Icelandic Chickens

[kathyinmo]

All 3 of my girls are laying. I am getting 3 eggs most days, occasionally 2. I am just waiting to see who is gonna go broody first. It's winter .... I hope they realize this would not be the best idea.

 

[The Sheriff]

I finished the coop today and the big move to Little Iceland took place tonight.

I built a pony wall and then an enclosed area for grow outs, broodies, etc. I used a metal ventilation panel on top so the heat from the lamp can go thru. The heat lamp can be raised and lowered as needed. I bought one of the big safety lamps from Premier and have it secured seven ways to Sunday! The front and top panels are removable and I will store them in the attic space above the coop unless I need them. I love how the sunshine streams in through the brooder room.

This is how it looks without the top and front panels. We moved 18 juvies in tonight but they kept jumping off the roost!

I finished the brooder room with the exception of insulation and paneling. Here's my Brinseas, BYC calendar and egg fridge.

I built this table to house my big brooder.

Here are the bigger birds on their new roosts. There are 13 adults, 4 young'uns on the front left roost, and the 18 babies for a total of 35! Plus nine that just moved from the brooder to the grow-out pen in the main yard. So that's 44 Icelandic's. That number will go down dramatically when I re-home the extra roos, probably 10 at least.

This is the one and only time you will see them from this perspective. I was laying on the floor in the fresh shavings with my camera aimed up!

So that leaves me 9 girls in the layer coop now, and 8 New Year's babies, and oops, I am picking up a couple of Kelly's New Year's babies. Maybe she will take my New Year's Icelandic baby....hint, hint.

Yeah, cuz now I have 61 which sounds like way to many. Sixty even sounds much more reasonable.

The move itself when pretty smooth. We moved them after dark off their roosts except for the babies who were running around the yard since they were kicked out of the grow-out pen today. We loaded them in a big wire cage in four loads and Michael drove them to the barn coop on the Polaris. I tried putting the babies on the roost but they wouldn't stay. I was surprised because they have been sleeping on the roost in their little coop. It took the big birds a few minutes to understand the ramp and pony wall system for them to reach the tall roosts. Isi was the only one who could fly directly up from the floor. Once he got up the rest of the flock started figuring it out. We did have one casualty...ME. I took a direct hit in the face by a rooster flying off the pony wall. I got a fat lip, my glasses messed up, scratches above my eye, and a big bruise on my arm (defensive wound). It was so shocking. I turned around just as he flew off and he hit my directly in the face at full force. It almost knocked me down. No chickens were injured in the move however...whew.

The plan is to leave them locked up for a day or so until they become one with the new coop, then let them out to free range. I also want to use the opportunity to worm them while they are confined and limited to one waterer. I had better research to see if the little guys are too young. If so, I'll have to change the plan.

Thanks for taking this journey with me. Hand holding will be needed when that pop door opens for the first time. Well, if I can figure out how to set it!

Mary

 

[heritagehabitatfarms]

i would leave them in doors 4 a week to get them used to it...

 

[kathyinmo]

Oh, Mary, it just looks great!

You really went the extra mile too, laying on the floor to show them how to dust bathe.

I love the brooder room. That was a great idea!

I am betting those kids will be roosting by morning. They are smart birds, those Icelandics! Well, mine are anyway .... so maybe some of yours are. With Isi around to show the way, I am confident they will all do well.

Congratulations on a job well done!

 

[cherylcohen]

fabulous Mary, hope your DH is helping with your wounds!! Absolutely gorgeous birds.

If my roosts were that high, my big fat orpingtons would never make it up!

 

[The Sheriff]

Quote:
Icelandics are svelte!

And BTW, the roo didn't hit me in the face from the pony wall. He was way up in the little spot above the window trying he roost, lost his balance and flew down right into my face. I have taken the liberty of photoshopping him in here.

The composite photo is NOT to scale. He is huge, huge!

 

[Inkheart]

This looks great! Hope your wounds are healing - well physical and mental shock wounds!

 

[BHep]

Awesome set up........

 

[The Sheriff]

Thanks everyone.

As you can see they mobbed me at the door when I went down this morning with water. I don't plan to keep a waterer inside the coop as there is a natural swale for them to drink from and I will have an automatic waterer by the pop door.

I was worried that I made the tray too big on the feeder and I think I was right! The little guys are kicking it all over the place. Michael suggested attaching hardware cloth screen over the tray to prevent billing and kicking it out. I may try that first.

I gave them a bowl of scratch mixed with left over birdseed and they are loving it. I feel bad keeping them confined today but I want them to know where to go tonight. I think the roo that got me last night is eyeballing me again...

 

[cherylcohen]

what a good chicken mom..

what bout instead of changing the tray on the feeder, putting some little dividers in the bottom so they can't knock it out