Icelandic Chickens

[Hillbilly Hen]

Hello and good afternoon! I have yet another question, and I hope that you all would be able to help me in answering it. In your opinion and/or experience, would it be better to have a run for Icelandics that is completely separate from an existing run, or would it be OK to have the two runs share a "wall?" Coops would be separate, flocks would be separate. Ability to leave the run and free range is assumed.

I wanted to reply to this but then I forgot

Anyway, I have my Icelandics in a run that shares a "wall" fence with my Black Austrolorps. There haven't been any issues with them fighting thru the fence. However they were raised together.

 

[Hillbilly Hen]

Mary, Lukka needs a chastity belt.

 

[Chickhick]

Hi Everyone,
I'm not much of a poster, but I did want to let you all know that I ordered 25 Icelandic chicks from Sandhill, so I will be joining those helping with the preservation efforts of this unique breed. I enjoy reading the posts and especially seeing all the pictures. Keep up the good work!
Karen

 

[The Sheriff]

Welcome Karen! I am anxious to see pics of the Sandhill chicks. Fortify the brooder.

 

[thebirdguy]

Question for the experts... one of my icelandic hens 2 days ago was unable to stand up.. She acted alert but was just crouched in a corner of the pen... did kind of an army crawl when I went to pick her up but wouldn't stand.. I brought her home and put her in my nella brooder. She has acted about the same since I brought her home..seems to be eating & drinking but doesn't stand.. I just went out to check on her and she laid an egg!! Is it possible that she was just egg bound? I moved her and she half way stood up but didn't move around... It has been really cold the last week, 5 degrees last night.. I think I'm going to take her back out to the farm but keep her in a large carrier in the barn.. Any suggestions??


On a positive note, this is my first Icelandic egg!!

 

[kathyinmo]

Gosh, Shawn, I wish I knew more about things like that. I just don't. Hopefully, it was just because of her first egg and all will be well now.

I will say that I had a rooster with his tail down and lookin' slow awhile back (not an Icelandic), and come to find out, he had mites, lots of them. That was back when I did the Permethrin dunk on all my birds and repeated it a week later.

 

[Jake Levi]

Hi All

Slow I know, many things going on, including snow, its living up now to its Wa rep for snow here, and its forcast thru next week. Tis the season

The move is moved on into April, first week, and a slow drive up through B.C. as I am told the Alcan is still prone to whiteouts to the middle of April, so, no hurry to get into those. Do have snow studded tires and weight to push them down.

Shawn check your hens egg chute ! If she is egg bound it should be red and/or swollen, if so squirt some veg oil in it. That has worked for me, sometimes pullets need it more then hens but have used it for both.

I was getting a 100% laying, but they are slowing doen, to 90%, I guess I can live with that !

Life is good, and better with Icelandics !

 

[NotAFarm]

Question for the experts... one of my icelandic hens 2 days ago was unable to stand up.. She acted alert but was just crouched in a corner of the pen... did kind of an army crawl when I went to pick her up but wouldn't stand.. I brought her home and put her in my nella brooder. She has acted about the same since I brought her home..seems to be eating & drinking but doesn't stand.. I just went out to check on her and she laid an egg!! Is it possible that she was just egg bound? I moved her and she half way stood up but didn't move around... It has been really cold the last week, 5 degrees last night.. I think I'm going to take her back out to the farm but keep her in a large carrier in the barn.. Any suggestions??


On a positive note, this is my first Icelandic egg!!

Shawn, You say this is your first Icelandic egg so I'm assuming this is a young pullet (under a year old) and not a hen (1 year old or older). I have a pullet that acted like yours, her injury was due to the cockerels constantly "jumping" her when she was not ready. What is your ratio of males to females? Is it posible she was injured and is having trouble walking due it? My pullet is separated now, in with another younger pullet and a molting hen, and she is getting around much better but still "hikes" her left leg when walking. She is laying 5-6 eggs a week (she's the only one I have a count on since everyone else runs together and I can't tell whose egg is whose-except for the Wyandotte and Java eggs!). I hope she gets better!

 

[NotAFarm]

Quote:
Pete, I wanted to reply to this, as well, but my son was sick this weekend and generously "shared" with DH and me. I haven't felt much like doing anything.

I don't think Icelandics are any different than any breed that has to share a common wall. The difference is all in the individual bird. One of my original males would go and find the other males. I rotated free-ranging days and on his days out, he would go where ever they were, and taunt them through the fence, leaving the hens alone. He was culled and none of my others have ever done this. Keep in mind that the size of the run and the ability to have something else to do besides pace the fence will make the most difference. A bored mind with limited options will find something to do; many times it's not a positive thing.

 

[Mahonri]

My NYD Icelandics are really growing... big wing feathers and tail feathers and they are eating like pigs and pooping everywhere. I only have 7 chicks left in the LareeBrooder and the other 20 are in the grow out pen with a heat lamp. I probably shouldn't but I've been feeding them some 7 grain bread as a treat to endear them to me. ( They go crazy for it)
I've also been giving them flock raiser (18%). The Laree Brooder has been getting a mixed mash and the ones in the 8X8 grow out pen seem to be growing faster. Weird. The SFH has her shoes off but she still walks funny. I still don't know which of the other ones is the SFH (one died)... Looking at Bostons photos, I see a couple that look like what I thought was a SFH, so now I'm guessing they are just chocolate Icelandics.

I can tell already that two of my FBCMs are roos. At least two of the white Icelandics are going to be Isi clones...roos of course. I'm wondering which ones came from Dexter and which ones came from Blau.

Oh, and Boston, the only pure BW Am that I hatched out, is looking like a pullet. :-(