Icelandic Hatch #2 PIC! Update

[The Sheriff]

I have four Icelandic eggs due to hatch tomorrow. I already have one pip! Amazing things can happen when you incubate at the correct temperature!

 

[Red&Yellow]

YAY

....(post pics).....What does an Icelandic look like?

 

[The Sheriff]

Two hatched a day early! I got a dark one with a crest and a blondie just popped out. Icelandics are like a box of chocolates. You never know what you are going to get!

 

[ConnorMayasMom]

Lucky you!! Nice job...cute babies...hope mine goes that well!!

 

[Mahonri]

Mary, You will soon have quite the flock!

Are there any other breeders besides yourself?... any way to add some more genetic diversity?

 

[The Sheriff]

Quote:
There are other breeders, at least a couple that I know of, probably more than that. My breeding stock comes from two different sets of eggs imported from Iceland. The hens are from the eggs Sigrid imported in 1998. They are from the original group of Icelandic chickens collected by a veterinarian in 1970 and bred and raised at an agricultural school. His work is the only reason these chickens are still in existence today. My roos are from the most recent eggs Sigrid imported and they were collected from an island off Iceland that has been uninhabited for 62 years.

Sigrid is hoping to bring more eggs back in August and I also know a woman who is bringing eggs back soon.

I will understand more about the Icelandic chickens and the genetics of them when Sigrid finishes writing about them. I am assuming the birds alive today come from a fairly small gene pool due to their near extinct status.
This is what Wikipedia says http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icelandic_chicken:

Icelandic chickens come directly from Iceland. Called íslenska hænan or landnámshænan in the Icelandic language, they are a landrace fowl which are rare or non-existent outside their native country. They are an old breed of chicken, having been present on the island since introduction by Norse settlers in the 9th century. However, despite this isolation, the breed has barely survived in a pure form in the 21st century, largely due to the importation of commercial strains of chickens in the 1950s. The few thousand Icelandic chickens in existence today are the result of conservation efforts in the 1970s; a handful of flocks have been exported abroad.

Icelandic chickens are not firmly standardized in appearance and possess a wide range of plumage colors and patterns, skin coloration and comb types. Some have feather crests.

Despite this variance in appearance, Icelandic chickens are uniformly hardy in winter, have white earlobes, and lay white eggs. They are also said to be docile in temperament, and hens will readily go broody.

 

[The Sheriff]

I just had another one hatch. Color is completely different! It is still wet so it 's hard to tell. The last egg from this batch of four is zipping so I'll be able to get them out and play with them shortly!

 

[looptloop]

Oh my goodness! How many in all will you have?

 

[The Sheriff]

Quote:
I have 2 in the brooder, three hatched and waiting to get out of the incubator, one zipping, 12 in the incubator upstairs in various stages, and four adult chickens in the yard. Oh, and 3 eggs waiting for an incubator slot to open.
Lets do the math:

2
3
1
12
4
___
22 and 3 on deck!

I am going to need an intervention! Or some preservation-minded folks to help out!

 

[Happy Chooks]

Fantastic Mary! Congrats! I just love the different coloring on all of them. And the blonde one almost looks silver.