Isbar thread

[Ihilani Coffee]

Feeling frustrated. Has anyone else gotten pea-combed Isbars from the latest GFF import?
I am assuming that's what these guys are. I was debating about keeping them for a more winter hardy green egg layer, but I don't have the space for too many projects.










Also WTH is this guy?

I'm sorry this keeps happening. I'm sure it will keep happening as long as people keep rewarding this behavior with GFF by purchasing chicks at their pricing. I'd bet they would change their practices pretty quick if there was a boycott for three months. Every photo I've seen of the "new line" of Isbars from GFF looks like a mutt of some kind. Unbelievable.

 

[cutipatooti]

Need someone to evaluate and critique my isbar cockerel. His hatch date is around July first. He was ordered as a black Bresse but sent pics of him to the breeder and they said it looks like an isbar. Do you think he is pure isbar or could he be a mix. He has white lacing on his chest. Has anyone else seen this with GFF new line isbars. I have another just like him that was supposed to be a bresse but is not. He has a little less lacing on his chest but came from a different batch a few weeks after this guy. I want to know if I should keep this guy or not. I will be processing in November and need to know if he's going or staying. I have no isbar females but will be getting chicks this spring and would like to keep him for the added genetic diversity if he looks like a good breeder. All comments appreciated. I tried to get good tail and comb shots but he kept moving. His posture look a little funny in some pics because I was whistling to get his attention.

 

[gimmie birdies]

 

[cutipatooti]

Love his comb!

 

[Ihilani Coffee]

Need someone to evaluate and critique my isbar cockerel. His hatch date is around July first. He was ordered as a black Bresse but sent pics of him to the breeder and they said it looks like an isbar. Do you think he is pure isbar or could he be a mix. He has white lacing on his chest. Has anyone else seen this with GFF new line isbars. I have another just like him that was supposed to be a bresse but is not. He has a little less lacing on his chest but came from a different batch a few weeks after this guy. I want to know if I should keep this guy or not. I will be processing in November and need to know if he's going or staying. I have no isbar females but will be getting chicks this spring and would like to keep him for the added genetic diversity if he looks like a good breeder. All comments appreciated. I tried to get good tail and comb shots but he kept moving. His posture look a little funny in some pics because I was whistling to get his attention.

His chest feathering is quite odd, not even laced really. I vote for a mix of some sort. It must be very frustrating to hatch out chicks like this when you purchased a completely different breed...

 

[cutipatooti]

His chest feathering is quite odd, not even laced really.  I vote for a mix of some sort.  It must be very frustrating to hatch out chicks like this when you purchased a completely different breed...

I actually bought them at full price as day old chicks. Then I won an auction that had tons more bresse and sold the other 2 females that I had purchased with this guy. I figured I had so many that I can't keep all of them and the person I sold them to was looking for older chicks. I paid $49 each for them and sold them for $20. I have no idea how the girls turned out and realize now that the leg color on most of my bresse is too dark. I'm so frustrated. I put so much time and money into them for a strong foundation for next year only to be right where I started minus the hundreds I put into all of them. I could try again in spring but I guess there is no guarantee on pure breeds as it's often very hard to tell the difference. I'm still hopeful someone else will chim in and say they have seen this pattern on their Isbars. Like I said it's not the only one I have like this.

 

[Ihilani Coffee]

I actually bought them at full price as day old chicks. Then I won an auction that had tons more bresse and sold the other 2 females that I had purchased with this guy. I figured I had so many that I can't keep all of them and the person I sold them to was looking for older chicks. I paid $49 each for them and sold them for $20. I have no idea how the girls turned out and realize now that the leg color on most of my bresse is too dark. I'm so frustrated. I put so much time and money into them for a strong foundation for next year only to be right where I started minus the hundreds I put into all of them. I could try again in spring but I guess there is no guarantee on pure breeds as it's often very hard to tell the difference. I'm still hopeful someone else will chim in and say they have seen this pattern on their Isbars. Like I said it's not the only one I have like this.

So either the "breeder" didn't know what they were doing or purposely misled you on $49 chicks? I'd be hollering their name from the rooftops if it were me. This is just inexcusable. I don't think you could trust anything they said RE: him being/looking like an Isbar.

Did you get your money back from them?

 

[cutipatooti]

So either the "breeder" didn't know what they were doing or purposely misled you on $49 chicks?  I'd be hollering their name from the rooftops if it were me.  This is just inexcusable.  I don't think you could trust anything they said RE: him being/looking like an Isbar. 

Did you get your money back from them?

I don't want to bad mouth anyones business as it could be a legitament mistake. I would hate to think anyone would deliberately do this. I had won an auction from them for Bresse also and it guaranteed 5 blue bresse. One of which was DOA. Only 4 blues total the DOA was a blue and one of the other turned out splash so only 2 of what I wanted out of the whole auction. I emailed them and in the meantime I got another auction that included blue bresse. When they finally responded a few weeks later they asked if I wanted a refund or replacement for the missing birds. I said refund as I now had more from another auction which I explained to them. A week or so later I got a message that they sent me a package. I guess they decided replacements were better and I was grateful for them. I found out as they started to grow that one was a sussex so I emailed them as to double check that they sent me bresse and foud out they shipped me 15 bresse. Mostly blues/ splash 3 whites and a few blacks. I had one black one sussex 2 looked white as they grew but did not have yellow feet as my understanding of white bresse chicks do. Also one white has a black feather on its back. Also only 11 chicks total. They offered to make it right which I thought was nice as this was a replacement box of chicks anyway. I said I would accept a box of replacement chicks if I could add a bielefelder male chick to the order if I pay for it. They said they would send it for free. That was over a month ago. Yet I see them do auctions every weekend. Maybe they forgot about me. I would say they had to hatch them but I know that's not the case. It's to cold for me to do chicks now so at this point I hope they did forget me. Although I'm unsure about any of my bresse chicks at this moment and would love to just start again. For the most part the chicks look healthy arrive fast and only ship overnight. I like supporting the people who take the time to import the rare breeds for the rest of us to enjoy. I would like to give them another chance, but as of now I'm so frustrated.

 

[KYTinpusher]

Need someone to evaluate and critique my isbar cockerel. His hatch date is around July first. He was ordered as a black Bresse but sent pics of him to the breeder and they said it looks like an isbar. Do you think he is pure isbar or could he be a mix. He has white lacing on his chest. Has anyone else seen this with GFF new line isbars. I have another just like him that was supposed to be a bresse but is not. He has a little less lacing on his chest but came from a different batch a few weeks after this guy. I want to know if I should keep this guy or not. I will be processing in November and need to know if he's going or staying. I have no isbar females but will be getting chicks this spring and would like to keep him for the added genetic diversity if he looks like a good breeder. All comments appreciated. I tried to get good tail and comb shots but he kept moving. His posture look a little funny in some pics because I was whistling to get his attention.

I have a blue cockerel that I hatched from my original line birds that is showing some color like that on his chest. The parent stock does not have it. I have seen pictures of other Isbars that have it, but it is not as noticeable on the blue and splash birds due to the lighter color. I suspect it is along the same lines as Black Copper Marans that are over pigmented and develop coloring on the chest. His build is stockier than my cockerels, but that could be the new line.

BTW - "Legitimate" mistakes that happen over and over and over again with the same breeder no longer qualify as legitimate in my book.

 

[cutipatooti]

I have a blue cockerel that I hatched from my original line birds that is showing some color like that on his chest. The parent stock does not have it. I have seen pictures of other Isbars that have it, but it is not as noticeable on the blue and splash birds due to the lighter color. I suspect it is along the same lines as Black Copper Marans that are over pigmented and develop coloring on the chest. His build is stockier than my cockerels, but that could be the new line.

BTW - "Legitimate" mistakes that happen over and over and over again with the same breeder no longer qualify as legitimate in my book. 

Thanks! It's good to know that there is still a chance he's pure. He is pretty big and I'm assuming he's from the new line of isbars. Since this could be an over pigmentation problem, should I cull him? I have another one like him from another order of bresse but I'm pretty sure that one is a cull as his comb is starting to flop. I have another "bresse" that has some gold on the wings. He's a blue bresse and I have seen a picture of them having a few gold feathers here and there, but this one looks again like an Isbars wing. I'll try to post a pic later today to see what you all think, but he doesn't have any color in his hackle that looks isbar. I am going to be taking some pics to send to the breeder to see what they say. At this rate ime not sure any of my bresse are bresse. I was planing on getting some Isbars this spring from a different breeder and thought it would be nice to have this boy to add to the gene pool. I guess I have a "legitimate" problem here and will be talking to the breeder yet again.