Icelandic Chickens

[Camelot Farms]

Things have been slow here thanks to the miserable heat

Buri and Jokul are amazing. I have got to get out there with a camera to get recent pics. Ya'll wont even believe Buri's colors. He is grogeous.
The chicks are 5 weeks old now and I think I have a cockerel and 2 pullets. They are starting to get their little poofy hairs on tops of their heads. Its too cute. They are brooded with some MFC's and are they are head and shoulders above them in height.

I cant wait to know for sure on their gender. Crossing fingers for 2 pullets!

 

[The Sheriff]

Quote:
Well here I have Lukka still being a momma so no new eggs. My three oldest juvenile hens are turning 5 months old next week so I am on the lookout for white eggs! I have three broodies sitting on wooden eggs and air. I have 14 Icelandic eggs in the incubator and will swap them out under the broodies after we move. I got them from the flock who supplied my first batch of hatching eggs.

Bugsy is on his way out along with one other extra roo. There is a local small animal exchange in a couple of weeks and they will be given away as "unknown" breed. If anyone local sees this and wants them, let me know. Then I could provide you with hatching eggs hopefully soon to get some girls to go with your boys.

That's about it. Waiting to close escrow on the new place and this one. We did not end up getting the yellow house with all the coops. But I got a great farm style house and I am having an 18x32 foot barn built, half of which will be allocated to chickens!

That's it for me.

Mary

 

[kathyinmo]

Well, since I posted the pictures last week there is not much new here. Miserable hot, that's for sure. The only chickens not bothered by it seem to be the Icelandics.

Bleethur flies over the 6 foot fence on a daily basis. He is out courting the Layers Coop girls. They laugh at him and he runs the other way. BUT, he does not give up easily. He did finally find one girl that would squat for him (an Easter Egger), and I think he must have shocked because he looked and started to run away and then decided it wasn't a trick afterall and returned to her.

Brita is the other explorer. She too flies over a 6 foot fence. Sometimes she just roosts on the board above the gate of that yard. She hates it when she does get out and paces the fence line to get back in. Silly girl.

The 4 younger ones are still penned separate from the 2 older boys. Koppur is the only boy in with the 3 girls and also has 8 Ameraucanas keeping him company. He is really very sweet. The older boys do not like being penned, though they have tons of room. They were used to ranging all over the place and they much prefer that. They do get out the last 2 hours of each day. I have been running them in shifts, so all can range each day without meeting each other.

 

[The Sheriff]

Sounds like you have it all worked out Kathy. I am too old and lame to figure it all out so I only have Icelandic roos and the only white egg layers are Icelandics, (except for the tiny silkie eggs). That's my system!

 

[kathyinmo]

I just hate to have them penned. I LOVE it when they are out free ranging, and so do they. I love to look out and see all my chickens all over the place! Anyway, in this heat, they really enjoy being in the timber or under a tree in a dirt bath. Anytime I go outside they all come running. I just love that.

 

[greatergraceoffbg]

Hi Mary and everyone, my Icelandics are doing so great! i just love them! I am looking for some more hatching eggs. I can't afford a lot of money. Two dozen for 40.00 was a recent price plus shipping etc. Is anyone here still generous enough to share some eggs with a fellow Icelandic enthusiast. I have Lyle Behls line so if any one had eggs from another line it would help my genetic diversity. If you do please email me at [email protected]. Thanks so much!

 

[Happy Chooks]

I'm so glad to hear the Icelandics are tolerating the heat well. We do get pretty hot here and I was concerned about that. I've been keeping an eye on the new run area, and it is well shaded until about 12:00, then sun (but still shade under the coop), then it starts getting shaded again. So I think it will be a fine area for a run.


And Mary, so I'm gaining on Lukka huh? I might win yet!

I started caulking my coop. (what a pain in the rear, stuff just sticks to your hands)

 

[kathyinmo]

When I went to lock everyone in for the night, where was Brita?

I did her coop last, so she could stay out just a little bit longer.

 

[The Sheriff]

Quote:
Michael and I were just discussing that yesterday during our afternoon visit with the flock. It seems as if Lukka is very much still in the mother role but the babies are definitely giving her a run for her money. They like to stray farther than she wants them to and she has to cluck at them continuously all day to keep them by her side. She even puts them down for a nap in the afternoons, yesterday in the silkie pen. She positioned herself in front of the pop door to keep them in. But they all laid down for a snooze. You may win this after all!

 

[The Sheriff]

Quote:
Clip that girl's wings! I had to do my 2 of my five-month-olds last week. I went down to put the geese away for the night and those girls flew back INTO they yard from the creek behind our house.