The Iowa Blue chicken is an excellent dual-purpose backyard breed. It was developed in the early 1900s near Decorah, Iowa. And now the breed is quite rare. The exact origin of the Iowa Blue Chicken is unknown.
But it’s an item of folk legend said to have been associated with slimy white Leghorn chicken and pheasant.
The breed is not actually blue by poultry standards, despite the name. The Iowa Blue chicken has never been officially recognized by the American Bantam Association, the American Poultry Association, or any other breed standard.
Several hatcheries around Iowa sold the breed in the 1960s. But the Iowa Blue chicken all but disappeared after hatcheries closed or sales ceased. Some breed enthusiasts have retained the breed well into the 21st century (although their numbers remain small).
Since then they have been trying to distribute the breed to all interested parties in order to restore the breed. Below are the characteristics, behavior and complete profile of the Iowa Blue Chicken Breed.
Characteristics of the Iowa Blue Chicken
The Iowa Blue Chicken is a dual-purpose breed. When mated to other breeds, especially New Hampshire or Plymouth Rocks, it will produce sex-linked chicks. The sex of the chicks can be determined by their color at hatching.
It is therefore a big plus if you want to raise males and females separately from a young age. The Iowa Blue chicken has no true blue plumage (although it is called “blue”).
The neck, chest and head are white or silvery white, with a thin black stripe down the middle that fades into black feathers with white laces. And the remaining plumage on their body is bluish-black or tinted gray.
There are some differences between males and females in the back and saddle feathers. The Iowa Blue Chicken has a single red comb that stands upright with six defined points.
They have medium to moderately large red crickets and red earlobes. Their shins and toes are slate. Male Iowa Blue chickens weigh around 3.2 kg and females around 2.7 kg.
Behaviour/Temperament
The Iowa Blue Chicken is known to be a very good forager and does well in free range conditions. They are vigorous breeders and early maturing birds. This breed is not particularly capricious and quite obedient.
As a dual-purpose breed, the Iowa Blue hen lays a large amount of eggs and can produce a fair amount of meat. Chickens are excellent laying and incubating hens. And they are also wonderful mothers. The males, being particularly skilled hawk fighters, are among the best herdsmen.
The Iowa Blue chicken can be hard to find these days, and the breed is extremely rare. However, it is a large backyard herd. And by breeding this breed, you can take advantage of its dual purpose and help restore a nearly extinct breed. See the complete Iowa Blue Chicken Breed Profile below.
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| Breed name | Iowa Blue |
| another name | everything |
| Purpose of the breed | Dual purpose (meat and eggs) |
| Broad temperament | take it easy |
| Breed size | big |
| sullen instinct | frequent |
| comb | A |
| climatic tolerance | All climates |
| egg color | sunbathe |
| Egg size | medium |
| Egg performance | medium |
| feathered feet | Not |
| scarcity | Ordinary parts |
| Varieties | black |
