Olandsk Dwarf Chickens

[Greenslanding]

I'm so happy to see renewed interest in this breed. They are my absolute favorite, of all the breeds I raise. Such old souls.

 

[uzisuzuki]

I'm so happy to see renewed interest in this breed. They are my absolute favorite, of all the breeds I raise. Such old souls.

Such fantastic pictures! I really love the look of this breed & they are definitely on my wish list if I'm ever lucky enough to find a breeder. So adorable!

 

[Sylvester017]

Such fantastic pictures! I really love the look of this breed & they are definitely on my wish list if I'm ever lucky enough to find a breeder. So adorable!

Greenfire Farms (who imported these into the USA) are not fond of bantams except for these ODs which at one time they wrote a great article about how calm these bantams were compared to other bantam breeds that are flighty.

 

[rbclark]

I am looking for one or more OD hens. Anybody have any?

 

[uzisuzuki]

Greenfire Farms (who imported these into the USA) are not fond of bantams except for these ODs which at one time they wrote a great article about how calm these bantams were compared to other bantam breeds that are flighty.

I think that article may have been where I first heard of the ODs. They are such lovely little birds!

 

[RainForestBird]

I just acquired a pair of Olandsk Dwarf feathered chickens. One is smaller than the other, and the breeder told me that the one with the pink fleshy patch of skin growing on each side of the underside of the beak was the beginning of wattles. Like the ones in your photo. But yours is a pullet. If you can't tell by these immature wattles, how can I tell if what I have is a hen or a rooster? The other bird does not have these patches of pink flesh. She gave me the "rooster" for free to keep the other bird from getting stressed from the change in environment. I'm assuming a breeder would not give me such a valuable bird for free. I know that Greenfire sells day old chicks for $99.

I just checked and they are in the same position that I placed them in hours ago, in a mound pine shavings for warmth and with a heat lamp at the base of their little coop. They are warm and snug just not moving around at all, which worries me. I am so worried that I will wake in the morning to their lifeless bodies! I check on them every now and then with a small flashlight and they just look at me. At one point I put them on a little perch I set up for them, but they didn't seem to like that much as it was unsteady. I will have to fix something more permanent in the morning-it was dark when we got home. I have water in a plastic chicken waterer and 20% protein non medicated organic chick starter mixed with 30% protein game starter that i feed my quail chicks in their chicken feed strip (the kind with holes). I can't find that much on the care and feeding of these chickens, but I'm assuming because they are dwarf that they are delicate otherwise I would not have used the heat lamp. But it's supposed to get down to 49 F tonight. Am I worrying for nothing? I am anxiously awaiting the day when I put my two Seramas in the same coop - they were hatched a week ago so I'm sure it will be quite some time...

 

[Greenslanding]

Congrat's on joining the 'Dwarf' club! This is a very special breed full of personality. You didn't mention how old the pair you acquired is, but I would assume somewhere around 5-7 weeks if the cockerel is just beginning to show signs of wattle's. Most breeders, myself included, do give away excess cockerels and roosters. One only needs so many.
As long as your pair are fully feathered, near or over 8 weeks old, they should be fine.....even without a heat lamp. Heat lamps scare me and I can't count the times I've heard of coops burning down because of them.
They are very cold hardy and miles from being 'delicate'. My adult flocks endure -10 degree winter temps, here on the Maine coast, with no heat lamps or heat source. Just solid, well ventilated coops. I do put plastic around the runs, if only to keep the snow out so they have some bare ground to scratch in.
Here's some photos of some juveniles of mine for comparison of male to females wattles.

 

[RainForestBird]

Thanks so much for these beautiful photos. Mine are about the same age/size as your first photo. And their wattles match too, but their splashes of tan are lighter with the same amount of cream. So I have a wonderful pair of Olandsk Dwarf chickens finally. I'm glad they are hearty, I am so tired of worrying all the time that I'll find little lifeless bodies in the morning. I was so happy to find someone close by that breeds them. But she says that everything has slowed down for the winter. So I think it will most likely be Spring till I can add to my flock, unless my pair raises a little family of their own. How exciting! I hope my Seramas do as well. I also have a pair of Americauna Bantams, one is just a little older than the other. Chickens are definitely a lot more fun than quail, and far cuter than pheasants. I must say my Call Ducks are pretty cute.

 

[Sylvester017]

Thanks so much for these beautiful photos. Mine are about the same age/size as your first photo. And their wattles match too, but their splashes of tan are lighter with the same amount of cream. So I have a wonderful pair of Olandsk Dwarf chickens finally. I'm glad they are hearty, I am so tired of worrying all the time that I'll find little lifeless bodies in the morning. I was so happy to find someone close by that breeds them. But she says that everything has slowed down for the winter. So I think it will most likely be Spring till I can add to my flock, unless my pair raises a little family of their own. How exciting! I hope my Seramas do as well. I also have a pair of Americauna Bantams, one is just a little older than the other. Chickens are definitely a lot more fun than quail, and far cuter than pheasants. I must say my Call Ducks are pretty cute.

What's nice is that all your breeds are on the gentle side. I made the mistake at first of mixing bantams with assertive dual purpose large fowl breeds and docile don't mix well with assertive production type birds. ODs are adorable and are on GreenFire Farms' favorite bantam list since GFF is not particularly fond of most other bantam breeds. Come to think of it, I don't remember GFF ever selling any bantam breed except ODs. They are on my wish list but I'm at capacity w/birds for the moment. Post some pics!

 

[chickiesmommy]

This is my handsome roo, Prince. He's about 3.5 months old. He is the size of a small dove right now. He has the cutest little crow! I was very lucky my straight run purchase of 5 resulted in 4 girls and only 1 roo! These are absolutely gentle souls and are beautiful to look at. They are currently housed with 13 large fowl in a huge coop but my flock free ranges so the pecking is kept to a minimum. I have a French Copper Maran rooster who is head honcho and so far he has not picked on any of the little ones.

I found this land race by accident and now owning some- I think everyone needs to have at least 3! They are really sweet, graceful souls.