Icelandic Chickens

[The Sheriff]

Sure does! Cute but it ain't staying!

 

[kathyinmo]

You NEED a black one! Yes, you really do!

 

[kathyinmo]

Quote:
Ummm, I have some downsizing to do. I would rather clean coops than do what I have to do.

I sorta upsized (inadvertently of course). I have a few more New Hampshires that I want to work with. Small matings = need more pens opened up. My F2 chicks are gonna need another pen or coop to grow out in over the winter, too. They won't be in a brooder for much longer. I have to hang on to the F1s for awhile longer yet, too.

Sadly, I believe the time has come............ I need to cut out a few breeds. I rationalized to myself that it was okay because I could keep the "pretty" ones that I don't intend to breed in the layers coop. Well, problem with that is that I have been keeping pens of roosters "just in case," I want to hatch more of those pretties. Simply, I can not keep too many roosters in the layers coop, and I really can't afford to keep the roosters penned either because they take up valuable space that I need.

I have set my priorities though. #1 is my project. Next is my Barred Rocks and New Hampshires. The Icelandics are here to stay, too. So everything else is on the chopping block, so to speak. Tomorrow I have to make some choices. It isn't gonna be fun.....

I keep going back and forth on whether or not to keep my Delawares, too. What if ..... what if .... what if .... If my project doesn't work.... On one hand I feel the need to keep the Delawares I have, in case the project fails and I need to simply focus on improving what I have. On the other hand, I tell myself I don't need them because I am creating a new strain to work on. What do I do???? I do not have room enough to do everything I would like to do.

I need more than one pen for each breed. I need several pens for my Barred Rocks and my New Hampshires, and ultimately for my Delawares (project or originals). The Icelandics are fine, as they do well all together in one large coop and pen. Yet another nice thing about not having to worry about a standard to breed to.

All these decisions to make as well as downsizing for the winter. I can't even sleep.........

I don't wanna do this.

English Orps
Lavender Orp project
Coronation Sussex
Red Sussex
Buff Sussex
B/B/S Jersey Giants
White Jersey Giants
Silver Laced Wyandottes
Blue Laced Red Wyandottes
Wheaten Ameraucanas
Lavender Ameraucanas
Black Ameraucanas
Black and Blue Copper Marans
Easter Eggers - Olive Egger

 

[NotAFarm]

Shawn,

The nerve of some people!! Hope you don't lose any more!

Jake, Sounds like you'll be back with us on a regular basis soon! Get that camera ready......we need pictures!!

Mary,

Love the black chick.........come on....you know you want to keep it!!

Kathy,

I don't evny your task ahead. I see so many breeds that I would love to have. but what you are now experiencing is what has prevented me from proceeding with acquiring any of them. I don't have the facilities and I'm the only one to do chicken chores, so I have to keep things in check. The Icelandics are perfect for me because of what you said, they are all in one flock, no pairings, breeding pens, etc. Just keeping broody mommas and chicks separate is enough of a problem here! The variety, lack of standard, allows me to enjoy "different looks" within one breed. I'm sure you'll find takers for the birds that you decide will have to go, you have very nice stock.

Seinna, The Other Mary

 

[NotAFarm]

Here is the Kella pic of the week! I took it last weekend....it will probably be the last one with such a green background since we had a couple of frosty nights and the leaves are starting to turn........and fall.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Good grief Kathy, when did you get so many breeds? I don't envy your task either, hard choices for sure. I didn't even know there were white jersey giants. How many breeds do you need to cut out?

Mary - congrats on the chicks and good luck finding them a home!

Other Mary - pretty picture! And look at all that wood. You obviously don't have termites there - any wood left on the ground here ends up with a colony eating it. The buggers work fast!

 

[NotAFarm]

Quote:
Ha! We do have termites but our weather keeps them from being the problem they are in warmer areas. All that wood is stacked on 4x4 green treated lumber so none is in contact with the ground! Makes a nice fence/visual block from our yard to the neighbors house and there's always a fuel source for our fireplace if our power goes out! It's all hickory, oak or wild black cherry wood....smells so good burning!!

 

[Happy Chooks]

Quote:
Ha! We do have termites but our weather keeps them from being the problem they are in warmer areas. All that wood is stacked on 4x4 green treated lumber so none is in contact with the ground! Makes a nice fence/visual block from our yard to the neighbors house and there's always a fuel source for our fireplace if our power goes out! It's all hickory, oak or wild black cherry wood....smells so good burning!!

Oh cool. I don't think we have hickory or black cherry here. Lot's of oak, cedar and pine. Pine burns really dirty, but we lost a huge tree last winter, so it was free wood, so we'll be burning it. Mostly we burn oak as it burns clean and keeps the heat. We supplement with some manzanita as we clear some from our property every year (it grows to 18 feet high here) - only a little, the stuff burns hotter than hot. Love the smell of cedar, but we don't get it too often - they're not as plentiful around here as oak.

 

[Farmerboy16]

Kathy, I went though the same situation, downsizing the number of breeds. I had too many, and it was getting to the point that it was just work, not having fun with the chickens. It was very hard to let go some of them.

But think of the feed bill! It will be soo much better!

I plan to be from 300+ chickens to around 100 chickens.

 

[Farmerboy16]

Regarding breeding Icelandics- What do you have to look for that will not be good breeder? Some sort of kind of defect like the fray gene?