Isbar thread

[HugHess]

Hi everyone,

I have a question about egg color variation of green that you all might see in your eggs?
My Blue Isbar came from a mint egg and lays olive colored eggs... a pic would settle my wonderment...

Egg on left is from Isbar and mint egg is from my "'Olive' egger" (from the breeders mouth).
I saw each one laid, so no room for debate on that. It took me a weeks to figure out who laid which...
TIA....

 

[TheCains49]

I'm so glad I found this thread! I read through most all of it last night and it was very informative! I am new to raising chickens, only about a month in. I have a couple of different brain and I just got my first three ic this thread! I am new to raising chickens, only about a month in. I have a couple of different brain and I just got my first three Isbars! Yesterday I purchased two hens and a rooster. He is my only rooster. I have a couple of questions. The exact age of them is not known, but I know the original owner ordered from greenfire and they are the second strand. She sold them to someone else who sold them to me. The girls have not laid their first egg yet. By the pictures, can talk estimate age or when they will lay?
Next questions... I picked them up yesterday and it was pouring rain. The guy had them in a dog carrier on the back of his flat bed truck. They were wet. I transferred them to a large box with a towel in the back of my suv. The guy told me I may need to worm them because they got wet? I am a complete newbie. Can talk offer help?
Also, I purchased three mix breed hens to get me started. They are lay and are great ladies for me. I noticed one was coughing when I brought her home. She has coughed since I got her but has no other symptoms. Now, one of my new isbars was coughing this morning, perched on roost with her eyes closed. I'm at TSC now to purchase Tylan as I read about it here. What else can I do? I paid an arm and a leg for almost egg laying age Isbar hens and don't want to lose her!
Thanks in advance!

 

[Ihilani Coffee]

Hi everyone,

I have a question about egg color variation of green that you all might see in your eggs?
My Blue Isbar came from a mint egg and lays olive colored eggs... a pic would settle my wonderment...


Egg on left is from Isbar and mint egg is from my "'Olive' egger" (from the breeders mouth).
I saw each one laid, so no room for debate on that. It took me a weeks to figure out who laid which...
TIA....

The Isbars should be green. I'm sure most people would say it should be the other way around in your photo, but I believe that you saw them laid. The OE was probably a mix of a regular brown layer or a dark egg breed that didn't get the genetics for very dark brown eggs. I got an OE from Marans X Ameraucana egg that laid minty green (just sold her). The Isbar olive egg is a testament to the possible mixing of this rare breed with something else trying to widen the gene pool. There have been reports of "Isbars" laying blue or brownish eggs also. I wouldn't breed her.

Here are some egg color photos. The first one are eggs from the original Isbar birds we hatched from shipped eggs. Several of the eggs purchased were tannish toned and we did not keep any chicks from them. These are in the light minty green category and are shown with a lighter Marans egg.


These hens have now grown up and have daughters. By selecting for only green eggs to hatch and breed forward, the second generation have deepened the green dramatically. That's the pullet egg on the top with first generation and darker Marans egg.


Second generation on the top row.


These are F1 olive eggs, and yes, they are wet. Dang pullets laying on the ground!

 

[HugHess]

The Isbars should be green. I'm sure most people would say it should be the other way around in your photo, but I believe that you saw them laid. The OE was probably a mix of a regular brown layer or a dark egg breed that didn't get the genetics for very dark brown eggs. I got an OE from Marans X Ameraucana egg that laid minty green (just sold her). The Isbar olive egg is a testament to the possible mixing of this rare breed with something else trying to widen the gene pool. There have been reports of "Isbars" laying blue or brownish eggs also. I wouldn't breed her. Here are some egg color photos. The first one are eggs from the original Isbar birds we hatched from shipped eggs. Several of the eggs purchased were tannish toned and we did not keep any chicks from them. These are in the light minty green category and are shown with a lighter Marans egg. These hens have now grown up and have daughters. By selecting for only green eggs to hatch and breed forward, the second generation have deepened the green dramatically. That's the pullet egg on the top with first generation and darker Marans egg. Second generation on the top row. These are F1 olive eggs, and yes, they are wet. Dang pullets laying on the ground!

I did in deed forget to mention that my OE is said to be from a Ameraucana Roo from a "dark blue egg" and either a Golden Comet or Australorp hen... Here's the funnerer part. Lol. Here is the egg she laid today...so as they increase in size they have been lightening up in shade as you can see here...the smaller egg is the same one I have pictured above...silly chicken...

Thanks

 

[KYTinpusher]

I did in deed forget to mention that my OE is said to be from a Ameraucana Roo from a "dark blue egg" and either a Golden Comet or Australorp hen...
Here's the funnerer part. Lol. Here is the egg she laid today...so as they increase in size they have been lightening up in shade as you can see here...the smaller egg is the same one I have pictured above...silly chicken...

Thanks

It is hard to photograph eggs and get them to show a true color on a computer monitor. I find that photographing them on a gray background like concrete or a gray paper carton helps, but usually still needs some color editing on the computer to show true. With that said, the egg on the left looks grayish on my monitor.

One thing I have found with my Isbars, and even my Isbar mixes, is that the color of their eggs can vary day to day. Some days they are the prettiest minty green and the next they are more of a sage green, sometimes they are spotted and sometimes they are solid color. (I am talking about from the same hen here.) It is not a gradual lightening like most breeds - it goes back and forth. One of these days I will get a picture of a week's worth of eggs to show what I mean.

The color of green to breed for in eggs is in the eye of the beholder at this point. I very much like the variety of greens I get from my Isbars. To evaluate for breeding purposes, make sure the inside of the eggshell is blue (you may need to peel back the white membrane to see that).

 

[Ihilani Coffee]

It is hard to photograph eggs and get them to show a true color on a computer monitor. I find that photographing them on a gray background like concrete or a gray paper carton helps, but usually still needs some color editing on the computer to show true. With that said, the egg on the left looks grayish on my monitor.

One thing I have found with my Isbars, and even my Isbar mixes, is that the color of their eggs can vary day to day. Some days they are the prettiest minty green and the next they are more of a sage green, sometimes they are spotted and sometimes they are solid color. (I am talking about from the same hen here.) It is not a gradual lightening like most breeds - it goes back and forth. One of these days I will get a picture of a week's worth of eggs to show what I mean.

The color of green to breed for in eggs is in the eye of the beholder at this point. I very much like the variety of greens I get from my Isbars. To evaluate for breeding purposes, make sure the inside of the eggshell is blue (you may need to peel back the white membrane to see that).

The inside of my next generation is green, green, green. The eggs are several shades darker than their dams' eggs. If I could get a decent photo I would...

 

[KYTinpusher]

The inside of my next generation is green, green, green. The eggs are several shades darker than their dams' eggs. If I could get a decent photo I would...

I know - it is hard!

This is probably the most true-to-color photo I have. The gray egg carton makes auto-correction easier as most editing software have you click on a gray area in the photo for correction.

 

[Ihilani Coffee]

I know - it is hard!

This is probably the most true-to-color photo I have. The gray egg carton makes auto-correction easier as most editing software have you click on a gray area in the photo for correction.

I just hate to correct for color as it is done on Marans eggs ad nauseum to make it look like people have eggs darker than reality.

With the green ones though, I've started playing with it and then I compare the photo to the actual egg. Then I get hollered at for correcting the color because you can tell by the background that it's been messed with.




This second photo is more true to color but still washed out. You can see the green shift in the gray boards. I'll try to get photos of the super greenies somehow...

 

[KYTinpusher]

I just hate to correct for color as it is done on Marans eggs ad nauseum to make it look like people have eggs darker than reality.

With the green ones though, I've started playing with it and then I compare the photo to the actual egg. Then I get hollered at for correcting the color because you can tell by the background that it's been messed with.




This second photo is more true to color but still washed out. You can see the green shift in the gray boards. I'll try to get photos of the super greenies somehow...

I agree that editing done to deceive is wrong, but very few cameras capture the true color of eggs without some editing. I also adjust the exposure on the camera to help. On my son's camera, I find that a -0.7 to -1.0 usually helps a lot, but still needs some editing. I try to shoot in bright shade.

On your pictures above, I think if you cropped the top photo like the bottom one, the color would be more evident and definitely looks more real than the bottom photo. Also, if you use that wood for you background, I think if you can move the picture area to the right where the color is more uniform and lighter, the eggs may show up better. JMHO.

 

[cressrb]

I have 3 new Isbar chicks from GFF's. At 6 wks old there is ne doubt we have a rooster as he started crowing this morning! This seems very unusual, but those that have had Isbars have you seen this so early?