What color eggs do Isbars lay?

**Green** — from light mint or moss green to a deeper moss, sometimes with fine brown speckling. Unlike an Easter Egger cross, the Isbar lays green as a **pure breed** because both the blue-egg base and the brown overlay are fixed within the breed, so the color breeds true.

Are Isbars good for showing?

They are **not recognized by the APA**, so there's no APA standard to show them against for points in the US; they appear in exhibition-only, rare-breed, or club classes. Breeders judge them on consistent green egg color, correct Blue/Black/Splash plumage, and a sound dual-purpose frame.

How hard are Isbars to hatch?

No harder than any chicken — **99.5–100°F, lockdown day 18, 21-day hatch**. There are no breed-specific incubation quirks; chick down color (dark, grey, or pale yellow) just previews the Black, Blue, or Splash variety.

Is the Isbar the same as Silverudd's Blue?

Yes. **Isbar** is the older name; the breed was **officially renamed 'Silverudd's Blue' in 2016** after its creator, Martin Silverudd. Both names refer to the same Swedish green-egg breed in Blue, Black, and Splash.

Where does the Isbar come from?

It's a modern **Swedish** breed developed by **Martin Silverudd**, a parish priest and poultry geneticist, from New Hampshire and Rhode Island Red foundation with blue-egg genetics added (reportedly via Cream Legbar). Silverudd died in 1986 before fully standardizing it, so type still varies between flocks.

Generally not — they're bred as productive green-egg layers and rarely go broody, so plan on an incubator or a broody hen of another breed to hatch their eggs. Individual hens vary.

Isbar (Silverudd's Blue): The Pure Green-Egg Breed

Verified September 2026Green eggs

The short version

The Isbar — officially renamed Silverudd's Blue in 2016 — is a pure breed that lays GREEN eggs, not a cross or Easter Egger. It's a modern Swedish breed created by geneticist and parish priest Martin Silverudd, who combined a blue-egg base with a brown overlay so the mint-to-moss green shell breeds true. It comes in three varieties — Blue, Black, and Splash — and is a hardy dual-purpose layer. It is NOT recognized by the American Poultry Association, so it shows only in non-standard or exhibition-only classes.

APA class: Ornamental

Egg color: Green

Broodiness: Rarely broody

Varieties: 3

Egg-color genetics

The Isbar is unusual: it lays a green egg as a PURE breed, not as a first-cross Easter Egger. Martin Silverudd built the blue-egg (oocyan) gene into the line — reportedly by way of Cream Legbar blood — and then fixed a brown-pigment overlay on top of that blue shell within the same breed. Blue shell base + brown surface coating = the mint-to-moss green you see, and because both layers are set in the breed itself, the green comes true generation after generation rather than splitting out the way a barnyard cross would. Individual hens vary from light mossy green to a deeper green, and some eggs carry fine brown speckling.

Why the Isbar lays green eggs as a pure breed

Most green and olive eggs come from crosses — a blue-egg breed over a brown-egg breed — and those crosses don't breed true. The Isbar is different: Martin Silverudd deliberately fixed both the blue-egg gene and a brown surface overlay inside one breed, reportedly bringing the blue gene in through Cream Legbar stock added to New Hampshire and Rhode Island Red foundation. The result is a green shell that comes true generation after generation, which is why the Isbar is prized rather than treated as a barnyard mix.

Shell color runs from light mossy or mint green to deeper moss, and some eggs carry fine brown speckling. Because the color is set in the breed, careful selection tightens and deepens it over time.

Isbar or Silverudd's Blue? The name change

They are the same bird. The breed was long known as the Isbar (also Blue Isbar, or the Swedish 'Svensk Grönvärpare' — Swedish green-egg layer). In 2016 it was officially renamed 'Silverudd's Blue' to honor its creator, Martin Silverudd, and to avoid confusion with unrelated stock sold under the Isbar name. You'll still see both names in the hobby, and the color varieties are Blue, Black, and Splash.

Breeding notes

Silverudd's whole project was color work: he layered a brown-egg overlay onto a blue-egg base within one breed so the green shell would come true, unlike an Easter Egger cross that splits. When you breed Isbars, you are maintaining that fixed combination — outcrossing to a plain blue or brown layer breaks it.
Select hard for green depth. Egg color is heritable, so hatch only from your greenest, most consistent layers to pull the flock toward a richer, more uniform mint-to-moss green over generations; some breeders also select for the fine brown speckling that shows on some eggs.
The three varieties follow standard blue-dilution genetics: Blue is not fixed on its own, so Blue × Blue yields roughly 50% Blue, 25% Black, and 25% Splash. Pairing Black × Splash gives close to 100% Blue if that's your target.
Because Silverudd died in 1986 before the line was fully standardized and documentation is thin, type varies between flocks — cull toward a hardy, productive dual-purpose bird and consistent egg color rather than to any single published standard.

Showing notes

The Isbar / Silverudd's Blue is NOT APA-recognized, so there is no APA standard to exhibit against in the United States; it appears in exhibition-only, rare-breed, or club classes rather than for APA points.
Where it is shown, judges and breeders weigh the things that define the breed's value: consistent green egg color from the pen, the correct Blue / Black / Splash plumage, and a sound, vigorous dual-purpose frame — not conformity to a formal published standard, which doesn't exist for it.
A hen from an 'Isbar' pen that lays blue or plain brown, rather than green, signals either an off bird or crossed ancestry — green is the breed's signature and its main show and marketing point.

Hatching & incubation

No special incubation requirements — treat Isbar eggs like any chicken egg: 99.5–100°F forced-air, lockdown day 18, 21-day hatch.
Chick down color previews the variety: Black chicks hatch dark, Blue chicks hatch grey, and Splash chicks hatch pale yellow, so you can rough-sort varieties at hatch.

Recognized varieties

BlueBlackSplash

Frequently asked questions

What color eggs do Isbars lay?: Green — from light mint or moss green to a deeper moss, sometimes with fine brown speckling. Unlike an Easter Egger cross, the Isbar lays green as a pure breed because both the blue-egg base and the brown overlay are fixed within the breed, so the color breeds true.
Are Isbars good for showing?: They are not recognized by the APA, so there's no APA standard to show them against for points in the US; they appear in exhibition-only, rare-breed, or club classes. Breeders judge them on consistent green egg color, correct Blue/Black/Splash plumage, and a sound dual-purpose frame.
How hard are Isbars to hatch?: No harder than any chicken — 99.5–100°F, lockdown day 18, 21-day hatch. There are no breed-specific incubation quirks; chick down color (dark, grey, or pale yellow) just previews the Black, Blue, or Splash variety.
Is the Isbar the same as Silverudd's Blue?: Yes. Isbar is the older name; the breed was officially renamed 'Silverudd's Blue' in 2016 after its creator, Martin Silverudd. Both names refer to the same Swedish green-egg breed in Blue, Black, and Splash.
Where does the Isbar come from?: It's a modern Swedish breed developed by Martin Silverudd, a parish priest and poultry geneticist, from New Hampshire and Rhode Island Red foundation with blue-egg genetics added (reportedly via Cream Legbar). Silverudd died in 1986 before fully standardizing it, so type still varies between flocks.
Are Isbars broody?: Generally not — they're bred as productive green-egg layers and rarely go broody, so plan on an incubator or a broody hen of another breed to hatch their eggs. Individual hens vary.

Sources

Silverudd Blue (breed overview, history & naming) — Wikipedia (Reference)
Silverudd's Blue (Isbar) — breed profile & egg color — Greenfire Farms (Hatchery)
Silverrudd's Blue Chicken (Isbar) — Cackle Hatchery (Hatchery)

More breeds & tools

Browse all Ornamental breeds.