Icelandic Chickens

[Camelot Farms]

We have pipping!

Looks like 5 Icelandic, 3 Partridge Silkie and a bantam Barred 'Dotte.

I love hatching!

 

[greatergraceoffbg]

Quote:
Thanks for the link, Andy. I notice that Lisa says they have cream colored eggs from their Icelandics. I wonder how that happened. I prefer to keep this line with the white eggs, as Sigrid said they should be white egg layers.

Kathy, you know I didn't see that initially but after reading your post went back and dug a little deeper, and found it under the "Whats for sale" description.
i totally agree. NO OUTCROSSING! I've been chatting with this lady a bit on Facebook and unless i misunderstood she got her eggs from Lyle Behl, I just need to ask and run back the history and if they are Lyle Behl birds I will email him, because the eggs I got from Lyle and Mary are identical in color. It could be that there is some out crossing, or other egg sales such as the gentleman on our thread who has a family inherited flock that lays the cream colored eggs. Anyway time for some sleuthing and Kathy thanks for your thoroughness .....KEEP ME IN LINE!

Andy in Fredericksburg

 

[greatergraceoffbg]

Quote:
Kathy I have spoken of the little screaming late, lone Icelandic we now know as Bubba. Bubba now WILL NOT sleep unless he is on my chest. He can jump out of a foot tall box, he runs up the couch OR jumps on my hand wrist or forearm and runs up my arm to my neck and tries to snuggle in. He eats well and thank the Lord Bubba is growing fast! He loves people and follows at there feet but today he made friends with a two year old boy named Grey. Grey shrieked with laughter as Bubba would run up his tummy to his neck and try to cuddle. The whole scene was adorable. Then one of our interns who is in a degree of recovery and needs all the encouragement he can get came in and Grey began to try to tell him what Bubba was doing that was soooo excitng, The funny thing was, all Grey could say was 'Chicken nugget' and then burst into laughter!

Oh it was so funny. So Bubba is getting famous and we love him!

Andy in Fredericksburg

 

[NotAFarm]

Quote:
This is post #573 from this thread from Sigrid. I highlighted/bolded what she said about egg color.

 

[kathyinmo]

Awwwww! Thanks for reposting that! I must have misunderstood about that.

 

[NotAFarm]

I wish Sigrid would stop by and share some more with us!

 

[thebirdguy]

Andy and others....

In Cindy's post that Andy reposted... she says that her birds are getting smaller and inbreeding was mentioned... With the limited number of birds (especially original birds) in the United States.. Is there a real concern with inbreeding? I am not a geneticist... I got an A in AP Biology in high school and we did do some stuff with genetics, dominant & recessive genes etc... but that was over 20 years ago... so as I have read through this thread and others on BYC, I am trying to understand all the genetics stuff. I understand that the Icelandics are a little different than other breeds of chicken because of the significant differences in their genetic makeup, but with what looks like a pretty small genetic pool to start with here in the US, is there going to be a problem down the road a few years or are there enough genetic differences in the Icelandics that this won't happen?

I'm in the process of moving to 10 acres where we will be raising heritage breeds.. Mary has already promised me some Icelandic eggs once I'm ready and I am trying to learn as much about them as I can in the meantime..

Thanks!

 

[centrarchid]

Quote:
The founding birds of the U.S. population does appear small from as I understand 3 or 4 importation events. Even so, based on pictures, genetic variation was pretty high in those birds. More imported birds probably needed. Something Icelandics have going for them is the large number of folks keeping and swapping them. Makes for lots of what are called metapopulations that can help keep rare genes alive longer. Some additional efforts might help conserve the existing genetic variation. A few flocks need to be made up of a larger number (> 25) breeding birds that can mate randomly. Secondly, the older birds are more likley to be holding on to rare genes so keeping breeders to more advanced age can keep genes from being lost as fast. It may be prudent to use linebreeding back to those birds if size loss noted but would be wary of selecting for larger birds. I would also promote hen raised chicks as that may provide a selective force against individuals that are suffering inbreeding depression. Hen raising of chicks enure more equatible reproductive out put of hens, otherwise hens that produce more eggs will always be at an advantage. If not carefull with incubator production, one could be pushing Icelaqndics to being like leghorns. Hen raising also more fun. Free ranging would also promote individuals with good constitutions but as result will incur losses to environmental stressors and predators. Overall it going to be difficult to keep Icelandics in U.S. identical to those in Iceland. Conditions are so different and it is very difficult to prevent natural selection and genetic drift from having their way.

 

[NotAFarm]

Quote:
The founding birds of the U.S. population does appear small from as I understand 3 or 4 importation events. Even so, based on pictures, genetic variation was pretty high in those birds. More imported birds probably needed. Something Icelandics have going for them is the large number of folks keeping and swapping them. Makes for lots of what are called metapopulations that can help keep rare genes alive longer. Some additional efforts might help conserve the existing genetic variation. A few flocks need to be made up of a larger number (> 25) breeding birds that can mate randomly. Secondly, the older birds are more likley to be holding on to rare genes so keeping breeders to more advanced age can keep genes from being lost as fast. It may be prudent to use linebreeding back to those birds if size loss noted but would be wary of selecting for larger birds. I would also promote hen raised chicks as that may provide a selective force against individuals that are suffering inbreeding depression. Hen raising of chicks enure more equatible reproductive out put of hens, otherwise hens that produce more eggs will always be at an advantage. If not carefull with incubator production, one could be pushing Icelaqndics to being like leghorns. Hen raising also more fun. Free ranging would also promote individuals with good constitutions but as result will incur losses to environmental stressors and predators. Overall it going to be difficult to keep Icelandics in U.S. identical to those in Iceland. Conditions are so different and it is very difficult to prevent natural selection and genetic drift from having their way.

Thanks for posting this. I'm working to change my flock to solely Icelandics. May take a few years but as my numbers build, they will become my only breed. Of course, if I was to move from NotAFarm to a place where I had no covenants it would be much easier to, as Sigrid said, "let nature take its course". There is a saying and it's early so I may not get it quite right but "I am only one person and I can not do everything. But because I can not do everything, that doesn't mean I should not do the something I can." That's the gist of it anyway and how I feel about my part in the preservaton of the Icelandics. Seinna, The Other Mary

 

[Greybear23]

Good morning Mary, I am going to try to call the post office and go pick up my eggs early this morning, I am going out of town today and won't be back before the Post office closes, wanted to get the eggs in the bater this weekend!!! Thanks, Lynn