Icelandic Chickens

[Mahonri]

Took my NYDH eggs off the turner, upped the humidity. Wahoo. 3 days and chicks.

15 patients today. I pray I survive.

 

[BostonBryce]

Nope, no hard molts for me either... Only had them for one molt so far, but they never looked very bad... Mostly on their backs, but that could also be a bit from pecking order.

 

[BostonBryce]

Quote:
Did they have signs of injury? I would recommend sending at least one of them for necropsy if their is no explanation for why they died. That is sad.

The Ice I lost first was covered in Mites, easy to figure that one out.. I dusted everyone else.... and then now Geoffery was clean as a whistle. Nostrills, eyes, vent, mouth, skin was very clean.
I will keep a closer eye on everyone, but they all seemed fine when I was out there with them for about an hour yesterday evening.
I know they are all cold during the day.... at 5:30am they are all out in their runs and its still 10degrees F. out at that time.
Geoffery was alive and eating around 10am when I fed, then was stiff on the coop floor at 3pm.

 

[NotAFarm]

Mahonri and Boston, Thanks for the replies.

Along this same line, my hens molted in July/August, having turned one the first week of May.....roo in Aug/Sept, hatched the last week of March '10. Do you notice any pattern with timing? Hens younger than roos? Time of the year? Our weather is very different so perhaps it's going to be different depending on location but it's something I'm interested in. Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[Jake Levi]

No hard molts for mine either, just a gradual dropping of feathers, they are looking very good.

This morning had the first crow from the Feather Legged leader ! Answereing Blau from outside, I can recognize his crow now, the little guy in here made a good try !

Yeah Dar, post that guy who died for you dont know what. Or I should say Boston, sorry.

Mild here today , every one such is a gift and I am enjoying it. Yesterday got an egg from every hen, one broken one on the ground. That takes some doing as their shells are hard.


Life is good, and better with Icelandic Chickens !

 

[The Sheriff]

Chiming in to say I have never had an Icelandic with a hard molt. Isi loses his tail and looks puny for awhile then comes back in full splendor. Feathers in the yard is about all I see from the others.

My little Isbar girl with the mesh is doing so well. Her beak looks almost normal at this point with a little opening on both sides and a downward turn at the tip like a hawk. She is eating and drinking to make up for when she couldn't.

My Jail Coop got soaked inside lat night but not near the roosts. Believe it or not we had to start turning on our sprinklers last night because our grass is dying.

Hello weather, this is WINTER! Anyway a poorly placed vent near the roof of the coop allowed the sprinkler to shoot directly into the coop. Well have to either reset the sprinkler or board up that vent. Soaked the nice new shavings though.

We finally reclaimed that acre and a half of land that our neighbor had been maintaining for years before eminent domain laws made it his. We finished fencing it yesterday and just have to install a couple of gates now. The neighbor's driveway is also our property although he has an easement to use it to get to his house. I am having Michael install a gate along that side of the fencing and we can use that driveway if we ever need to drive the Polaris or Hummer down to our pasture. We are thinking of using it for pasture rotation for the donkeys in the summer. That way the upper pasture can recover while they graze in the lower pasture. We have a second year-round pond down there that they can drink from plus there are a few shade trees. Win/Win. I am so glad I got Michael on board to take back that land.

As for this morning I have a fire roaring in the woodstove and I am about to get my second cup of coffee before heading to town for errands.

 

[Hillbilly Hen]

Mary that is great news all around, [well except for the coop getting wet]. Glad that the little one is doing so well.

 

[NotAFarm]

Thanks Mary and Jake for the molt info.

Mary, What are you calling the little splash Isbar? I know this is a difficult thing for you to write about but I'm glad told us all the story and posted pics. This is something I never would have thought about without your information. You may very well have saved other poultry from this tragedy. I'm glad she is doing well!

I cleaned the coop this morning. It was above freezing all night and it's going into the upper 40s today!! Doesn't feel like our typical December, and I am NOT complaining!! While in the barn, on the side that is not the chicken coop, getting my utility bucket to clean, I see Dagny up on some hay bales that I have there for nest boxes. She jumped down and ran off when I approached. She was on a nest with 11 eggs in it!!!!! I count them every night at close-up so I know she isn't sitting. From the looks of the eggs, three different basic shapes, she and her "group" have all been using the hay bale nest instead of the nest boxes. I took the eggs out of the nest and put in two golf balls and went about my business. She returned to the nest shortly thereafter and when I saw her outside later, I checked the nest and a small, cute pullet egg was in with the two golf balls. I knew that red comb of hers was telling me she was about to lay! I will be watching today to see if anyone else is laying there. Dreki hangs out in the front of the barn, coming in through the big roll-up door that I leave open about 12 inches so the two barn cats can come and go, but now I know he was there for more than the cat food. He was waiting on the girls on the hay nest. Some of that group are hatchmates of his, and then there's Dagny and some of her hatchmates that are three weeks younger. Sooooo, pullets hatched July 13 and July 30 are laying!!

 

[The Sheriff]

Thanks Hillbilly Hen. Mary they do lay in the darnedest places don't they. Martha Stewart always loved the hay storage in the goat house. We finally had to take it down and store the hay elsewhere. Not fun getting an egg dropped on your head when pulling down a hay bale.

 

[Farmerboy16]

One if my Icelandic hens likes to lay on the opened hay bale for the bull calves on the cage.