Icelandic Chickens

[Jake Levi]

I second that on the backup for the emus !! We'd all have major bad time if something happened to them !

Your survivors are looking great Mary !

There is a Norwegian breed called the Norwegian Jaerhon that seems to me resembles some Icelandics I have seen, I am going to get a small number of them this spring and raise them next to some Icelandic chicks and see how they do and compare. There is also a Swedish breed from northern Sweden that might have some common ancestry, the Hedemora, I would love to get samples from each compared for DNA.

I am sure the Icelandic Chicken is a genetic treasure house, and these others might be a part of it overal.

the only way to find out is to find out.

Life is good, and better with Icelandic Chickens !

 

[Greybear23]

Ninja Post!!!! Hi all, I still have three pair of Icelandics, have a beautiful Silvery Blue Cock and a beautiful Blue Reddish hen, can't wait to see what I get from them next year, all three of the hens are laying good, have a nice Black Red Cock also and the other two hens are Blackish red, will post pics someday if I can get some!!! Lynn in Okla.

PS Hi Wayne!!!1

 

[The Sheriff]

Ok it's official I have to put netting up over the 5ft fence between the yard with my Legbars and Isbars! We are enjoying 50mph winds today. I was at my desk and heard a giant crash. I looked out to see Bjorn, my Isbar roo, on the Legbar side. I looked and the gate between the two yards had blown open. By the time I got Michael to help me, they were scattered all in the wrong yards. Michael got the net and, on their own most of the chickens flew back over the fence to the correct side! It was pretty funny. Good thing I don't have any roos old enough to mate except Bjorn or I would be waiting another month to hatch even if the Isbars starting laying today! Definitely going to have to put up netting between the netting over the top and the top of the fence. That, plus putting a latch on the gate should eliminate the problem.

The upside is, the fig tree just shed almost all it's leaves and the wind has blown them off the netting over the chicken yards.

One of the little Icelandic roos up here in the layer coop started crowing today too. It is very funny. I probably won't hear it many more times because I have a re-homing scheduled for Saturday. I am getting rid of several Icelandic juveniles, including the fray baby if my guy doesn't mind. I am also re-homing several of my black Icelandics from down at the barn coop. I have a bunch of them and really need to make some space. That coop is too crowded for the amount of ventilation it has. I will probably re-home 11 Icelandic juveniles leaving me with 24 total. I am sure Lukka will build the number back up asap but she has to raise her Barnevelder babies first!

Just heard another huge crash and saw Jack and Diana take off running. I went out and the big garbage can had blown over and was travel down the driveway towards them! If we had some dust right now I think we could call this a haboob!

 

[kathyinmo]

Beautiful day here today, about 52*. Tomorrow's forecast is 55. It goes downhill after that.

I did some rearranging today (again). Mike suggested that I close down all the coops, except the breeder barn (9 pens) and the layers coop. It is just too much work hauling water in the winter to so many coops. So, I worked on that today. I had 2 pens each of New Hampshires and Barred Rocks. I crowded them and made only one pen of each. I moved the Jersey Giants and Coronation Sussex into the layers coop. Simple..... 4 pens emptied out! hahaha, not for long. I emptied 2 coops and filled 2 of them tonight, and will fill the other 2 tomorrow. That will still leave me with the Bachelor's Pad coop full. I need to cull down there. I really should just process some of those, and may just do that.

I currently have 22 Icelandics, with 5 being roosters. I might re-home one boy and four girls. Four of my boys I just can not part with. Can't do it. So, I am thinking. Don't know if I can do it though.

 

[Chickielady]

Quote:
OR you could trace the Vikings, in plundering & pillaging, and trace their path through history...
I do not think they went to Poland...

They traditionally went where there was wealth to be had, but that remains to be studied.

 

[Chickielady]

Quote:
Ugh!
I had, years ago, a Barred Rock hen that HAD TO BE in my washing machine.
If the back door to the porch was closed she would stalk the house & scream at me!!
Several times I opened the door to let fresh air in & I knew she would...
go into the porch & into the washing machine to lay her egg......
had to be careful not to just toss dirty clothes in & detergent as her egg would be in there.
It all stopped when she went broody in the washing machine..geeeeeze!
Locked the coop after that, for winter's cold.
But in the spring, here she would come back~~~~~~~~~wanting in the back porch for the washing machine.

 

[thebirdguy]

Well we got more than 4 inches of snow today but they kept working on the barn.. Should finish the framing tomorrow and will pour the cement down the middle in the morning... Should only be a couple more weeks till it is finished...

 

[NotAFarm]

It's looking good Shawn!!

 

[Happy Chooks]

Yep, Mary still has my bator for her next Icelandic hatch for another buyer within 2 hours of her. Her bator is obviously too low, as I had these same issues on my bator the first time I hatched. After I got the spot check thermometer, I discovered I was actually incubating at 96 degrees.

Mary - at the very least, you know these chicks are the strongest. They managed to hatch despite bad temperatures. Survival of the fittest!

 

[Chickielady]

Quote:
I calibrate all my thermos with a glass of warm water, and a medical thermometer, like you shake down & put under your tongue.
Do not use too hot of water, as you have to stay in the range of the medical thermometer.
I do not know how, but every so often, ALL of my thermometers are OFF, like way off, like 5-degrees off.

So I have to recalibrate.
Weird, especially when no one touches them.......
But you cannot just turn the heat up (or down) as needs be?
I hate (and will never have) the pre-set digital incubators.
I love my wafer incubators.
I still think Mary needs the Farm Master for Emu eggs.
BTW~~~~~
DH will be coming down soon...maybe next week, as my MRI says my knee tendons & ligaments are all still there, just tore up.
So I have to deal with a leg brace (been through this movie before)
So, ?