over a year old. I carefully selected the eggs for the good spotting and color, size, etc. Now I have wasted an entire year and have nothing but a bunch of mixes, I guess. Who knows what they are!? How could I find out? Should I keep them or get rid of all of them? My hen lays the mossy green eggs with speckles??? I am really confused.

Did you wait a month after putting the Isbar with the hens before you incubated? Semen from a previous mating *can* last that long. Trying to help you figure it out, because splash X splash = only splash.

 

[atmaclean]

Did you wait a month after putting the Isbar with the hens before you incubated? Semen from a previous mating *can* last that long. Trying to help you figure it out, because splash X splash = only splash.

I sure did - thanks so much for trying to help. I appreciate it - it is really frustrating. I am just wondering what on earth they are. I still have not had a chance to look up the person I purchased the eggs from. The only other rooster she was out with before the Isbar was my sterile Cream Legbar. I've tried for years to get a fertile egg from him with no luck. It was very disappointing, but I keep him around because he is an excellent guardian of the girls.

Now I am not sure what to do with these little babies. They are so beautiful. The 2 splash are very pretty and they are all exceptionally friendly - probably because the children in my classroom have handled them so much.

 

[Ihilani Coffee]

I sure did - thanks so much for trying to help. I appreciate it - it is really frustrating. I am just wondering what on earth they are. I still have not had a chance to look up the person I purchased the eggs from. The only other rooster she was out with before the Isbar was my sterile Cream Legbar. I've tried for years to get a fertile egg from him with no luck. It was very disappointing, but I keep him around because he is an excellent guardian of the girls.

Now I am not sure what to do with these little babies. They are so beautiful. The 2 splash are very pretty and they are all exceptionally friendly - probably because the children in my classroom have handled them so much.

That may be where that little hairdo came from...

 

[longgrove]

That may be where that little hairdo came from...


Some unintended roo might have gotten in with the hens at the coop of your egg source... still doesn't explain other colors from 2 splash, tho. I agree that some cream legbar in the chick with the crest would make sense, a lot of cream legbars have a crest.

I agree, they are pretty chicks. If healthy (there is a lot to be said for hybrid vigor), and friendly, they could make great laying hens, ( I have a couple of beautiful cross bred hens who are my best layers. One is a blue hen that is the product of a blue laced red Wyandotte roo over a Cochen hen. The other is from my blue Isbar roo over a red EE hen.) At the very least, they shouldl be good layers and , if they lay green, they may be referred to as EEs (which are mixed hens who have the blue egg gene).

 

[lonnyandrinda]

I sure did - thanks so much for trying to help. I appreciate it - it is really frustrating. I am just wondering what on earth they are. I still have not had a chance to look up the person I purchased the eggs from. The only other rooster she was out with before the Isbar was my sterile Cream Legbar. I've tried for years to get a fertile egg from him with no luck. It was very disappointing, but I keep him around because he is an excellent guardian of the girls.

Now I am not sure what to do with these little babies. They are so beautiful. The 2 splash are very pretty and they are all exceptionally friendly - probably because the children in my classroom have handled them so much.

I've been thinking more about this... especially the one with a little crest popping up.... I assume you were hatching only Isbar eggs. IF the Cream Legbar did manage to be the daddy, the chicks would have been barred (if he is double barred as he should be to produce autosexing chicks). So this crested baby could not be from him. It may be genetics from a mix up earlier down the line I suppose.

Now if you were hatching both Isbar and Cream Legbar eggs, is it possible a Cream Legbar female was mated to an Isbar? Cream Legbar females only pass a barring gene to their sons, so a female offpsring will be nonbarred and probably crested.