Icelandic Chickens

[greatergraceoffbg]

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I'm sorry you are having to go through grief for a friend, it is never easy. We will be praying for you and your friends family for sure!

Andy in Fredericksburg

 

[AK Michelle]

I do keep a lamp on in the coop, but it's only a little warmer inside than out. My dorkings seem to do ok, but my mille fleur d'Uccle lost part of his comb. A couple of toes seem to have gotten shorter too although my roosts are 4"wide so the kids can cover their feet while roosting.

Thanks for the responses, now keep us posted on the hatchings

 

[greatergraceoffbg]

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They are a medium sized to large fowl chicken. the hens tend to like an open top box to a closed walled nest box set up from my experience. they like roosting in trees but if you have nice sized storage building place the roosts up high. Mine like to roost high, open topped hay filled nest boxes 4.5 to 5 feet off the ground are working well for me. others may have more input and experience.

Andy in Fredericksburg

 

[aukuma]

Thank you Andy!

I have 3 large fowl and 3 bantams right now in one pen. I think I'll add these two little ones to their pen for now (for warmth) and work on getting them a coop together in the spring. I want to keep them separate when they start laying so the Icelandinc eggs are pure. Now, this is all wishful thinking, since I only have two and I know for sure one is a roo!

 

[greatergraceoffbg]

AK Michelle,

It is wonderful to have chickens and think of them as mostly self sufficient, but we also have to remember that when we enclose or cage anything we then make ourselves responsible for their safety. If you are loosing combs and toes then your housing is not warm enough. You may consider insulating the house which is easy and can be cheap. But a heat source sounds like it is an absolute necessity in your area. Is the Chicken house close enough to run electric or is a small wood stove more practical? If you have land and access to fuel and a cheap used wood stove it would keep any building toasty warm for free. There are some ideas. Sometimes we adjust our lives to having chickens slowly and its ok to learn. In this case you will need to add some things for more than their comfort, it sounds like more for their survival. Frozen combs and toes are painful, sometimes a chicken with frostbite will quit eating, can get an infection and may at worst die. I'm not trying to scare you or scold you, its just that since this has already been a real experience for your chickens I'm sure you will want to spare them any more suffering! Thanks for your honesty and questions.

Andy in Fredericksburg

 

[cherylcohen]

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and prayers

 

[AK Michelle]

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No worries Andy, I'm fearless, nothing scares me. Having raised many many animals in Alaska over a large span of years I am more than educated on the keeping and caring of animals. I was inquiring on the tendencies of the Icelandics because I have no experience with them.

I know I can keep an Icelandic horse in conditions that would kill an Arab, and I can leave my Chessapeak out to play in conditions that my lab simply will not tolerate. One must simply get to know the boundaries for each unique breed or type of animal and adjust the living conditions to suit that particular variety. I do not keep some animals because they do not tolerate the cold, it's simply not fair to them.

Thanks for your input

 

[centrarchid]

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Michelle,

I am reasearching the issue myself and have some added info that may be of interest.

Your average January temperature is about -14 C with variations you are very well aware of. My Missouri conditions have a January average of -3 C and they are quite variable. Iceland temperature averages 0 C in the lowland areas and -10 in the upland areas during the same time period. If my understanding is correct temperature variation in Iceland is much less than either you or I experience in a typical winter. Also, again if my understsanding is correct, most Icelandic chicken flocks are / were kept in lowland area. Therefore the winter conditions are likely less extreme in terms temperature and variation.

In respect to combs and toes being frost bitten, a couple things are going on that are of concern to you and I. Some chickens (often based on breed) when it gets cold shunt blood away from extremeties when it gets cold to conserve their core temperature. They do so at such an extreme that extremeties become vulnerable to freezing. Other more cold tolerant breeds ramp up metabolism to produce more heat, some of which is shunted to extremeties preventing frostbite. Latter system requires more energy / food to maintain. There is also an acclimatization issue. Some birds may require a few days to acclimitize to extreme cold. Most of mine do. When first cold snap hits birds favor feet and combs get pale. Soon color returns and feet not longer favored. Feet of acclimitized birds feel hot even after they have been standing in snow. I bet Icelandics do not require the acclimitization period and can hit ground running in respect to cold. They may not be as tolerant of temperature variations though.

 

[NotAFarm]

Quote:
Michelle,

I am reasearching the issue myself and have some added info that may be of interest.

Your average January temperature is about -14 C with variations you are very well aware of. My Missouri conditions have a January average of -3 C and they are quite variable. Iceland temperature averages 0 C in the lowland areas and -10 in the upland areas during the same time period. If my understanding is correct temperature variation in Iceland is much less than either you or I experience in a typical winter. Also, again if my understsanding is correct, most Icelandic chicken flocks are / were kept in lowland area. Therefore the winter conditions are likely less extreme in terms temperature and variation.

In respect to combs and toes being frost bitten, a couple things are going on that are of concern to you and I. Some chickens (often based on breed) when it gets cold shunt blood away from extremeties when it gets cold to conserve their core temperature. They do so at such an extreme that extremeties become vulnerable to freezing. Other more cold tolerant breeds ramp up metabolism to produce more heat, some of which is shunted to extremeties preventing frostbite. Latter system requires more energy / food to maintain. There is also an acclimatization issue. Some birds may require a few days to acclimitize to extreme cold. Most of mine do. When first cold snap hits birds favor feet and combs get pale. Soon color returns and feet not longer favored. Feet of acclimitized birds feel hot even after they have been standing in snow. I bet Icelandics do not require the acclimitization period and can hit ground running in respect to cold. They may not be as tolerant of temperature variations though.

I will be checking this out today....and comparing the Icelandics to my others...thanks for the info.

 

[Happy Chooks]

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So sorry for your loss.