Icelandic Chickens

[kathyinmo]

7 new chicks hatched. I really got alot of variety in one hatch.

And look at these hairy legs!

 

[greatergraceoffbg]

Mary, I wanted to write to encourage you, the eggs you sent to me were a GREAT INVESTMENT! I am TOTALLY dedicated to preserving the breed. I actually have them in two locations, both kept isolated from any other breeds. I have recently installed hanging cages in a covered but open sided chicken house for the younger Icelandics. Also the chickens you describe with the feathers that are almost curly are not a defect in any way in my opinion, they are one of the unique genes found in Icelandics, my best hen from Lyle has this trait only on her breast and other folks have asked me about the trait appearing in their birds. Its not just in one line and it may be one of those treasures in the genetic treasure chest which these Icelandics truly are. My hen began this trait after her first molt. Just as our Icelandics have a limitless variety of color, combs, variation in size to a small degree, this is one more of their altavistic genetic traits.
This is part of our learning. I find it interesting as we grow in numbers that specific lines are getting labeled due to dominant traits. I spoke to a man who has a line from Lyle that he characterized as more speckled, and he has a line from Sigrid that he said has more solid colors. As we observe, we may learn that some Icelandics from different areas of Iceland vary. Where I am from in South Louisiana the old french farmers were known for their chickens and a line would be named after the farm it came from, they bred for specific traits such as egg production, meat, color, size, etc. BUT every one down there refers to the ones in Cajun country as "French Hens" and they are proud and protective of their chickens. I think it is very likely a similar scenario occured in Iceland and most older farnming communities.
Thanks so much Mary, if you need new stock, I'll be glad to send you some!

Sincerely
Andy

 

[phasianidae]

Quote:
Ryan,
I would imagine, being as they are Icelandic Chickens, that they would not do any worse in Minnesota than other cold hardy breeds do

In fact, I thought I read somewhere through this thread that someone had them in the north and they did fine? I could be wrong on that one, but they shouldn't be cold sensitive, at least not anymore so than orpingtons or wyandottes

Great! What is the average percentage of rose combed ones in a hatch?

 

[chickencrazymom]

Do you know if anyone in Maine is trying to help preserve this breed ? If not , I would love to be the first ! I have been watching this thread for a long time , and have fallen in love with this breed ! I had to re- home my chickens with a freind for the winter , but plan on starting over in the spring. I would be happy if you would deem me worthy of helping this cause. As I will have no other chickens , they would be kept pure , and I could possibly help in your preservation effort by teaching others about this breed , and how wonderful and special they are !

 

[The Sheriff]

Quote:
Thanks Andy! My only reason for designating Lyle's vs. Sigrid's is that I know for sure Sigrid has birds from the original RALA group. Interestingly, Sigrid says she has never gotten a mottled bird from her eggs and I have gotten many from the eggs I got from Marty. At this point mine are all kept together and are mating together so I may have even more interesting variations. But they are all Icelandics just the same. The hardest question I have to answer and I am asked this over, and over, and over, is "what about inbreeding?" I try to explain that all these chickens came from the same place and Iceland does not allow the importation of animals or eggs. They have been "inbreeding" since the 900's. Some people just can't grasp that concept and probably need to raise another breed.

I fuss and worry over my birds and wonder if they are warm enough, if the babies are fighting too much, etc. My husband then reminds me "what if they were back in Iceland?" Yeah, who breaks up the scuffles there?

As far as the feathering issue, I have one that has a few, maybe three, feathers that curl outward. Then I have the one I first noticed it on. That little guy looks like he just came out of a wind tunnel. I am going to try to go down and take a few pictures of him and post them. He used to love to hop up on my lap but as they get bigger they want less and less of that so it may be hard to photograph him. I am heading down to find him right now. They are free ranging on a four acre pasture so I may be awhile.

 

[cherylcohen]

Mary you need to get a Pavlov's bull-horn to call them all in with!

 

[The Sheriff]

Ok I am back. I found him but it was hard to take good pics. In the first picture I was trying to show how his feathers grow in a circular pattern around his tail feathers. If you look closely those feathers that end in a "V" are coming from the opposiet side and crossing over his back.

You can see in this photo how they grow up and around.

Anyway, he's a sweet little thing and the spitting image of Isi. I don't think I'll keep him for breeding though.

 

[phasianidae]

Does anyone have hatching eggs who would be willing to ship to MN in the spring?

 

[The Sheriff]

While I was out I took some more pictures of my free rangers.

I have the group I refer to as the Boat Dwellers. Hubby's fishing boat is parked next to the barn, hidden from view from the house. One group likes to roost on the trailer rails and hang out under the boat.

This group of chickens are not the boat dwellers, they just got in the way of my shot. They are the rock dwellers.

These are the boat dwellers. There are more of them but I refused to get on the ground to photograph them.

This one would be more of a "Dingy Dweller." To my everlasting horror, hubby has this lying on the ground next to the barn as well.

The boat serves other purposes as well. It makes a good scratching post. Jack could use a good bath a lot more than a scratch right now!

Next up: The Brush Dwellers

 

[Happy Chooks]

Love the variety Kathy!

As always, I love hearing about this breed!