Hedemora Thread

[HaikuHeritageFarm]

How do they deal with confinement?

I have a large basement for covert shack-up sessions.

 

[HaikuHeritageFarm]

Quote:
Ia this really lemon blue? He looks Porcelain in these photos. Whatever he is, he is gorgeous.

 

[stoneunhenged]

Maybe porcelain is a better description. This hedemora roo has a combo of yellow and lavender similar to an Isabella brahma. The porcelain d'Uccles I've seen have more yellow and an underlying mille fleur pattern can sometimes be seen.

 

[Jake Levi]

How about the combs in below zero weather ? What temps have they been out in for longer periods of time?

 

[stoneunhenged]

This winter cruising around in the single digits on the thermometer is common. Below zero occurs but not that often. They free range throughout the day and go into a coop at night.

 

[Jake Levi]

This is something that I want to nail down, so far here most of the really cold has been single didigts but have had -10, and expect to have worse.

The RC Icelandics had tips of the combs nipped but the single comb had at least an inch burnt.

 

[stoneunhenged]

Our hedemora are located at about 3,600' of altitude at a place that has a record low on this day of -33F and has an average low on this day of 13F. None of the birds have any sign of frostbite in these conditions. They range outside at will during the day and are in an enclosed, isolated coop at night. They're frequently wading through the snow. I could probably send you a free rooster or two to experiment with in your climate next year, but it wouldn't be until late spring 2012. I assume under some conditions you'd eventually see frostbite symptoms, but not so far.

I think the hedemora potentially hold the key to Northern chicken hobbyists who want a low-maintenance bird that can be productive during the winter. Our hedemora are in full lay right now, and the it's getting dark at 4:30 in the afternoon.

They work well as a stand-alone breed, but it would also be interesting to hybridize them and try to build a flock of, say, super cold-hardy birds that lay brown eggs like marans.

 

[stoneunhenged]

Quote:
I'd go with a couple of Olandsk dwarf hens. They'd be less obtrusive than a pet hamster, they quickly become hand tamed, and you'd get lots of little eggs to make nano-omelets.

 

[Jake Levi]

When I read about them on your site I was immediately interested, I love my Icelandics for their overal hardiness, but I will select away from the Single Combs. The hens with smaller combs havent been in any way effected by frostbite, just the rooster with the large SC. They are also very hardy and will range all through the snow, right now I am not letting them as much unless I am around, too many foxes and coyotes here.

I am thinking very seriously about going up to Alaska this spring, to an area that gets and stays very cold, if so it will be a true test of the northern aclimation abilities for both breeds.

The cold hasnt slowed the Icelandics down in laying at all , the light did but after I added more light they started right up again.

 

[Tanichca]

Quote:
X2! I want some so bad! Plus, I live in Arizona... So I don't think it would be best for the birds to live in this heat.