Isbar thread

[Tolbunt]

Thank you for this information! I have heard of Ihilani coffee and I am suspecting I saw her at one of the poultry swaps I went to in October. Also how good are isbars with laying? Are they cold hardy or like most chickens stop producing during the winter? Also do isbars come in lavender? Thank you!

 

[KYTinpusher]

Thank you for this information! I have heard of Ihilani coffee and I am suspecting I saw her at one of the poultry swaps I went to in October. Also how good are isbars with laying? Are they cold hardy or like most chickens stop producing during the winter? Also do isbars come in lavender? Thank you!

Isbars were bred to be a production breed and are excellent layers. They are very cold hardy and took the shortest break of all my breeds to molt this winter and get back to laying. The only colors that Isbars come in are blue, black and splash.

 

[Tolbunt]

Okay thank you!

 

[gootziecat]

I was taking some pictures this evening and thought I'd show you a couple of the Isbar chicks from this year's hatch. Getting too many boys! but they're handsome.

 

[robgray]

I was taking some pictures this evening and thought I'd show you a couple of the Isbar chicks from this year's hatch. Getting too many boys! but they're handsome.

Very pretty!

 

[ChicKat]

Very pretty!

x2

 

[lawatt]

just catching up on this thread after about a month away (although keeping track of the isbars group on Facebook!) -- and just wanted to chime and say thanks for the info on small clan breeding. I have a blue original line rooster from one person's flock, up in the sierra foothills, and two hens & one cockerel that originated from Indigo Hills in southern CA -- and so unless i get some more outside stock, all the resulting offspring will end up related in one way or another, so trying to figure out how to manage their genetics going forward.

the tricky part with the clan breeding as it is described on the Homesteading page, is that i only have hens from a single source, although i have boys from different sources. hmm.

I hatched a few "ice-cream-bars" (sierra isbar rooster x CCL hen) this spring, one of which is a black pullet with dark eyes and no crest, and I am thinking of breeding her back to the southern CA cockerel once they are both old enough -- hoping she might add some genetic diversity without adding lots of new problematic traits? she could perhaps represent a different "clan" in the clan breeding system, too. any thoughts from this group on keeping the one CL cross in the overall flock?

I also have one isbar/blue marans olive-egger, who looks VERY isbar, maybe just a little larger, but no feathered feet, has nice dark eyes, etc. -- but am more hesitant about breeding her back to my main isbar flock. she's beautiful, though -- one of my favorites!

 

[Pine Woods Place]

I'm new to the Isbar breed. So far she's a very sweet pullet. I was told she was about 6 months old, but I have girls about that age and she's much smaller. May just be the breed, but does anyone on here have ideas on how old she may be?

 

[KYTinpusher]

I'm new to the Isbar breed. So far she's a very sweet pullet. I was told she was about 6 months old, but I have girls about that age and she's much smaller. May just be the breed, but does anyone on here have ideas on how old she may be?

Welcome!

She is a beautiful pullet. LOVE the dark eyes!

Is she laying yet? Her comb and wattles look to me like she is 5-6 months old and getting close to POL. The Isbars are a smaller breed, but generally lay large eggs (though they start out small for a while). What other breeds are you comparing her to? Is she your only Isbar? Where did you get her?

 

[KYTinpusher]

just catching up on this thread after about a month away (although keeping track of the isbars group on Facebook!) -- and just wanted to chime and say thanks for the info on small clan breeding. I have a blue original line rooster from one person's flock, up in the sierra foothills, and two hens & one cockerel that originated from Indigo Hills in southern CA -- and so unless i get some more outside stock, all the resulting offspring will end up related in one way or another, so trying to figure out how to manage their genetics going forward.

the tricky part with the clan breeding as it is described on the Homesteading page, is that i only have hens from a single source, although i have boys from different sources. hmm.

I hatched a few "ice-cream-bars" (sierra isbar rooster x CCL hen) this spring, one of which is a black pullet with dark eyes and no crest, and I am thinking of breeding her back to the southern CA cockerel once they are both old enough -- hoping she might add some genetic diversity without adding lots of new problematic traits? she could perhaps represent a different "clan" in the clan breeding system, too. any thoughts from this group on keeping the one CL cross in the overall flock?

I also have one isbar/blue marans olive-egger, who looks VERY isbar, maybe just a little larger, but no feathered feet, has nice dark eyes, etc. -- but am more hesitant about breeding her back to my main isbar flock. she's beautiful, though -- one of my favorites!

Are your hens original line? I bet you could find someone to swap eggs with to get new stock.

Since the CCL was used to create the Isbar, I think you could add the CCL x to your breeding group as long as you kept it in "project" stage for at least a few generations to make sure nothing nefarious popped up. I would be much more hesitant about the Marans x as there are more genes there that could cause trouble down the line even if she doesn't express them. Size, feathered legs, and perhaps leg color just to mention a few. (I know both Marans and Isbars have dark legs, but I believe the Marans have a white/pink skin with the slate, while the Isbars have yellow with slate, or willow.)