Icelandic Chickens

[RingedTeal]

Out here they refer to the Canadian Geese as "flying outhouses."

 

[kathyinmo]

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[kathyinmo]

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[Jake Levi]

Mary I think that you are right on about this, keep Isi and Lukkah and take a hard look at everyone else.

The featherlegged rooster I am keeping has the same quality of feathers as my others, so I will try him this year, and eyeball the offspring super carefully, no tolerances given for bad feathering, I am taking my big dark rooster also, as a backup. If there is any negative factors about these 'cross' chicks they go.I am also going to hatch some chicks from the control rooster this year so will have two batches to grow out together and compare. I will only be about 60 miles from Michelle if I decide to can the cross line. Time will tell.

All of my stock traces to your originals, except this one featherlegged rooster, who looks great, even has a smaller RC then the big guy. We shall see. We have until snow comes to see what comes of this.

Life is good, and better with Icelandic Chickens !

Just wanted to pass along greetings from Sigrid to the Icelandic chicken lovers of BYC. She and Sveinn are in Iceland until the end of August. I emailed to pick her brain about the feathering issue. She has not seen it in her flock nor in the flocks in Iceland. She discussed it with Johanna who concurred. Sigrid called a couple of days ago and we had a lovely conversation about our passion. When I just had birds from Sigrid there were no feathering issues. That did not show up until I added from the other line. I reviewed my emails from the time I obtained those eggs and there was mention of an occasional chick with "odd feathers." I should have seen that as a huge red flag but I missed it.

I have talked with Sigrid, Kelly, Kathy, and Mary about my dilemma and what corrective measures I can take at this point to remove the gene from my flock. After much thought, fact finding, and soul searching I have decided to start over with my Icelandic flock. Kathy may be able to provide me with eggs from the birds that came from my foundation stock before the addition of the other line. Sigrid will send hatching eggs to me when she returns from Iceland in late summer. She felt confident that hatching chicks from Isi and Lukka until I can obtain from other sources will be fine. So I will keep only Isi and Lukka and the rest of my flock with be re-homed as layers for a friend. The two roosters will go to someone else as a safety measure against more Icelandics being hatched from these birds. I realize that this seems drastic but my goal is preservation and breeding with this gene or defect goes against that. I have sold the last Icelandic eggs and the eggs I have incubating are already sold.

The first half of my hens will leave on Tuesday and the others will stay as companions to Isi until Lukka finishes brooding her chicks and emerges from the broody condo and fenced run. My plan this time around is to keep the number of chickens in the Icelandic flock lower, just keeping the best of the best and not hatching just for the heck of it. Sorry Mahonri. Less is more will be the new mantra.

I had a difficult time coming to this decision but I feel it is the right thing to do. It will be so hard for me to see my beautiful birds go but the recipient is thrilled to have them.

As difficult as it is to see them go, I am also excited about getting back to the quality of my original birds. Poor Kelly will be here Tuesday when the first batch of girls leave for their new home. I will be a basket case.

So that's the plan, like it or not. I hope everyone will hang in with me while I go through the initial loss then the rebuilding process. I am hoping to hatch some chicks this summer so they will be at POL before next spring. While searching for the silver lining I realized now I'll have room for the turkey poults that will be arriving in the next couple of months. I will have room to grow them out, pick my trio and sell the rest.

Life is good, better with Icelandics. (Thanks Jake)

Mary

 

[NotAFarm]

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[Mahonri]

I said good-bye yesterday to my RC Dexter look-a-like roo... he had the feather problem. (also rehomed two other Icelandic roos, One looked a little like Isi, the other was a pure white rosecomb... I loved him and he loved to be held but he was on the tiny side and I want large Icelandics. The one Icelandic hen that I have laying, lays off white small eggs. I'll probably eventually rehome her as well as she is a tad flighty.

I do have one little Easter Hatch Icelandic that I think is going to be a Drekki look a like.

I have six pullets that I'm keeping from the NY Day hatch... Boston brought one of them to me... they are all so very different from one another but look beautiful. I need to get pics.

 

[kathyinmo]

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[karimw]

Just wanted to pass along greetings from Sigrid to the Icelandic chicken lovers of BYC. She and Sveinn are in Iceland until the end of August. I emailed to pick her brain about the feathering issue. She has not seen it in her flock nor in the flocks in Iceland. She discussed it with Johanna who concurred. Sigrid called a couple of days ago and we had a lovely conversation about our passion. When I just had birds from Sigrid there were no feathering issues. That did not show up until I added from the other line. I reviewed my emails from the time I obtained those eggs and there was mention of an occasional chick with "odd feathers." I should have seen that as a huge red flag but I missed it.

I have talked with Sigrid, Kelly, Kathy, and Mary about my dilemma and what corrective measures I can take at this point to remove the gene from my flock. After much thought, fact finding, and soul searching I have decided to start over with my Icelandic flock. Kathy may be able to provide me with eggs from the birds that came from my foundation stock before the addition of the other line. Sigrid will send hatching eggs to me when she returns from Iceland in late summer. She felt confident that hatching chicks from Isi and Lukka until I can obtain from other sources will be fine. So I will keep only Isi and Lukka and the rest of my flock with be re-homed as layers for a friend. The two roosters will go to someone else as a safety measure against more Icelandics being hatched from these birds. I realize that this seems drastic but my goal is preservation and breeding with this gene or defect goes against that. I have sold the last Icelandic eggs and the eggs I have incubating are already sold.

The first half of my hens will leave on Tuesday and the others will stay as companions to Isi until Lukka finishes brooding her chicks and emerges from the broody condo and fenced run. My plan this time around is to keep the number of chickens in the Icelandic flock lower, just keeping the best of the best and not hatching just for the heck of it. Sorry Mahonri. Less is more will be the new mantra.

I had a difficult time coming to this decision but I feel it is the right thing to do. It will be so hard for me to see my beautiful birds go but the recipient is thrilled to have them.

As difficult as it is to see them go, I am also excited about getting back to the quality of my original birds. Poor Kelly will be here Tuesday when the first batch of girls leave for their new home. I will be a basket case.

So that's the plan, like it or not. I hope everyone will hang in with me while I go through the initial loss then the rebuilding process. I am hoping to hatch some chicks this summer so they will be at POL before next spring. While searching for the silver lining I realized now I'll have room for the turkey poults that will be arriving in the next couple of months. I will have room to grow them out, pick my trio and sell the rest.

Life is good, better with Icelandics. (Thanks Jake)

Mary

That's a tough call, Mary.

It is so hard starting over and I bet even harder when you have to choose to do it. I had to start over when dogs killed most of my original Iowa Blue flock, but in the long run I ended up with better birds.

 

[Happy Chooks]

I wonder if this chick (one of the three chicks with the broody) is gonna be spangled like.

He's going to be beautiful. I bet he'll have a spangled chest like your other rooster.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Mary - you are strong for going through this difficulty in order to preserve the breed. You are a true blessing to Icelandics. I'm sure you will be rewarded in the end with positive results.

Hopefully Lukka doesn't decide to brood all summer, so you can start hatching her eggs with Isi.