Icelandic Chickens

[Nariah01]

@Nariah01 Welcome!
The only way to be truly sure if your guys are pure Icelandic, is to know that the breeder who had them had pure stock from someone who kept the stock they had pure. There is no way, by looks alone, that anyone can say they are "true Icelandics". It is difficult to maintain a pure genetic pool and there are many sources that aren't diligent about purity. Having multiple breeds and keeping them separate requires diligence, and a larger coop(s).
If you are confident the person you got them from was diligent, and the person whose flock they got was diligent about purity, that is as close as you can be to knowing they are "true Icelandics".

Thanks for the welcome, and I figured there was probably no way to tell from the photos, but thought I would ask. We don't care if they 100% Icelandic's as we are not breeding, but it would be cool. We don't know the original owner who had them only the people who took over the flock. I will say this though they sure are pretty guys, we both really like the brown one. They are our first roosters and we are still figuring out all this rooster business. It really is cool what you guys are doing trying to keep this breed alive and pure.

 

[NotAFarm]

He reminds a bit of my Boi:

 

[Nariah01]

He reminds a bit of my Boi:
View attachment 911585

Oh yes that fella right there is handsome! Same color pattern but yours has a rose comb and is like 10 times beefier. lol How old is this guy in the photo? I noticed my two are lean compared to my current flock of dual purpose layers I did wonder if they might fill out a bit over the next year.

 

[NotAFarm]

He was hatched in May 2011. That picture is from Jan. 26, 2012, so almost 10 months old.
Boi at four months:

 

[Icies]

I've got 2 broodies now I think they are having a competition on who is broodier because when I opened the coop tonight one was sitting on the other...

 

[Kyanite]

Boi is STUNNING! What a handsome fella.
The little Iceies that I bought are four weeks now. I definitely notice them being good flyers. They put to shame the chicks I hatched which are only a day older. I have 5 Icelandic chicks in with 2 SFH, 3 BCM and 2 CCL and even though the Icelandics are considerably smaller, they do what they want when they want and are the first to explore new things.

 

[snhchick]

I've been trying to let my hens hatch their chicks on their own, but I found a dead baby chick outside the nesting box today. So sad. The first hen went broody 23 days ago. The second hen got into the box and laid a couple more eggs. Now they're both stuffed into the same nesting box. I don't have an incubator for the remaining three eggs. Do you think that they pushed the chick out of the nesting box? I couldn't see that it had been harmed, poor little thing. Should I put the first hen in a broody buster and let the second broody take over the eggs? I had hoped that they could manage this on their own, but at least one egg broke and now a dead chick. This is the first time that any of us have tried to incubate chicks.

 

[NotAFarm]

It is hard to give advice without knowing what kind of set-up you have.
Is it possible the chick fell out of the nest and was not able to get back in due to height? Is there a "lip" on the nestbox to prevent that kind of thing from happening?
I have hens that can sit on eggs in the "community nest boxes" because they are high in the pecking order. Other hens that are lower I move because I know from watching that the "higher" hens will make them move in order to lay in their nest.
It sounds as though the chicks are due now (except the late eggs).
I'd move the second hen and the late eggs to a separate place that is dark and quiet. Best done at night/dark as possible.
If you do not have a separate place, a second nest with something in the front to keep her on her own nest would be another option.
My coop has evolved over time as I learned what I needed to make it easier on me and my flock. You know now that if you what to have broody hens raise chicks, you may need to make modifications. A wire dog kennel with cardboard around it to keep the chicks in works well.
Same hen...three different years:
Asta in "community nest boxes"...there are 10 nests, 5 on top, 5 on bottom, all exactly the same (purchased through a friend).

Asta in a cut-off garbage can (handle on top broke so cut it down) in a part of the coop separated from the rest.

Asta in a wire dog crate with cardboard, high in the back for complete privacy for her and low in the front to prevent the chicks from getting out but let in light/air.

Here is the rabbit hutch (free) that I converted to two broody coops. It is inside my coop (12 x 28 end of our barn/shed).

 

[snhchick]

This is the nesting box that I'm using.

But imagine it with two Icie hens in it. Definitely if the chick got out, it wouldn't be able to get back in. Think I may try to use a small dog kennel as you have shown. Thanks so much for the great information!

 

[I Love Layers]

I love my icelandics, right now I am in touch with someone who is willing to sell me some hatching eggs so I can have a more colorful breeding flock