Icelandic Chickens

[debs_flock]

I usually narrow down a few boys that I want to keep longer to see how they will mature. Then I start butchering around 4 mos. of age. I can't really give you an exact age. I have all my excess boys in a growout pen and just start with the largest and work my way down. I only do about three birds per session or it gets to be too much for me.

Size isn't a huge consideration for me, there is only DH and I, so a bird that dresses 2.5-3 pounds will feed us dinner with leftovers for lunch.

Mostly when I start to butcher, it's just to cut down the numbers. I keep around 400 birds and probably half of them are boys, it gets loud around here.

 

[Jake Levi]

Mary you have some REALLY beautiful boys ! Falki is a real beaut ! I am hoping on two of my little guys to be like him.

I also like your egg mobile and the round nest, that is a great idea.

Its good to learn something new every time that I come here.

This has been a long week, went to really far Wis sunday to pick up a Lab pup, he is great, then made the long trip back on monday. Rested Tues andd been heavy on projects since, today is aday of rest.

I will be growing out my cockerals til about six mos and then rehoming or freezer camp. I am going to put one in the freezer of my long yearlings, Magnus, the big one, on temperament. Too aggessive. Thats a very high breeding coefficient, and his sons would be the same. Its a pity to me as he has the size I want. But not that temperament. I still have his sire Isi, and a half brother, plus probably a half dozen cockerals coming on so I am in good shape there. I will grow out two to yearlings for sure, maybe even three. It looks like I will have at least one Blue. And I am sure several Isi lookalikes.

Tess that small comb is a plus to me, less chance of frostbite, its something that I personally ant, a rose comb gets the nod before a single comb in selection. So do crests over none crest , so the ideal rooster to me would be a good sized bird with a comb like a chanteclers, good temperament, and a flock meister with a crest.

 

[TessK]

Those really are beautiful roosters.

Temperament brings up another thing I'm not real sure of. As in, I don't know what the appropriate temperament should be. Because they do free range and because I have so many (23 total) going in all different directions - it's been hard to really watch their behavior. Mine are young (May 23) and I'm only just now seeing the rooster dance from 2 of them. Of course they could all be doing it where and when I can't see them, so, yeah, just not sure how I'm going to choose other than trying to pick the prettiest one, lol.

Another question-- I had been planning on keeping 2 rooster, but that was when I thought I had 16 hens. Since these comb-less ones are boys, that drops me to 13 hens. If the recommended rooster-to-hen ratio is 1-10, I wonder if 2 roos would be too much for the hens, and yet, I like the idea of having a back-up rooster just in case. I am free ranging them, after all, and that does come with risk. Any thoughts on the ratio of rooster to hens?

Sorry for the newb question, but.. well, I'm a new egg.

 

[NotAFarm]

Jake, Congrats on the new pup!...and thanks for the compliments on the males. I won't tell them lest they get too full of themselves!

We built the EggMobile for my layers in 2007. It is 4 x 8 and I kept 4 hens in it for two years. I would move it every or every-other-day so that they had fresh grass. During the winter, roll it into the back of the barn and open the barn doors for sunshine or put it outside on days that were nice enough. There is a three-sided plastic storage basket for a nest that is accessible from the door you can see in the picture (far right upper level). There is one 2x4 roost about 6 inches off the ground that goes all the way across the upper level. The side you don't see has another door for food and water and two vents (louvered registers that are adjustable like the A/C ones in homes). There is a ramp that is raising at night that operates on a chain from near the nest box door. Three sides are solid with the "front" having a hardware cloth panel that is removable so that cleaning is easier. I can also slide the floor out through the opening to give it a more thorough cleaning. The tires are off of an old garden cart and are removable (but difficult to do because of the weight). It has been a wonderful coop for lots of different things. We designed it after looking at different pictures in magazine articles (Mother Earth News, Backyard Poultry and Countryside) and books. I didn't know about BYC then!

The round nest is an old garbage can that the handles had broken on. I cut the top part off and made a "door" about three inches up from the bottom. The lid sets down on the shorter version for a top that is removable. It is mobile so moving it from the inside broody coop, to the tractor outside is easy....and it is easy to clean!

Have a great weekend everyone!

 

[NotAFarm]

Those really are beautiful roosters.

Temperament brings up another thing I'm not real sure of. As in, I don't know what the appropriate temperament should be. Because they do free range and because I have so many (23 total) going in all different directions - it's been hard to really watch their behavior. Mine are young (May 23) and I'm only just now seeing the rooster dance from 2 of them. Of course they could all be doing it where and when I can't see them, so, yeah, just not sure how I'm going to choose other than trying to pick the prettiest one, lol.

Another question-- I had been planning on keeping 2 rooster, but that was when I thought I had 16 hens. Since these comb-less ones are boys, that drops me to 13 hens. If the recommended rooster-to-hen ratio is 1-10, I wonder if 2 roos would be too much for the hens, and yet, I like the idea of having a back-up rooster just in case. I am free ranging them, after all, and that does come with risk. Any thoughts on the ratio of rooster to hens?

Sorry for the newb question, but.. well, I'm a new egg.

Keeping two with that many hens should be okay since you free-range. Two with that many in confinement might work but you could have hens with barebacks. I kept 15 hens with two last winter and they were fine. Spring is different since that is the time when hormones are raging and having more space is better. Raising them together and keeping them together, they will figure out who is flock master and who must be happy with the "second" role. I have found that putting two cocks/cockerels together that have been flock masters will be a battle. Usually a bloody one that I have a problem with. The reason Falki is separated is that I had him in a breeding pen and when I tried to put him back into the main flock, he would not accept Audun as his leader and would constantly fight him for that position. I would find both of them bloody so my solution was to keep Falki separate and let a new "second" be raised within the flock and never separate him and give him the idea that he could hold the top spot.
I find that my hens "choose" a cock and will stay around him. Audun has his group and Eldur (now my "second") has his group. Eldur can not breed any hen in Audun's presence or Audun will knock him off the hen, even if it is one of Eldurs. If Eldur takes his hens away from the area where Audun and his hens are, Eldur is in charge and "anything goes". Both cocks are spending a lot of time "protecting" their hens from the young cockerels that are starting to take an interest in the hens. I separated my pullets from the main flock so that they aren't subjected to "wham, bam, thank you ma'am" antics of the teenagers but the cocks and hens are "teaching some lessons" to rowdy youngsters.
I don't know if any of this makes sense or is of any help but it is how my Icelandic flock dynamics work.

 

[Myrth]

I did it. I read this entire thread!

Now I just have to finish my chicken coop remodel...

 

[Jake Levi]

Mary you are one very handy Lady, I may well have to try a version of your tractor.

Re: Flock Dynamics, thats one of the fun things about having chickens, I really enjoy watching them, Roosters that are raised together usually show tolerance, but when adult more then 2 will cause a lot of fighting, you get a flock meister, and his 2nd in charge, all else will most likely be killed or driven off. Unless, they range over a very large area.

In the winter if your chicken house has an outside run for them days you will usually do well with 2 roosters and 8-15 hens, sometimes less depending on the roosters temperaments. In confinement is where you will really see the amount of dominence in a rooster and his compatibility. Some are really hard on hens when in confinement, some arnt. My Isi isnt at all, he has ranged with other roosters, his sons, and no problems, but as they matured and started crowing and then mounting he took over, not brutally but decisevely. I would never keep more then two mature roosters in a flock of 15 or less.

Otoh, his son Magnus, in confinement is aggressive, trys to spur when the door is opened for water and feed, and fights through the wire at any rooster in that pen, he may well be fine in a large free range life but thats not available, I will miss his size but hope to get another big one out of the cockerals now growing out, so its freezer camp for him.

Icelandics are full of plus survival factors, hardy, early hatching and maturing, and competitive enough between roosters that only the strongest and most dominent survived the long winters and scant feed of the Icelandic homsteads. I try to look at and understand my Icelandics in appreciation and understanding of the factors of their long survival under the Icelandic Homestead environment.

 

[karimw]

Great pictures everyone! I love your flock TessK. Lots to choose from. I actually waited a year before thinning my first batch of boys down. They really got a long pretty well until spring hormones set in, then there were some minor skirmishes. Personally I have no problem with scrappy roosters as long as they are nice to me and I've never had one even give me a dirty look. I'd take that little comb too! I have noticed Icelandics with big combs seem to handle it better than other breeds. Louis has been with me 2 Iowa winters now and his comb still looks pretty good.

 

[NotAFarm]

Hi Kari! I, too, have a single comb cock that didn't get frostbitten through our lengthy winter of '12-'13. He has fine points and didn't lose any of them. I see them with their heads tucked under their wing when it is really cold so this may be why they don't suffer damage at night but they are out and about during the day when the temps are down far enough to do damage but it doesn't seem to have done anything yet. I have only had rose comb cocks/cockerels through the winter until Eldur. We will see how he fares in the long run.

 

[mlm Mike]

My SC Icelandic rooster handled last winter without comb damage. Both the Swedish Flower and Basque rooster suffered frost bite. The basques are gone, and I won't be over wintering any SFH roosters this year, although there is one I really like. The Olandsk Dwarfs also suffered no damage, and were actually out on colder days than even the Icelandics.