Icelandic Chickens

[Jake Levi]

I leave it up to the Icelandics to convince folks. They do pretty well at it, especially if they can range.

Sending eggs to MD should be quite doable. But I wont even try before the first part of April. By then a couple dozen should be safe.

I found two other Wishard sites from the turkey section here, but will try this one also, if I can get a couple dozen eggs I will replace my others gladly. I'd love to grow out a half dozen Wishard to start a flock and put some others in the freezer. They are the hardiest Turkeys I have ever raised, and I enjoyed them as free rangers. They are the Turkey 'muscovy', only prettier. I looked and looked about 14 mos ago and could only find a place in Ontario. I hope folks are learning how good of a homestead bird that they are. A great other homestead breed to join my Icelandics.

 

[Jake Levi]

There is a small hatchery in WI that advertises the Wishard turkey. http://www.heritageturkeyfarm.com/ is their website.

This looks pretty doable, either to get eggs from or poults. Thanks, I will be contacting them this week. 15 eggs would be a good try, if the hatch doesnt do enough can order some poults.

Thanks, its appreciated.

 

[RedIII]

I leave it up to the Icelandics to convince folks. They do pretty well at it, especially if they can range.

Sending eggs to MD should be quite doable. But I wont even try before the first part of April. By then a couple dozen should be safe.

I found two other Wishard sites from the turkey section here, but will try this one also, if I can get a couple dozen eggs I will replace my others gladly. I'd love to grow out a half dozen Wishard to start a flock and put some others in the freezer. They are the hardiest Turkeys I have ever raised, and I enjoyed them as free rangers. They are the Turkey 'muscovy', only prettier. I looked and looked about 14 mos ago and could only find a place in Ontario. I hope folks are learning how good of a homestead bird that they are. A great other homestead breed to join my Icelandics.

Jake, do the Wishards look any different from the regular strains of the bronzes? This is what my hen looks like:



She's quite scrawny here because she'd been brooding for a while.

And, I thought I'd share a picture this morning of one of my Icelandic-mix pullets that a broody raised last year.



I'm not sure, but I think she has also been going up in the ivy on our garage roof........

 

[Jake Levi]

Very much like her Red. The Wishard is a strain that was developed from the Bronze. They might be a bit smaller because of the flying ability. Thats a pretty brood that your girl there has. She has a right to be a bit lighter.

I am quite curious about leaving my Black Spanish hen to be bred by a Wishard Tom. I havent seen her fly ever but am sure she can.

Is your pullet a Stella wannabe?

 

[RedIII]

Very much like her Red. The Wishard is a strain that was developed from the Bronze. They might be a bit smaller because of the flying ability. Thats a pretty brood that your girl there has. She has a right to be a bit lighter.

I am quite curious about leaving my Black Spanish hen to be bred by a Wishard Tom. I havent seen her fly ever but am sure she can.

Is your pullet a Stella wannabe?

Must be! That was the first thing I thought, too. "Oh no, another Stella....."

She kind of grows on you, though. She has a low, mellow voice and is very chatty. I think her mom must be one of the Wyandottes.

I love that picture of Betty with her brood. She is a small girl and hatched 3/5 eggs that I gave her. I'd love to give her more eggs this year if she decides to brood again. Best broody I have ever had, period. I would be interested to see what kind of offspring you get from a Wishard/BS cross. I'm really hoping one of these young toms will court my bronze hen so that I can incubate some eggs.

 

[Jake Levi]

The Wishard are very broody kind of turkeys. I am also interested in what the Wishard/BS would be like.

I have now the quietest Icelandics that I have ever had. Very personable. And curious. Several will jump into my hands if I amnot careful when I open the pen. Nice. -13 this morn, I want this winter over !

 

[NotAFarm]

Me too, Jake, and it looks like we have a will be having a very nice warm up here for the next week, at least!

Forecast says 21 F today and the 10 day has a 45 and 46 F in it....with two lows that are above freezing!

The flock produced an even dozen eggs yesterday when the high temp was 9 F .......1 blue, 3 brown and 8 white...that means all but one of the Icelandics old enough to lay produced an egg yesterday....that combined with the warm up can only mean one thing...........broodiness will be happening before long........

 

[Jake Levi]

Hi Mary

We had -13 when I got up, +4 now at 920. Highs forcasted are high teens, nights into the minuses.

I have two pullets starting to act broody, both from you. Grimma and the wheaten girl. They will both get to sit on eggs in late April, I have two pens with their names on them.

Pens are presently occupied by turkeys but two are going out to a big pen, and the other to freezer camp.

I have a post on the feeding chickens threads, had 2 of the young roosters with tucked under feet. The vet dianosed a manganese deficiency, I have been giving them each half a centrum tab daily, powderd with water through a syringe. I am looking for a water soluable mineral supplement, will use a vitamin one if needed, I want to add it to all of the chickens water. If two show it then all have it to some level.

I am counting the days off to april 21rst, our recognized first day of spring although snow flurries can and do happen.

We had three cold springs in a row, so I am expecting same, last year was our coldest summer on record. Al Gore doesnt show up around here.

Enjoy ! Keep warm !

Jake

 

[RedIII]

Hi Mary

We had -13 when I got up, +4 now at 920. Highs forcasted are high teens, nights into the minuses.

I have two pullets starting to act broody, both from you. Grimma and the wheaten girl. They will both get to sit on eggs in late April, I have two pens with their names on them.

Pens are presently occupied by turkeys but two are going out to a big pen, and the other to freezer camp.

I have a post on the feeding chickens threads, had 2 of the young roosters with tucked under feet. The vet dianosed a manganese deficiency, I have been giving them each half a centrum tab daily, powderd with water through a syringe. I am looking for a water soluable mineral supplement, will use a vitamin one if needed, I want to add it to all of the chickens water. If two show it then all have it to some level.

I am counting the days off to april 21rst, our recognized first day of spring although snow flurries can and do happen.

We had three cold springs in a row, so I am expecting same, last year was our coldest summer on record. Al Gore doesnt show up around here.

Enjoy ! Keep warm !

Jake

This sounds like what my silver boy has had going on. Remember how he couldn't walk or stand? He's started getting that again. Thus far, he's the only one of my birds that has had the problem

I am going to slip some more vitamins into his water tomorrow, as that seems to help. I've been using Sav-a-chick, but I also have some Poly-visol infant vitamins that I occasionally put in the big girls' water to help ward off the sniffles. Either one works well.

 

[Jake Levi]

The one is doing very well, perching and all. The other may have had it too long as he's walking on it bent under, I am going to try to tape it back forward and see if that works. Both of these roosters are very personable, real pets. Plus have traits I want. So gonna do whatever I need to.

Found a place, or rather had it suggested, FirstStateVet.com, so will be c hecking with them on minerals to add to the water. I have changed all of them to the Layer Crumbles which seemed to work fine. Just finishing the grower up with the Turkeys.

Life goes on, and all in all its pretty good, a lot better here then what the East Coast is getting. The numbers there also exacerbates the problems.