Looking to add some charm and productivity to your backyard flock? Look no further than the Isbar chicken! These lovable birds are a favorite among chicken enthusiasts for their striking appearance and impressive egg-laying abilities.
While they may not be the most efficient meat producers, their petite size and stunning green-tinted eggs make them the perfect choice for those seeking a pet or show bird that will also keep their egg cartons full.
With Isbar chickens, you’ll enjoy up to 250 beautiful eggs per year, each one a delightful addition to your breakfast table.
Introducing the Isbar chicken – a charming and productive breed that has won the hearts of chicken enthusiasts around the world. Originally developed in Sweden in the mid-20th century, these birds are known for their striking appearance, delightful personalities, and impressive egg-laying abilities.
Isbars are a medium-sized breed that comes in a range of beautiful colors, with feathers that shimmer in the sunlight.
But it’s their eggs that truly set them apart – these fowl are known for laying large, green-tinted eggs with speckles, making them a favorite among backyard farmers and egg enthusiasts.
Whether you’re looking to add some color to your flock or simply enjoy the benefits of fresh eggs, the Isbar chicken is sure to delight.
Isbar Chicken (Silverudd Blue) Overview.
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Characteristics.
The Isbar breed of chickens is considered a “medium-sized” breed despite its larger size. Because of their low egg production and average grade of meat, they are not a versatile breed. Though they’re a little less towering than a Rhode Island Red in stature, their small, square frame is nonetheless striking.
Weighing in somewhere between 3 and 6 pounds, hens are noticeably lighter than roosters (
The breed comes in three different color variations—Blue, Splash, and Black—but the Blue variety is the most sought-after because it is so uncommon. To avoid confusion and give credit to its inventor, the Isbar rebranded the Silverudd Bl in 2016.
The hue of blue Isbars can vary from a pale grey to a dark blue. They are available in either a uniform hue or a Blue with dark spots pattern. Splash Isbar chickens have predominantly white bodies and a blue-speckled pattern on their feathers.
The Isbar chicken is unlike any other bird since it lays green eggs and has only one set of feathers on its head.
Check out the video slideshow below to see examples of Isbar roosters, hens, and chick
History of the Isbar chicken.
Isbar is a term that originated in Sweden and still applies to many people in that country to refer to any chicken that lays green eggs. (It’s kind of like how we have a hard time differentiating between Ameraucana, Americana, and Easter Egger here.)
Martin Silverudd bred the Blue Isbar breed, which is also known as the Isbar Blue breed in Sweden, with the intention of using it as a working breed.
He never accomplished the auto-sexing part of this breed before he died, if he intended it to be. The white Isbar, which was raised by Martin Silverudd and served as an ancestor to the blue Isbar, is said to have become extinct at some point in the past.
The only colors that are officially recognized for this breed are blue, black, splash, and white.
There is also the theory that the White Leghorn was utilized in the process of developing the Blue Isbar. There is some suggestion that the Minorca may have been utilized, and it may have been how the color blue was first introduced.
I have seen this idea. Because so many of Martin Silverudd’s notes on the creation of the Blue Isbar have been misplaced, there is a great deal of room for conjecture on its origins.
My first interest in the Blue Isbar was piqued by its natural charm and long history of Swedish occupation. My Isbars are definitely the most productive breed that I own.
These are on the smaller end of the scale for large fowl birds, yet they are dependable layers of large to extra-large eggs.
(I have Swedish Flower Hens, Black Copper Marans, White Bresse, Svarthonas, Black Ameraucanas, a Rhodebar, an Easter Egger, and a few mixed breeds.)
They have comfortably endured winters with temperatures as low as -20 degrees Fahrenheit and summers with temperatures of more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and their laying has been interrupted by neither season.
Even as they were going through their molt, they were able to heal and get back to laying eggs far more quickly than my other breeds. They are a breed that is known for being frugal and great foragers.
The Blue Isbar is a breed that is known for its high level of intelligence. They are not excessively fond of being handled, despite the fact that they have an easygoing temperament.
When compared to my other breeds, I believe that the Isbars makes it much simpler to incorporate new birds into an existing flock that has already been established. The roosters are not hostile toward the hens and provide exceptional protection for them.
Greenfire Farms was the first company in the United States to import the Blue Isbar in the year 2011. This first import was fraught with difficulties due to inbreeding among the original population.
Due to “ issues with fertility, hatchability, and vitality, the majority of breeders have given up on them
With careful breeding, the few breeders that persisted in working with them were able to resolve a significant number of the vitality difficulties. There are probably no more than a few dozen breeders in existence today, myself included, who continue to care after a flock of original import birds.
A second batch of Blue Isbars was brought into the country by Greenfire in 2013.
Although this second import line supplied the much-required diversity to remedy the faults that afflicted the first import line, they simultaneously brought a great deal more diversity in the birds, some of which had undesirable qualities.
Egg Production.
If you’re a homesteader who needs an endless supply of eggs, Isbar hens are the way to go. Well over 200-250 eggs per year can be expected from a single Isbar hen.
On top of that, they produce green-hued eggs that are speckled with brown or black, making them a unique find that could fetch a greater price than standard brown or white eggs.
These hens may be little, but the eggs they produce are huge to extra-large. In the rare event that a pullet lays an egg, it may be on the smaller side. They are typically around two-thirds the size of a typical Isbar egg.
It is the norm for pure Silverudd Blue Isbar Chicken to lay green eggs, and all of the eggs are a generous size. The ideal egg color is a pale green, nevertheless, it can range from extremely light green to olive.
If your Silverudd Bl lays brown eggs, it’s because it was improperly bred and lacks the dominant blue-egg gene. Even though there’s nothing inherently wrong with a bird that lays brown eggs, the purity of the Silverudd Bl breed requires that brown egg layers be eliminated.
At roughly six months of age, most Isbar Chicken attain sexual maturity and begin laying eggs, however, this varies from bird to bird. Hens aren’t meant to sit on eggs, so you’ll either have to have an incubator or another hen to do the job.
Finally, remember that Isbar moms are notoriously protective of their young. Eggs from these birds can be difficult to collect due to their protective nature. The hens turn into strict mothers once their offspring have hatched. When their children misbehave, you might observe the parents scolding or smacking them on the head.
Personality.
Isbar Chicken (Silverudd Blue) are vibrant, energetic chickens who thrive when given access to the outdoors. They can adapt well to captivity, but they require large areas to roam and scratch their bare feet. If your backyard is on the small side, you really shouldn’t keep a Silverudd Bl.
They’re sociable and inquisitive, but not the type of hens you can take home and cuddle. Very tame breeds, like Silkies or Faverolles, are your best bet if you want a loving chicken.
Very adaptable, this breed may increase or decrease activity levels depending on the weather and its effects on energy consumption, making it a perfect candidate for living in a variety of climates. They have a high resistance to illness and are an inherently healthy breed.
Silverudd Bl is a great addition to any yard. This breed of chicken looks amazing, and it also happens to be a great egg layer and a very sociable chicken.