Isbar thread

[cutipatooti]

My youngest full Isbar started laying today, a little earlier than expected actually, beautiful olive egg, very happy as my others lay more towards the blue side.

Congratulations, nice egg!

 

[ChicKat]

Congratulations, nice egg!

x2

LOve those saturated colors. In my Isbars, it does seem that the color will lighten with the passage of time. (guess that is true of all the brown pigments contributing to the greens) -- That egg is a beauty.

 

[PDPercherons]

The importation looks like a mighty good idea. I'm glad that many are getting involved in that. I also think it's great that you're allowing anyone serious to get involved and put their money where they will. I was looking into importing Andalusians a while back and basically told I didn't deserve any because I was a nobody. Talk about something to torque you out of shape fast. I'm a firm believer you get what you pay for. New or not I believe in getting the highest quality you can afford. This breed will benefit greatly from new blood.

 

[Clearly]

Hello Isbar Experts!

Let me first introduce myself: I'm Stephanie, live in a suburb of Seattle Washington, and due to the city limitations, I can only have a limited amount of chickens and no roosters.

So taking that into consideration, over the past few years I have selectively bought rarer breeds, even though I cannot continue the line, as I value egg colors and interesting birds a lot more considering I can only have about a dozen birds. I've hatched Araucanas and Swedish Flowers, and this year decided to make my very first order from GFF; 6 Isbar chicks.

Seven chicks arrived, one was very ill and passed from cocci within 8 hours. The remaining six are now 25 days old. While it was tragic to lose one, I figured that's why they put seven in there; saves the hassle of a refund/replacement, etc. Only just now I'm realizing, upon reading some pages in this thread somewhere in the 110s, that WHITE ISBARS are a myth. And I have one thriving white Isbar that I'm realizing now may have been a packing peanut.

Further reading through the many pages here and I find some pics posted by other purchasers from GFF that look "splash" and people are responding saying they're most definitely not Isbars, they're some sort of Mutt.

Again, I refer to above, where I'm very limited in how many chickens I can have, so this is a concern of mine! Eeek! So I'm posting some pictures of these 25 day old babies (that are the sweetest, friendliest chicks I have *ever* had) so maybe you experts can weigh in.

First: Two of my blues. The one on the left is larger than the one on the right, but the one on the right has a larger comb. Boy girl? Girl boy? Thoughts?


Second: some of the "splash" colored ones that I'm now worried after having read that other post where someone shared their "splash" chicks that were later determined to be mutts.




Finally, as you may notice above, one of those chicks is not like the other! This white chick has the same comb as the others, and same stature as well. So is it really a myth? Or did I just get THE LEGEND!







I so appreciate your input. If this white chick was a packing peanut and they just didn't tell me what I got or even that I was getting one at all, I should really write them for a refund on the one that died. I did contact them that I'd had a death the day they arrived, but because they'd sent me one extra, I wouldn't ask for anything. BUT that was assuming these were all ISBARS!

Anyways, it's on record that I had the death, I have a picture, etc. Gah, I just don't know how to handle these sorts of things, because I'm the sort of person that will order a steak dinner, be brought a salad, and never tell them they'd made a mistake.

Anyways, thanks again in advance for checking out the photos and sharing with me your thoughts. If you can easily see any sex traits to help me determine now who the girls are, that would be helpful as well so I don't get too attached!!!! EEEK!


(I can take them into the sunlight tomorrow, these pictures are a result of late night thread reading, panic, and quick shots to make a post ASAP! So if these are not good enough to really determine anything, I'll post more tomorrow, just let me know!)

 

[ChicKat]

Hello Isbar Experts!

Let me first introduce myself: I'm Stephanie, live in a suburb of Seattle Washington, and due to the city limitations, I can only have a limited amount of chickens and no roosters.

So taking that into consideration, over the past few years I have selectively bought rarer breeds, even though I cannot continue the line, as I value egg colors and interesting birds a lot more considering I can only have about a dozen birds. I've hatched Araucanas and Swedish Flowers, and this year decided to make my very first order from GFF; 6 Isbar chicks.

Seven chicks arrived, one was very ill and passed from cocci within 8 hours. The remaining six are now 25 days old. While it was tragic to lose one, I figured that's why they put seven in there; saves the hassle of a refund/replacement, etc. Only just now I'm realizing, upon reading some pages in this thread somewhere in the 110s, that WHITE ISBARS are a myth. And I have one thriving white Isbar that I'm realizing now may have been a packing peanut.

Further reading through the many pages here and I find some pics posted by other purchasers from GFF that look "splash" and people are responding saying they're most definitely not Isbars, they're some sort of Mutt.

Again, I refer to above, where I'm very limited in how many chickens I can have, so this is a concern of mine! Eeek! So I'm posting some pictures of these 25 day old babies (that are the sweetest, friendliest chicks I have *ever* had) so maybe you experts can weigh in.

First: Two of my blues. The one on the left is larger than the one on the right, but the one on the right has a larger comb. Boy girl? Girl boy? Thoughts?


Second: some of the "splash" colored ones that I'm now worried after having read that other post where someone shared their "splash" chicks that were later determined to be mutts.




Finally, as you may notice above, one of those chicks is not like the other! This white chick has the same comb as the others, and same stature as well. So is it really a myth? Or did I just get THE LEGEND!







I so appreciate your input. If this white chick was a packing peanut and they just didn't tell me what I got or even that I was getting one at all, I should really write them for a refund on the one that died. I did contact them that I'd had a death the day they arrived, but because they'd sent me one extra, I wouldn't ask for anything. BUT that was assuming these were all ISBARS!

Anyways, it's on record that I had the death, I have a picture, etc. Gah, I just don't know how to handle these sorts of things, because I'm the sort of person that will order a steak dinner, be brought a salad, and never tell them they'd made a mistake.

Anyways, thanks again in advance for checking out the photos and sharing with me your thoughts. If you can easily see any sex traits to help me determine now who the girls are, that would be helpful as well so I don't get too attached!!!! EEEK!


(I can take them into the sunlight tomorrow, these pictures are a result of late night thread reading, panic, and quick shots to make a post ASAP! So if these are not good enough to really determine anything, I'll post more tomorrow, just let me know!)

Congratulations on getting your Isbars-- what pretty chicks.
Although I don't have the expertise to begin to know the answers to your questions -- I wanted to send some moral support.

I have heard that some unusual chicks have come out of the GFF Isbar's program. Maybe the most important thing is that you have nice chicks that are friendly -- and since you won't be breeding them their 'true' pedigree -- isn't quite that important. However, it would become very important should they turn out to be male Isbars and you needed to rehome them -- but I guess you could tell the story to potential buyers that they were purchased from GFF as Isbars. I think that it would be worth your while to contact them to ask about the 7th chick. Order the steak (Isbar) and get a salad (unknown ) -- but maybe don't pay for the steak in that case?

There's always something. Good luck with the resolution -- Hopefully you will get that expert insight that you are looking for.

 

[KYTinpusher]

My youngest full Isbar started laying today, a little earlier than expected actually, beautiful olive egg, very happy as my others lay more towards the blue side.

Congratulations!

Very pretty egg.

The importation looks like a mighty good idea. I'm glad that many are getting involved in that. I also think it's great that you're allowing anyone serious to get involved and put their money where they will. I was looking into importing Andalusians a while back and basically told I didn't deserve any because I was a nobody. Talk about something to torque you out of shape fast. I'm a firm believer you get what you pay for. New or not I believe in getting the highest quality you can afford. This breed will benefit greatly from new blood.

I'm sorry they didn't take you seriously.

Maybe you need to find a different source that is willing to work with you.

Fortunately, my contacts in Sweden are eager to help us import more Isbars into the U.S.

Hello Isbar Experts!

Let me first introduce myself: I'm Stephanie, live in a suburb of Seattle Washington, and due to the city limitations, I can only have a limited amount of chickens and no roosters.

So taking that into consideration, over the past few years I have selectively bought rarer breeds, even though I cannot continue the line, as I value egg colors and interesting birds a lot more considering I can only have about a dozen birds. I've hatched Araucanas and Swedish Flowers, and this year decided to make my very first order from GFF; 6 Isbar chicks.

Seven chicks arrived, one was very ill and passed from cocci within 8 hours. The remaining six are now 25 days old. While it was tragic to lose one, I figured that's why they put seven in there; saves the hassle of a refund/replacement, etc. Only just now I'm realizing, upon reading some pages in this thread somewhere in the 110s, that WHITE ISBARS are a myth. And I have one thriving white Isbar that I'm realizing now may have been a packing peanut.

Further reading through the many pages here and I find some pics posted by other purchasers from GFF that look "splash" and people are responding saying they're most definitely not Isbars, they're some sort of Mutt.

Again, I refer to above, where I'm very limited in how many chickens I can have, so this is a concern of mine! Eeek! So I'm posting some pictures of these 25 day old babies (that are the sweetest, friendliest chicks I have *ever* had) so maybe you experts can weigh in.

First: Two of my blues. The one on the left is larger than the one on the right, but the one on the right has a larger comb. Boy girl? Girl boy? Thoughts?


Second: some of the "splash" colored ones that I'm now worried after having read that other post where someone shared their "splash" chicks that were later determined to be mutts.




Finally, as you may notice above, one of those chicks is not like the other! This white chick has the same comb as the others, and same stature as well. So is it really a myth? Or did I just get THE LEGEND!







I so appreciate your input. If this white chick was a packing peanut and they just didn't tell me what I got or even that I was getting one at all, I should really write them for a refund on the one that died. I did contact them that I'd had a death the day they arrived, but because they'd sent me one extra, I wouldn't ask for anything. BUT that was assuming these were all ISBARS!

Anyways, it's on record that I had the death, I have a picture, etc. Gah, I just don't know how to handle these sorts of things, because I'm the sort of person that will order a steak dinner, be brought a salad, and never tell them they'd made a mistake.

Anyways, thanks again in advance for checking out the photos and sharing with me your thoughts. If you can easily see any sex traits to help me determine now who the girls are, that would be helpful as well so I don't get too attached!!!! EEEK!


(I can take them into the sunlight tomorrow, these pictures are a result of late night thread reading, panic, and quick shots to make a post ASAP! So if these are not good enough to really determine anything, I'll post more tomorrow, just let me know!)

Welcome to the Isbar breed and this thread! I am a little short on time today as my son just had surgery yesterday, but let me see if I can answer a few of your questions.

First, the white Isbar is not a myth, but is actually the ORIGINAL Isbar and unrelated to the Blue Isbar we have here in the States (i.e. - no chance of them popping up from the Blue Isbars). The Original Isbar is all but extinct in Sweden, but there is an ongoing program to bring it back. Breeders over there are using Martin Silverudd's notes to recreate the Original Isbar from the few birds that were left. They are also a green egg layer. Here is a picture:

That being said, I do not believe that your white chick is Isbar. A splash Isbar would be showing some blue feathers in with the white at that age. It appears to me that the white chick is probably a White Bresse and most likely a cockerel. You will know when he gets older as his legs will be blue.

As for your others, they are probably Isbars, such as they are from GFF. Of the 2 blues, the one on the left looks like a pullet to me, but I am still on the fence about the one on the right. Post more pictures in a week or so and it should be clearer by then. The black in the second picture looks like a cockerel, but again, post more pics in a week or so to be sure before you re-home him. Try to get a good side shot of the heads showing the combs and the wattles.

The other 2 blacks are looking like pullets, but I can't see the wattles to be sure and it is a little early to be sure. However, you will want to watch both of them to see if they are mottled (like the SFH). I am pretty sure the one with more white is, but not too sure of the other one. Isbars are not mottled. Some of them have shown up in the population in Sweden but are thought to be the result of a past outcross and are not allowed in the preservation program over there. I do know some in this country that received mottled "Isbars" from GFF and are making a project color out of them. Hey, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade! If yours are mottled, and you don't want some project birds, you may be able to re-home them to someone who is interested in that project.

I hope you end up with at least a couple pullets from your chicks. And I hope they lay green eggs for you. Good luck if you decide to contact GFF. Please keep us updated as your chicks grow!

 

[ChicKat]

What good insights KYTinpusher.

Hope your son has a great after surgery recovery.

Thanks for the picture of the original Isbars -- So fascinating how Silverudd developed them (Blue) from that look. Do I understand correctly that Legbars and Leghorns are the foundation of Isbars and some RIR is mixed in there too?

 

[KYTinpusher]

What good insights KYTinpusher.

Hope your son has a great after surgery recovery.

Thanks for the picture of the original Isbars -- So fascinating how Silverudd developed them (Blue) from that look. Do I understand correctly that Legbars and Leghorns are the foundation of Isbars and some RIR is mixed in there too?

Actually, the Blue Isbar that we know is not related to the original Isbar - they are completely separate breeds. In fact, Silverudd did not call them Blue Isbars. His name for them was Swedish Greenegglayer. Sometime in the 90's, after Silverudd's death, the change was made to Isbar Blue, as they are known in Sweden, probably due to confusion because both breeds lay green eggs. Which explains why the Blue Isbar is not barred as the "bar" in its name would suggest, and also where the confusion of its being auto-sexing may have originated.

In fact, over the weekend in Sweden, they officially re-named the Isbar Blue to be Silverudd's Blue to differentiate it from the original Isbar that is being brought back.

 

[KYTinpusher]

Just a tease until I can get back to write out the whole story...

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1090421/silverudds-blue/0_20

 

[lakones]

Hello Isbar Experts! Let me first introduce myself: I'm Stephanie, live in a suburb of Seattle Washington, and due to the city limitations, I can only have a limited amount of chickens and no roosters. So taking that into consideration, over the past few years I have selectively bought rarer breeds, even though I cannot continue the line, as I value egg colors and interesting birds a lot more considering I can only have about a dozen birds. I've hatched Araucanas and Swedish Flowers, and this year decided to make my very first order from GFF; 6 Isbar chicks. Seven chicks arrived, one was very ill and passed from cocci within 8 hours. The remaining six are now 25 days old. While it was tragic to lose one, I figured that's why they put seven in there; saves the hassle of a refund/replacement, etc. Only just now I'm realizing, upon reading some pages in this thread somewhere in the 110s, that WHITE ISBARS are a myth. And I have one thriving white Isbar that I'm realizing now may have been a packing peanut. Further reading through the many pages here and I find some pics posted by other purchasers from GFF that look "splash" and people are responding saying they're most definitely not Isbars, they're some sort of Mutt. Again, I refer to above, where I'm very limited in how many chickens I can have, so this is a concern of mine! Eeek! So I'm posting some pictures of these 25 day old babies (that are the sweetest, friendliest chicks I have *ever* had) so maybe you experts can weigh in. First: Two of my blues. The one on the left is larger than the one on the right, but the one on the right has a larger comb. Boy girl? Girl boy? Thoughts? Second: some of the "splash" colored ones that I'm now worried after having read that other post where someone shared their "splash" chicks that were later determined to be mutts. Finally, as you may notice above, one of those chicks is not like the other! This white chick has the same comb as the others, and same stature as well. So is it really a myth? Or did I just get THE LEGEND! I so appreciate your input. If this white chick was a packing peanut and they just didn't tell me what I got or even that I was getting one at all, I should really write them for a refund on the one that died. I did contact them that I'd had a death the day they arrived, but because they'd sent me one extra, I wouldn't ask for anything. BUT that was assuming these were all ISBARS! Anyways, it's on record that I had the death, I have a picture, etc. Gah, I just don't know how to handle these sorts of things, because I'm the sort of person that will order a steak dinner, be brought a salad, and never tell them they'd made a mistake. Anyways, thanks again in advance for checking out the photos and sharing with me your thoughts. If you can easily see any sex traits to help me determine now who the girls are, that would be helpful as well so I don't get too attached!!!! EEEK! (I can take them into the sunlight tomorrow, these pictures are a result of late night thread reading, panic, and quick shots to make a post ASAP! So if these are not good enough to really determine anything, I'll post more tomorrow, just let me know!)

I agree that the white one looks to be an American Breese roo. I have some of them from GFF and just love them! If you were closer I'd take him in a second. As to the others, they look like Isbars to me, but I'm still pretty new to them so I would be gender guessing at best! Enjoy them all!