Icelandic Chickens

[NotAFarm]

Thanks one and all, I'll be reading and looking etc for a while. Nice to see you guys are still interested in the breed. Oh, bytheway… that Icelandic link is not working.

RJ

RJ, I am glad to see you. I hope you will read the thread and see how passionate we BYC Icelandic keepers are. I still have two of the four original Icelandic chickens I received almost six years ago. My rooster, Audun, came from the originator of this thread. He was a first generation cockerel from Sigrid T's flock that
came from Iceland. My hen, Anna, is from a flock that came from Lyle Behl's flock. I have loved my Icelandics from the beginning and continue to love them. I can't say enough good things about them. I am not on the "official breeders list of Icelandic chickens". I don't do Facebook. I don't only post on this thread when people interested in Icelandics post and try to get to go elsewhere. I just love my Icelandics and hope that others who are as passionate about preserving them as I am will come here and talk about them. I don't try to get them to go elsewhere, not because I am trying to keep them from "accurate knowledge", but because BYC is where I found out about them, about how much I loved them and how I wanted to tell everyone I could about them. Maybe my almost six years of experience with my flock has no standing with some people because I didn't get them from a particular person, but that will not diminish my passion for them. I hope you will stay here on BYC and share the story of your flock so that others will be inspired to make the commitment, and it is a commitment, to keep them pure....remembering always that an Icelandic is only an Icelandic if their genetics are kept pure. To be entrusted with an Icelandic flock is an honor and I hope to hear of your adventure.

 

[RJSorensen]

NotAFarm… Thank you.

I am a man whom grew up on the farm, but also always kept a day job as well. Keeping chickens as pets is… well different from all my time spent in farming for profit. It is almost a kind of awkward for me. But I am glad I have taken up the hobby under the tutelage of very kind people, mostly women. I have yielded to their way and methods, one could suppose I have been retrained. And it continues even now. I have only done the Facebook think since the first part of the year. I have been here (BYC) for sometime longer. But am still a rookie in the 'social skill' this type of activity entails. I am more or less committed to BYC, though I may look here and there. I am one of those who believes in going home from the dance with the one who brought me. Thus, when I finally got my starter flock, I was and am excited to be able to participate in the discussion here. I was pleased to hear the voice of all whom responded, but was looking for a voice such as yours.

I suppose at this stage in my life, I might have any bird that I fancy. But I am not one to fancy a bird because my friends covet said bird. I am wanting to keep that which pleases my eye and am endeared with the tie it may have to my heritage. I believe I have found the breed of large fowl, that I wish to focus on. These birds seem to me, to be somewhat like me. Hard working, steady birds with interesting inclinations, a true farm yard bird. I did spend some of my first day with them, looking for and chasing them. Made me smile… I had known they were a tad on the wild side, and it would seem they are. I wish to try my hand at breeding them and keeping a flock of twenty to thirty. I hope to be able to provide eggs and or chicks to those in my local area whom may wish to join in the group or project. I am blessed with the time to spend with my birds. A perhaps odd thing among my peers, a farmer retiring to be a chicken farmer. But I know no other joy as powerful as sitting out back by my new coop and watching the birds 'scratch' round and about me in the shade. Sandy beaches are fine, but I love home, the land and my new found love for birds.

I also keep Banty birds, Old English Game, Silver Duckwings. I favor the color of the hens. I like that my Icelandic hens have a BBRed look to them, this all pleases me. So I wish to learn here, what you will share. Traits and insight, tips and tricks, do's and don'ts. I hope to free range them round the place here. I have just under five acres for them to roam, and I have been doing this now for going on my third year. I can see already that they are a very independent breed, and this is good by me.

I do so look forward to meeting and learning each of your personalities. I am not much in the way of being fancy, but can type ok, my wife made me get a cell phone this year, and I am dealing with that as a new challenge. I hope to not be so old as to not be able to learn new things. Both in chickens and technology. As I hope I have noted, I am looking for that simple pleasure that I think these birds can bring to my LF flock. I do not have any other LF roosters, nor do I intend to do so. My prize banty roosters are locked up when not needed. I sincerely thank the group for your kind and most thoughtful welcome. I hope to become, over time, of use here.

Thank you,

RJ

 

[Mc620]

. One of the roos I hatched this fall

 

[NotAFarm]

Here are some pictures of my flock free ranging just last weekend....now the ground is covered with snow!

The blue pullet in the center, Járn (iron), was hatched from eggs that @kathleens1979
got from Lyle Behl last summer and shared with me. She is beautiful and I hope to hatch some eggs from her this spring. Hæla is in the back and will be two this year. Directly behind, Járn, is Játa (consent, say yes to). At the front, next to the cockerel, is Jóka (a shortened nickname of Johanna). They are all pullets that will turn one this summer.



The cockerel below, Jökull (glacier), is a son of my main cock, Audun, and a hen that came from
via @KYTinpusher who hatched her from eggs she got from BYCer @coldupnorth . He has his sire's rose comb, a trait I am working hard to keep in my flock.



Here is a link to an Icelandic sheepdog website that I like to use to find names for my Icelandics. If you click on the name, you will hear the pronunciation of the name. I also have an English to Icelandic/Icelandic to English dictionary that I use.
I forgot to mention that the menu on the left of the page linked, will let you chose female, male or Viking names.

http://www.spurdann.com/dog_names.html

 

[Mc620]

mine are free range also have david grote birds lisa richards and behl line which are ones pictured building a clan system

 

[NotAFarm]

mine are free range also have david grote birds lisa richards and behl line which are ones pictured building a clan system

Clan breeding has been used by breeders for many years. You don't have to worry as much about chickens "inbreeding" like some other species. I have to head back to work...why is lunch hour so much shorter that work hours....but will try and post a good visual this evening.

 

[NotAFarm]

I copied and pasted this from Robert Blosl's Rhode Island Red thread. Bob was a BYC member until his death. It was a great loss to the Poultry Fancy. He loved talking chickens and helping those who wanted to learn.
He mentions that this formula will work with what ever breed you want. He does say, and I color-marked with red, that this system will work for 16 years before you have to add new blood. I started with two cockerels and two pullets and had to build from them. I added a pullet two different times to add new blood to my flock, and have a new pullet this year to add more diversity. Here is the link to Bob's website. There is a lot to learn and he has some great information. Just because we have Icelandic chickens, does not mean we can not learn from only those that have them.

http://bloslspoutlryfarm.tripod.com/id65.html

When ever he talks about a particular trait of a Rock, substitute a trait you would like to keep in your Icelandic flock. My main goal is to keep diversity within my flock. I don't cull just because an individual doesn't have a crest. Some find this a trait they want but I feel that keeping "some of everything" is important to maintain a "complete gene pool". One trait I am working to keep in my line is the rose comb. No scientific proof, but crests seems to follow single comb birds. I have crested, rose comb birds but the largest crests seem to be on single comb birds. If you keep only the largest crested birds, you may run the risk of losing the rose comb. We can see that result, what other genes might we be losing that we don't see. Use caution...we don't want to lose that which we have been entrusted to preserve.

[COLOR=000066]Rotational Line Breeding White Plymouth Rocks[/COLOR]
By Robert Blosl

In order to reach you goal as a White Plymouth Rock large fowl breeder, you must develop some method of line breeding. Hopefully, one that is easy to understand and follow. Among old time breeders, line breeding was referred to as in-breeding when the sire was bred to his daughters or the dam to her sons. Some breeders found even greater success with their Rocks by mating the uncles to their nieces and the aunts to their nephews.

This is when inbreeding a family line is established and strong family lines are fixed to their progeny, thereby putting together a foundation of the family lines. To go another step further, one may visualize four family lines crossed in some systematic manner where a breeder could keep such a program going for 10 to 15 years without ever introducing new outside blood.

The best definition of line breeding that I ever studied is as follows: Line breeding is a method of systematic inbreeding in which an effort is made to avoid breeding too close. Line breeding, in a popular sense, means that although the birds used in breeding are related, the relationship is somewhat remote, but in inbreeding, the relationship is much closer. Line breeding, as its name implies, is the restricting of matings to either a certain line of descent, a certain family or to a limited number or breeders with a common origin, representing a similar type.

The main purpose that I wish to reveal to the membership of the Plymouth Rock Fanciers Club is a method which I have been working with for about 17 years. I simply call it “Rotational Line Breeding”. You, as a potential large fowl Plymouth Rock large fowl breeder, would use it as I do with four family lines or reduce it yourself to two or three family lines to save space, time and labor.

If you can visualize four Poultry houses 4’ wide, 5’ tall, and 4’ deep attached to a 4’X8’ wire covered run. This pen is built on 4”X4”X14’ treated runners that can be moved to fresh ground every 3 to 5 days. The first house is for a family called #1 which is painted red and has #1 painted to the entrance door. In this pen will be two pen sisters (pullets) mated to a cockerel. The females are all toe punched with the pen number #1 punch. The cockerel has been toe punched Pen #4.

The next building will be built the same. However, painted white with the #2 painted on the door. We have again two pen sisters revealing toe punch #2. With them is placed a male bird toe punched #1.

The next building is painted blue with#3 on the door. Again, with 2 pen sisters with the toe punch #3. The cockerel has a toe punch #2.
The final pen that I have, like the other three, is painted green. The number on the door is #4. The two pen sisters are toe punched with a pen #4 punch. The male bird will be a cockerel with a toe punch #3.

So, as you can see, I have about two females with one male. Each breeding season, I take a pencil and write the number of each breeding pen number on each egg. The eggs are hatched in my incubator in four separate compartments and I carefully toe punch each chick to his appropriate pen which would be between Pens 1 to 4.

Each chick is raised to an age where I can make some decision on vigor, breed type, beak, and leg color. I chose the best off-spring in comparison to their parents hoping to improve each generation and pass on to future offspring the improved traits that my goals are at that time.

Now, if you will, visualize two of the best pullets that I have raised from each breeding pen placed back into the pen from which their eggs came. Also, please see in your mind's eye that I have on their legs a leg band of the color of their building. Now that I have all of the pen sisters in their pens as their mothers where before them let’s pick the best males that will be chosen as mates to these females. We may pick a male not because he is closest to the standard but, more than anything, to look handsome as he can be and to compensate for any faults that the females may have.

The females in Pen 1 will have a male placed into their pen that was toe punched #4 as his sire was before him. Pen 2 females will have a sharp cockerel from Pen 1. Pen 3 females have a cockerel from Pen 2. Pen 4 females will have, as you may have guessed, a male that comes from Pen 3. So as you can see this simple system places every year the best females back into their pen and the best male rotates down to his right from the pen that he originates from.
Rotational Line Breeding Program

The four breeding pens that I have revealed in my case can be expanded with more than two females. You could have 4 to 6 females but, in my judgment, I’m not interested in quantity but quality. I want my whole strain of White Plymouth Rock large fowl to look as they were uniform or, as old timers would say, “They all look like peas in a pod.’’

A four pen system, as I use, has a 16 year time limit before new blood needs to be added. If you eliminate pen 4 and go with just three family lines, you can go about 12 years without entering new blood. If space is really limited, as many large fowl breeders have a problem with, may I suggest just two such pens and you can go about 5 years without new blood. You could always go back to the breeder that you started with or from someone who has the identical blood lines as yours to replenish new blood if necessary. You could easily hatch 40 to 75 chicks from two such family lines then cull often and hard to save space for their prodigy.

In conclusion, you do not need a lot of space to line breed White Plymouth Rock large fowl. As I explained in this article, you only need good Rocks that are:
1. Correct elevated Plymouth Rock top lines.
2. Unconditional breast bone expansion
3. Good substance in feather quality
4. Good, fully-furnished tails in the males

In my opinion, the White Plymouth Rock large fowl is one of the finest large fowl on earth to line breed and raise. In the show room, when conditioned to look their best, they will win you the blues. As more of us are returning to raising and breeding large fowl, I hope you will consider this grand old variety of Plymouth Rocks.

I have tried to make this information as informative and interesting as possible without any highly technical verbiage to confuse you. There will be a few who may not agree with my concept of line breeding. However, I challenge them to write an article and relate their success in the next issue.

If this article is of some value to just one or two of you, I feel my efforts were worthwhile. Please support the majestic White Plymouth Rock Large Fowl.

 

[NotAFarm]

The wind here is really whipping today! The flock only ventured about three feet outside and went back in....smart chickens!

 

[drumstick diva]

Same here, I've been watching the gutters across the front of the garage, trying to detach themselves from the building. oy !

 

[NotAFarm]

My 11 Icelandic pullets and hens gave me 8 eggs the other day! Not bad for a group that includes a near 6 year, several 2-3-4 years olds and 3 pullets. I need them to not go broody before March 1st so I can set eggs for the Easter Hatchalong.