Icelandic Chickens

[BYchickadoo]

Great hatch rate on the shipped eggs, chickadoo!! Making a "picture record" will help you in the future to identify what your chicks might, and I emphasize might, look like. Take pictures every two weeks for the first three months and then every month for a year. Label them and keep them so you can go back and compare them with future hatches. There is no predicting what will hatch from two pure Icelandics.....except that it will be a pure Icelandic!

Special care needs to be taken to make sure you keep them from any contact that could allow crossbreeds to be hatched.

Thanks, I've read they are such a hardy breed and hatch rates are high with them. I still have the remaining two eggs in the incubator as they took, so we'll see.

That's a great idea on documenting. Will do! As far as mingling with other chickens... you are right. I am ordering leg bands for the now as I have Swedish Flowers chicks the same age! I had to set up a temporary brooder for these guys or I'd never be able to figure it out haha. So excited to watch them grow out. Thanks.

 

[NotAFarm]

RJ, it's great that your neighbors are so amicable to the chickens free ranging. I have a friend who used to let her hens free range but the neighbors complained so much she had to build a run.

I would love to free range but frankly I'm a little scared. I've been told by an icelandic breeder that they aren't good at escaping hawks until after they grow out of their juvenile phase. When I moved here last fall I put up wild bird feeders & I didn't even make it back to the house before a hawk swooped at the feeder. Maybe that was just coincidence but I'm a little paranoid now. lol. I did keep the bird feeders up but put them inside trees instead of hanging on outer branches like I've always done before.

And then there are many other predators we have here, including my dumb dogs. So far I don't think the dogs are really sure what to think of the chickens other than to clean up the chicken poop but today the male lunged @ the run. I was not happy...I see foxes quite often & know there are minks, racoons, etc, etc. along with housecats that my neighbors let free range in my yard

Having so few hens I even thought about trying to let the roos free range while keeping the hens inside but I'm pretty sure that would never work on a continuing basis unless I seperate them in different coops (I am talking to someone about building another as "leasing" space in 1 didn't pan out). If I lose the hens I have to start all over again & that thought is unbearable.

Does anyone have any words of wisdom about 1) teaching dogs to happily co-exist (mine are Chesapeake Bay Retrievers so there is a prey drive) and 2) free ranging in general? I know locking them up @ night is important but another of my friends had foxes attacking hers during the day. I know icelandics are supposed to be better @ avoiding predators which is 1 of the many reasons I wanted them. Do they do that great of a job that it isn't an issue?? If so, do you wait until they mature? Keep in mind that mine do not have an older chicken showing them the ropes. Do you not have many predators? Do you just accept a few losses here & there as part of the cost of raising chickens? Anything else you think would be helpful??

• Juvies are susceptible to predators because they are trying to figure out their place within the flock. This is true whether they are raised by a broody within the flock and then weaned by her or if they are raised in a brooder and then introduced to a flock or to a new environment. They aren't paying enough attention to their surroundings this is dangerous for them.
• Some lines/strains emphasize large crests and these don't allow the best vision. This is a problem when it comes to avoiding predators.
• It may sound cruel, but letting your cockerels free range and seeing who has the best survival skills may help you make a decision on your flock leader. I would keep your pullets in their coop or secure run except when you are available to be there to supervise them. I agree that you don't want to take any chances with them.
• I don't have a dog right now (had a friend when young with a Chessie and Sam was a very cool dog) but any dog training that can teach a dog to "leave it" should work with chickens, if consistently applied.
• A friend of mine was losing her chickens to predators. She lives near an untouched woodland/wetland area and it is full all manner of critters! She now has Icelandic because they are better at avoiding predators than any other chicken she has had. She did lose all her original Icelandic flock from me to a mink that got into the coop during the '14-'15 winter. She now has a very secure coop and run and only lets the flock free range when she is home. She has a very large property with horses and cattle so isn't right there watching the flock but has a dog out when she is home and seems to keep the predators at a distance when she is there. The dog is a Doberman and had to be taught "leave it" regarding her chickens. She doesn't trust her around the chickens when she isn't home or it would make free ranging possible when she is gone.
• I accept that if I am going to free range, things are going to happen. I recently lost one of the ten juvies that were hatched at Easter. I came home from work and there were 9 instead of 10. No idea what happened. I kept the others in the coop for a couple of days and let them out in the evenings when I got home from work. They were out yesterday all day and were fine. They are at the vulnerable stage, weaned by momma and not big enough to fit with the flock yet. I have also lost a hen to a neighbor dog and a few (2 juvies, a 5 month old pullet and a hen that just weaned her chicks and was avoiding the coop and flock because of that) to hawks over the 6 years of having them. Having good "cover", such as bushes or hardscape items that they can duck under, will help them avoid aerial predators. I think having a rooster or two is one of the best deterrents for hawks. Your Icelandic cockerels will have the instincts to alert the flock of danger. They will need to mature, but it won't take as long as you think for that to happen. A secure coop and run are absolutely necessary to avoid nighttime predators. Mine sleep inside and I've never had any that think being outside is preferable to being in the coop. Plenty of space in the coop, with sufficient roost space will keep them home at night.

Okay, this is getting really long.

I hope others will chime in on their experiences with dog training and free ranging and whatever they feel could be helpful. None of us has all the answers and what works for one of us will not always work for others. We are here to help each other in whatever way we can to keep our Icelandics safe and pure!!

 

[racuda]

I've had Icelandics for five years and have never lost one to predators. They free range and I don't lock them up at night. They roost in a coop with the door open. There are coyotes, foxes, raccoons and hawks here.

I don't know why I've been so lucky. Maybe it's the dogs, a lab and a lab/chow mix. Maybe it's the Guineas. They alert the chickens and dogs to whatever they think is dangerous. Then the dogs check it out. Of course that could just be the wind blowing.

Guineas are easily alarmed. I even let the Cochins free range and haven't lost any of them either.

The lab/chow was the only chicken killer I've had. After she killed a couple of game hens I taught her to leave the chickens alone. I put her on a leash and walked her back and forth through the chicken yard. When she turned to look at the chickens I jerked the leash and said "NO!" It only took a few times before she lost interest in them. The lab was never a problem.

On to a different subject...I've read that Icelandics make good broodys but I have never had one sit. Another thing concerning the color variations. My roosters are all different colors, but the hens are always the same silver duckwing pattern. They do vary crests and combs but the color is always the same.

 

[RJSorensen]

Took this last Saturday from the backyard, the mountains are about three miles west of me and are in the Wilderness classification. We have Mountain Lions and all the rest, I am 600 feet from the town creek and the Raccoons live in there. We only worry about the Raccoons, and have lost birds to them in a steel wire cage, pulled out in bits and parts… have had some dog issues. But apart from this, we have been good. I range most days, if the snow will let me get to the pop door, and there is a place to stand. There is risk, but I have learned by experience to stop the most of it. My Icelandic rooster, Loki is the best rooster we have ever seen, hands down. Awesome in watching and managing the flock. I do not think one could do better for a male bird. We had our town celebration today and Lærken came to visit and feed the birds and chicks. Mendon's May Day is an old Danish tradition we have been doing for 154 years now. Lots of us Vikings in these hills and nearby.





Best to all and your birds,

RJ

 

[NotAFarm]

I've had Icelandics for five years and have never lost one to predators. They free range and I don't lock them up at night. They roost in a coop with the door open. There are coyotes, foxes, raccoons and hawks here.

I don't know why I've been so lucky. Maybe it's the dogs, a lab and a lab/chow mix. Maybe it's the Guineas. They alert the chickens and dogs to whatever they think is dangerous. Then the dogs check it out. Of course that could just be the wind blowing.

Guineas are easily alarmed. I even let the Cochins free range and haven't lost any of them either.

The lab/chow was the only chicken killer I've had. After she killed a couple of game hens I taught her to leave the chickens alone. I put her on a leash and walked her back and forth through the chicken yard. When she turned to look at the chickens I jerked the leash and said "NO!" It only took a few times before she lost interest in them. The lab was never a problem.

On to a different subject...I've read that Icelandics make good broodys but I have never had one sit. Another thing concerning the color variations. My roosters are all different colors, but the hens are always the same silver duckwing pattern. They do vary crests and combs but the color is always the same.

Randall, Very interesting to hear that the guineas and dogs work together to keep everyone safe.

I think that broodiness is something that may or may not be in certain lines/strains. My flock definitely has it

What is the history of your flock?
Just silver duckwing females? Nothing else in five years? Do you have a single dominant rooster fathering all of them?

 

[racuda]

Randall, Very interesting to hear that the guineas and dogs work together to keep everyone safe.

I think that broodiness is something that may or may not be in certain lines/strains. My flock definitely has it

What is the history of your flock?
Just silver duckwing females? Nothing else in five years? Do you have a single dominant rooster fathering all of them?

I got my start from Mary, the Sheriff. The two roosters I have are from the original hatch. I suppose I should raise up another rooster or two, but after five years their fertility is still good. Two months ago I had 18 eggs split between a Silkie and my incubator. After two week of dedicated sitting, the Silkie "forgot" where the nest was and I found her sitting beside of it. This has happened with Silkies before but I'll put them back and the cold eggs will be resuscitated. This time it had been too long. In my opinion, Silkies are not the perfect broodies they are cracked up to be. Good instincts but lacking upstairs.

I hatched six chicks from my incubator eggs, all dark brown and a Cochin is raising them along with some keets hatched the same day. I also have some eggs under a Guinea hen due in a couple of weeks. That should be interesting.

All of the females I've hatched have been the silver duckwing type. Each male has been very different though. One male was white with just a few black feathers. Here is a pic of one of my roosters. I couldn’t find the other one. He was off doing rooster things.

 

[Icies]

Thank you all for your time in writing responses as well as sharing your insight/wisdom with me. I completely understand that everyone will have different experiences because of location, flock, other extenuating circumstances, etc, etc But it doesn't sound like any of you live in areas without predator problems so hopefully my experiences will be similar.

I am going to let the roosters free range. I procured a 2nd smallish coop and placed it under a cluster of apple trees & worked this weekend (after putting in full days at my dad's flower shop... Happy belated Mother's Day!!) putting up a 20x30x4ft fence around it that should at least keep my dogs from attacking them. It's not quite done yet (I ran out of material). There is a barn not far away to the right along w another apple tree or 2 and to the left there is a leyland cypress hedge row that should also provide some cover if needed. I am not sure if they can get over a 4ft fence yet but if not yet, I know it will be soon. I am hoping it the fence will give them a little protection until they hone in some of those survival skills & while I work w the dogs. Once they figure out how to get over it then they will have to take on the dogs & everything else. I know other animals will be able to scale the fence but am hoping the chickens will come back @ night to be locked up.

Thanks again!!

 

[Icies]

My boyfriend and I got into a "discussion" on whether I should let all the roos free range or if I should hold 1 or 2 back. I told him I can get roos no problem if I lose them all but he wants "ours". While that sort of defeats the purpose of survival of the fittest I guess there are some merits. This is a pic of 2 hens & 2 of my favorite roos. My favorite roo is the spotted one but I am concerned about his comb. Is it too floppy for him to see well? As large as it is, will I have freezing problems? I am in MD so we do have cold winters w below freezing temps. When I was working on training the dogs. The speckled one kept checking out the dogs & getting closer to them than any of the others. Im not sure if that is good or bad. LOL. Also, he crows a lot more than the others (started first too) so is he alerting them for food or just a loud mouth?

Im pretty sure they are mating, or starting. 1 roo kept chasing the hens around last night & making them scream.

 

[IcyLady]

Oh my goodness, I didn't even notice there was a thread just for Icelandic Chickens until I was googling a minute ago and they had the link on the wiki page for Icelandic Chickens!!
I joined BYC a few days ago because I am a first timer, who happens to live in Iceland.. and owns Icelandic Chicks!
So much info here and so many pages for me to skim over!

Anywho.. I saw someone mentioned on the last page that 13 out of 15 eggs hatched, and the comments about good hatching ratio!
My daughter's 5th grade class had 12 eggs and ended up with 9 chicks... which now I own 4 out of 9 hatched.
She incubated them April 4th and the babies hatched on April 21st and 22nd. Is that about normal incubation time? (Just curious for future reference)
All four of my chicks are about to hit 3 weeks old and seem to be really healthy.

My only issue has been finding grit for them since it seems to be non existent here in Iceland, as everyone usually just lets them free range. Could someone possibly give me advice on what to do for them now, as I want to at least introduce treats? Would plain sand from my own yard be fine for them to peck at for grit? I know what to do for a bit older as my Icelandic farm friends in my area have given me grit that they use for their layers (they call it shell sand here). Is Chick Grit something the USA and UK seem to have but not here? I mean I could import it from the USA but the shipping price is outrageous!
I know I will be free ranging them later, just like all other Icelandicers do, but I have been fairly concerned about now. I know the Icelandic weather currently is too cold for them (it's around 59 degrees F in the sun), so I haven't even brought them out on a "field trip".
For chilly climates like Iceland- when do you think it would be a good time for them to at least have a small few minute trip outdoors?
Also, what age do you think will be a good age to determine their gender? My daughter's class didn't do that when they were hatched so I am not sure what mine are!
I am sorry for a long post and so many questions but I know that some of you in this thread here have Icelandics, and the raising chick section doesn't seem to have many Icelandics being posted about.

 

[Icies]

Roughly 3 weeks is the normal incubation time. From what I read about hatcing rates, shipped eggs have a much lower hatch rate & a lot of us (myself included) had eggs shipped to us so 13 out of 15 is great.

How awesome that you live in Iceland & have Icelandics. Im sure a lot of people there do so its no big deal to you, but I think that is cool. I have Chesapeake Bay Retrievers & took them to go swimming in the Cheasapeake Bay. Korny... yeah I guess. But I thought it was neat to be a part of their namesake.

I'm still new to all this too, so no idea about the grit. I have read that sand is not enough. I tried to look up shell sand to see if that is different than the sand we have here & am still not sure. Could you buy the shell sand and just break it up a little more w a hammer or something?? I have read it is better to be too big vs too small. Hopefully someone here w more experience will have some actual insught. Regardless, welcome!