Chicken Breed Focus - Icelandic

[oldcampcook]

Yes, Sandhill has the Behl line of Icelandic. I ordered some last year, but they did not hatch out enough to fill my order.

 

[Penny Hen]

I don't know they'd do so well here in FL but you are in a perfect spot for them Blooie! Give those EE girls of yours a run for their money

Now, if I do ever move north? Well, I'll be checking with our sweet Phil for sure!

They can do both ranges hot and cold. Very versatile in that respect.

 

[N F C]

They can do both ranges hot and cold. Very versatile in that respect.

Thank you!

 

[nate1the1great1]

I have 2 dozen eggs coming from a breeder from Michigan that I met at yhe western stock show. She sent me pics, but I lost them, but they are all gorgeous. Love all of them. I can't wait to get the eggs!

 

[Mc620]

Yes, Sandhill has the Behl line of Icelandic.  I ordered some last year, but they did not hatch out enough to fill my order.

My first icelandics came from Sandhill someone I know got hatching eggs and I bought her extras only hen I have to go broody so far now have lisa richards lines and david grote should have good diversity

 

[Mc620]

one from of my latest david grote hatch

 

[chickenshiha]

I am seeing some rose or cushion combs here so they aren't just single combed and lay very light brown eggs almost white I have a girl she isn't all that flightly very calm

 

[RedIII]

I had Icelandics for several years and loved them. I wanted a hardy breed that came in diverse colors, and I, too, wanted to help preserve the rare and precious old bloodlines in their purity. Here is a picture of my favorite rooster and three of the hens I had.

 

[NotAFarm]

I didn't think this discussion would be complete without pasting this post from the Icelandic thread here. As the modern-day, original importer of Icelandics to the U.S. (as far as anything I've heard), she would be the utmost authority on them.

post #573 of 21446​

6/24/10​

• Sigrid
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• Joined: 5/2010
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Hi to everyone on Icelandic BYC:

We are having so much fun following you experiences. Some are a bit hillarious. I could not help laughing out loud when I saw Mary's picture of Victoria's Secret Model, Fredrika. Mary is so creative. I like the name "Buri"- very appropriate. Also Una meaning content or happy. Frida, meaning beautiful and Helga- Holy. All are old Icelandic names.
Now, about our Icelandic chickens:
I remember them on some remote farmsteads in the thirthies-a small numbers foraging and taking care of themselves for most part, perching in barns and occacionally treated with leftovers the dogs did not want. They were friendly and never went far from the premises. They are social by nature and very hardy with high tolerance for harsh weather or weather changes.
They come in a rainbow of colors like all other lifestock in Iceland, horses, sheep and cows. That is what makes them all unique. Most Icelandic chickens have a crest on top of their head. Their eggs are white or slightly beige and tend to be somewhat elongated. They are good sitters. Their combs come in many variations, straight, rosecomb, etc.
The Icelandic chicken generally lives a long live. I have 3 hens ten years old and one 11 years old. I know of a 15 year old here in Iceland.
The Icelandic chicken is called Landnamshæna, (Settlers Chickens) or haughænsni, (Pile Chickens). They were brought to Iceland by the first settlers from Norway before the year 900, and were known to find something to eat in manure piles. Therefore the names. Today they are sometimes called Viking Chickens. These chickens are mentioned in the old Icelandic Sagas written around 1250. Genetic research shows them to be 78 % different form all other chickens in the world today. This is why it is important not to mix them with other breeds, once we do that, we can not get it back. Therefore we need to let them breed naturally as they always have. Nobody here in Iceland has worried about in-breeding for over a thousand years. I have had my RALA chickens in California since 1998, and started with a very few.
I have seen a number of roosters and hens together here in Iceland where they can enjoy more freedom roaming around because there are not many predators here. They seem to establish their hierarchy naturally. (There will always be a top rooster and hens tend to do that as well).
So, " let nature take its course "and don"t "make a mess of it".

After WWII the interest in our old breed diminished when a lot of people from the countrysite migrated to the City (Reykjavik) for a "better life". Egg production became commercialized using foreign breeds.
In 1974, Dr. Stefán Aðalsteinsson realized that the Landnámshænan was just about extinct. He travelled all over the country looking for Icelandic chickens and found some in remote parts of Iceland, mostly on the East Fjords and the North East part of Iceland. He brought them to RALA (Agricultural Research Center) at Keldum. They were in protection untill 1985, when they were placed at the Agricultural University at Hvanneyri. Still in protection. When I refer to my RALA chickens I am referring to those. I got my chickens from this group specifically. The original RALA group is now at 2 farms near Hvanneyri.
In 2003 there was a great promotional effort to initiate a general interest to save this breed. On Nov. 1 2003, The Landnámshæna Association with a yearly publication was established. They have now about 168 memers. It is believed there are now over 2000 Icelandic chickens in Iceland. Mary O´Bryan got 2 hens, Lukka and Henna, and 2 roosters from me. Lukka and Henna are RALA but the roosters are from hatching eggs from one of the members of the Association.
I brought some hatching eggs from Iceland last fall for the first time in 12 years. Their rooster came from an old stock on the remote island Flatey, current population 5. The population in the fourties was about 250. I had relatives there then and visited the island so this was very meaningful for me. Around 1950 or thereafter, the island was vacant for some time. There was a monestary there in 1172 and it was the center of cultue in Iceland at that time. The island is now a popular tourist place with the ferry stopping there twice a day.
I hope this will be of some help to all of you.

Sigrid

Edited by Sigrid - 6/24/10 at 7:12pm

 

[NotAFarm]

post #386 of 21447​

6
/1/10A couple more since @NorthFLChick asked about heat tolerance.



























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post #386 of 21447​

6/1/10​

• Sigrid
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• Joined: 5/2010
• Posts: 21
• offline

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Suggestions to the lady in Florida about the heat tolerance of the Icelandic chickens and the new lucky winner in San Diego. We have learned through experience, and know for a fact, that all chickens can be in danger when the temperature is 90 and above. We have a large area and provide 4 large fans when it is that hot in the summer. Trees providing shade do wonders.

For the lady in San Diego with her chicken coop project which looks great, we suggest opaque corrugated plastic roof to reduce heat radiation. It took us some time to realize how much heat radiated from our metal roof. Our coop was like an oven on hot and sunny days here in So. California. One day I touched the roof and it was burning hot. We promtly replaced it with the opaque plastic material resulting in much less, or hardly any, heat radiation.

Best of luck to all of you. It is great to see your enthusiasm and care you all show. And thanks to you Mary for a job well done.

Sigrid

THREAD STARTER​

• The Sheriff
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• Location: Northern CA
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Hi Sigrid! Great advice. I am installing a mister system over their favorite summer hangout. I also have two fans in the coop. Most of our yard is covered by a large canopy of oak trees luckily. We also have a fake stream running through the yard to carry the drainage from the upper level to the area behind our property. On hot days I let the hose trickle so water collects in a small shallow area of the creek. They love to stand in there and cool off. I also slice open a watermelon for them on very hot days.

Sigrid, did you see the pictures of my teenagers that I posted here https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=351052&p=2 ? They are getting so big and so brave! The cockerels are beginning to vie for top position so we have a lot of flared hackles and chest bumping. We let them out of the small run to be with the rest of the flock but they soon found areas where they could escape under the wrought iron fence, It is all I am allowed to have across the back of my property due to it being a flood zone for Cripple Creek. I have netting to keep them in but these little buggers found out how to slide under it. So yesterday we started installing a hardware cloth barrier across the bottom with an apron out behind our property line, staked into the ground. I am going to try to get it done today so they can get out for awhile. I think in that pen I have six males and six females. The little guys that I hatched from eggs I got through a breeder recommended by Cathy L. are three weeks old now. It doesn't look like there will be as many blues in that group but there are some interesting oranges coming out. Everyday they make me happy just looking at them.

Enjoy Iceland and thanks for the advice regarding heat and chickens. Good stuff.

Mary