Icelandic Chickens

[mlm Mike]

Just don't come running when he's flipping up worms for you!

 

[mlm Mike]

It looks like as of Wednesday 9/18 I'll only have Icelandic LF roos. The downsizing continues!

 

[NotAFarm]

Mike, Saw of the other thread about your herd, Congrats on the Assessment! Great job!

How many hens do you have?

 

[mlm Mike]

Mike, Saw of the other thread about your herd, Congrats on the Assessment! Great job!

How many hens do you have?

Thanks!

Not certain on the total number of hens. Only 5 Icelandics hens, and 2 Icelandic Roosters. For winter I should be down to the Icelandics (7), 6-8 SFH, 6 Olandsk Dwarfs, 4 herding ducks, and 5 peafowl.

 

[NotAFarm]

I overwintered 25 last year - 6 GNH, 2 SLW, 1 Welsummer, 1 EE and 15 Icelandics. I think that is about right for my set-up. We'll see what I end-up with by fall this year, right now the total is 48 - 29 Icelandics, 15 GNH and 4 other pullets/hens. Myrth will be getting a starter flock from me in October. Jake will be getting some Falki x Forsaela rose comb pullets later this month. There are 10 Icee cockerels that need to go and the 9 GNH chicks are at the age I can start sexing them.....so we'll see.

Seinna, The Other Mary

 

[mlm Mike]

So Mary, we keep about the same number of poultry!

 

[NotAFarm]

Mike, Yep, the numbers go up each spring through summer and back down once fall arrives! I love that you keep herding ducks for you dogs! That is very cool!

Just when I am talking about downsizing, Heidi, the SLW hen, goes broody. I am thinking I might put some of Fjola's eggs under her.

I've been dating them and keeping them separate........just in case........

Here is a picture I took this morning of Eyja and her Falki x Fjola chick hanging out in the nettle.



Close-up of chick........

 

[mlm Mike]

Cute pictures!
The herding ducks were a gift from our herding instructor. She only keeps drakes because she doesn't want to deal with eggs and broodies. Her "duck person" told her how many she could keep in the space she wanted to give them, but it was too many and some were being severely picked on so she gave some too Moose and Sunna, my Icelandic sheepdogs.

 

[RedIII]

Whoa whoa, there's such a thing as herding ducks?? Wow. That sounds like fun to watch!

Would you believe I've forgotten how old my chicks from Laurie are? I need to go back and check their age. It's been a crazy month. I have been checking their little faces excitedly to see who's a confirmed boy and who may still be a pullet. I think it's still a little early to tell.

Edit: Okay, so I went back and checked to see when I put up pictures of my chicks, and I was right. They're between four and five weeks old. So, getting close. I know I have one boy, for sure. And, I fell in love all over again with some of the pictures members on this thread have posted of their flocks. Like Mary's pullets. Mary, I can't believe you have that gorgeous blue pullet!

And......remember when we were discussing the colors common to the Icelandic strains that have been brought to the US? It occurred to me the other day that the BB duckwing color w/ rust for males and the brown tones for females reminds me a lot of the Red Jungle Fowl coloration. Hmmm, makes me wonder on a few things. If you left another breed to its own devices for a while, how long would it be before the colors started to revert back to the original ancestor? It's my brain teaser for the week.

 

[Myrth]

Years ago I had a flock of ducks, and a border collie. My dog's job was to herd the ducks back into the barn at night. There are herding tests that use ducks.