Icelandic Chicken FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

 

What is an Icelandic chicken?

The Icelandic chicken is one of the oldest varieties of poultry in the world. They were first brought to Iceland by Norse/Norse-Gael settlers (often called ‘Vikings’) in the 9th century AD and have been on farms in Iceland for more than a thousand years. Due to the isolated conditions of Iceland and the small farms, it is probable that they remained pure during this time.

 

The Vikings traveled a lot over hundreds of years and probably brought back a variety of chickens from many places.

Recent DNA testing places Icelandic chicken ancestors in Northern Europe and Mediterranean regions. They are considered a ‘Mediterranean type’ (a medium-sized chicken with white earlobes, white eggs and featherless shanks).

 

Due to importations of commercial chicken breeds into Iceland in the 20th century, the pure Icelandic chicken landrace became very rare by the 1950s. Preservation efforts began in the 1970s at the Agricultural Research Institute in Iceland (RALA), and it helped make a strong recovery, but Icelandic chickens still have a low population overall. Read more at the Eigenda-og raektaendafelag Landnamshaenan (Owners & Breeders Association Settlement Chicken or ERL) in Iceland: http://www.haena.is/thehistory/ 

 

Icelandic chickens are considered a landrace (see below) and not a breed with a standard of perfection. They do well in most management styles, such as a roomy coop with large adjoining run, or chicken tractors. However, they are at their best in free range situations.

One of their Icelandic names -- haughænsni -- means "pile chickens," due to their habit of foraging on manure piles and other places rich with insects and seeds.

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They are also sometimes referred to as Viking chickens.

celanders call them Íslenskar hænur (Islandic hen), Íslenska landnámshænan (Islandic hen of the settlers) or haughænsni.

 

What is special about Icelandic chickens?

They have been found to be more than 78% genetically different from any other breed, landrace or variety of Gallus gallus domesticus (the domestic chicken)..

Mix and match the import lines as long as they remain 100% pure Icelandic landrace. The variety of combs, colors and patterns are endless.  Icelandic's retain are a self-sufficient farm/homestead chicken – alert, curious, great foragers, good egg layers over a long time, thrifty, hardy, and fertile.

 

Hens

What size and color egg?

Hens lay medium to medium large eggs. Egg color can be ivory white to tinted tan (new layer).

 

How many eggs per year?

Icelandic chickens average 180 eggs per year. They take a break from laying to molt (yearly systematic loss and replacement of their feathers.)

 

At what age do they start laying?

Pullets are known to start laying at four and half months, but it can take much longer, depending on health, feed, hatching date and season.

 

Do hens go broody? 

Many but not all hens go broody, have strong mothering instincts and make excellent, attentive mothers.

 

Roosters

Do the roosters fight each other?

Yes, individual bird’s personalities differ, but typically there is a dominant rooster if there is more than one in a flock. Roosters that are raised together tend to get along better and will not fight to really harm each other, although they will spar from time to time. Roosters that are strangers to each other will battle seriously. Seasonal hormonal changes will influence aggressiveness.

 

Are roosters human-aggressive (mean)?

Generally no. Individual personalities differ between birds. Human behavior can influence a rooster to become aggressive. A bird with human-aggression without cause should be culled.

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Keeping records of your flock

A ‘paper trail’ or informal pedigree. Please, it is highly recommended that owners keep good records in order to trace their birds back to reputable breeders or importers and provide that information to new owners if selling or giving away stock or hatching eggs.

Records should ideally be kept of all eggs or stock sold and to whom.

 

What is a landrace?

A landrace is a local, historical, variety of a domesticated species that has developed adaptations to the environment in which it lives. It differs from a breed or variety that has been selectively bred to conform to a particular standard of characteristics "breed standard."

Landraces are often variable in appearance, but they can be identified by their appearance and genetic similarity. The relatively high level of genetic variation of landraces is one of the advantages that they can have over ‘improved’ breeds, which are often highly inbred. Although production may not be as high, the stability, adaptability and success of landraces in adverse conditions is very good. As a result new diseases may affect some, but not all, of the individuals in a population, allowing a flock to develop resistance. Landraces continue to evolve under new conditions.

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How do Icelandic chickens handle heat and cold?

Iceland is in an island and has a maritime cool temperate climate, the temp ranges from around 20F to 70F. Most people and their flocks live in the south coastal areas where winter temperatures almost never go below 20 F. Most Icelanders keep their chickens with other animals in a barn, or an insulated coop. With care they can withstand warmer or colder temperatures.

 

Do combs and wattles frostbite in frigid winters?

Yes. You'll need methods that works well for you individual needs and circumstances, or some people allow large combs and wattles to frostbite, and the tips to slough off, allowing a bird to go through subsequent frigid weather without getting frostbite again.

 

Do they need extra light? 

Here in central New York we use an extra light.  It is not required unless a higher winter egg production is wanted. Hens may be healthier with a rest from egg production during winter. This winter they have the choice of roosts. In light or not. The winter has been brutally cold so we let them choose the most comfortable place in the barn. Flocks do fine without added heat or light. Ventilation (fresh circulating air) is more important than either.

 

What weight do they dress out at?

As medium sized chicken their carcass dress weight for roosters butchered at four to six months is around two to two and a half pounds; hens are smaller. They are great as a soup stock bird, not a great dual purpose fowl, the meat has excellent flavor. It is best cooked longer at a lower temperature using a moist cooking method, such as "coq au vin." Many cooks then pull meat from the bone and use it in casseroles, enchiladas, etc.  

 

How well do they fly?

Yes. They are ninja. Icelandic chickens are excellent fliers for chickens. They can be routine escape artists and love to roost as high as they can get, especially in trees if given the opportunity. Start training them with treats and come to a call as chicks. And learn to roost inside a coop is important for their survival. Lock them in their new coop for 2 weeks so they know and learn where home is. Check on them everyday and visit. If you are concerned about them flying out of enclosures, consider netting the top of outside runs, and/or clipping flight feathers.

 

How do they handle predators?

Icelandic's are considered a very tasty dinner for most predators, just like chicken, yum yum. They are active and alert. Roosters are protective. Best Practice with a free-ranging flock safty is to have a trained LGD,  livestock guard dog(s). You will need a secure nighttime coop, and good fencing. Electric net fencing is successfully used to keep in the LGD and flock. However, places for the chickens to hide under or behind in the foraging area helps against flying predators.

 

Are they friendly?

Yes. It depends on the individual animal. Chicks that are handled from hatching are called "hand-raised" and can become extremely friendly bonding very well to their caretakers. Even hen brooded chicks can be very inquisitive of it's people it considers "flock" members. They have their natural instincts intact and not been bred out by domestication. They are very aware of their surroundings. They react to sudden movements or anything out of the ordinary. They are calm with calm people.

 

Are they good with children?

Being a medium size chicken, they are easier for children to handle. If they have been well-socialized and raised with calm children they can make excellent birds for children and 4-H projects.

 

What about crests or ‘poofs’ on the top of heads?

Most of them have crests, from small to fairly large. Rooster crests tend more toward being longer, with streamer-like feathers, while hens’ crests are often more like a 1950's bouffant. Crests have a tendency to influence the shape (but not the kind) of combs, which can develop folds. .

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How rare is the Icelandic chicken?

Current rough estimates suggest about 3,000+ birds in Iceland and probably many more in Canada and the U.S.

Icelandic chickens are on the threatened list of the U.S. Livestock Conservancy.

 

What are the different imports to the U.S.?

1997 & 1998 -- Sigrid Line, from Steinar II and Syðstu Fossum Farms imported to the U.S. by Sigrid Thordarson. These birds were from the Icelandic chicken preservation project at Agricultural Research Institute (RALA) in Iceland and placed on the farms.

2003 -  Behl Line, from Kolsholt Farm imported to the U.S. by Lyle Behl. These birds were from the Icelandic chicken preservation project at Agricultural Research Institute (RALA) in Iceland and placed on the farm in 1977.

 

2011 Hlésey Line, from Hlésey Farm imported to the U.S. by Vala Andrésdóttir Withrow 

 

2012  Húsatóftir Line, from Húsatóftir Farm imported to the U.S. by Vala Andrésdóttir Withrow.

Vala’s Hlésey Line and Húsatóftir imports were frequently running together and only periodically segregated for breeding separate lines. Offspring from the collective breedings are called Vala line.

 

2012 --Hlésey Line. from c Farm to U.S. -- David Grote owns this flock.

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These are the only recognized pure imports ‘lines’ of Icelandic Chickens in the U.S.

Each of the lines came from a different farm or preservation flock in Iceland. It should be noted that the flocks in Iceland swap roosters to carry on the genetic diversity in their flocks.

 

What characteristics or physical traits should be culled*?

Aggressive roosters _with hens or humans; shank fuzz or feathering; fray feathering; sex-linked barring** as seen in barred rocks should be culled. It could be a sign of a mixed breed bird, but some autosomal*** barring is acceptable. Also, some barred feathers in young juveniles is acceptable as their interim molt camouflage coloring. Overly sexually aggressive cocks/roosters; consistently misshapen eggs; poor broodiness in hens or poor mothering skills; any traits that could be perceived as a genetic deformity -- are all traits that could be culled for. 

 

Note: artificial incubation can cause toe curl or other foot and leg deformities. These are not genetic. There are ways to fix toe curl in chicks  

*Culled means removal from the breeding pool, either by butchering, exclusion, or selling as a barnyard fowl (not as a pure Icelandic).

**Autosomal is any non-sex chromosome. It is a dominant pattern gene, responsible for plumage patterns, including non-sex linked (autosomal) barring.

** Sex-linked barring is the result of a single gene. This gene is located on the sex-chromosome -- hence the name. It causes a white barring pattern on the feather. The Barred Plymouth Rock shows an example of this gene's expression. Historically this gene has not been observed in the Icelandic landrace, therefore its presence could indicate non-Icelandic genetics. However, autosomal barring is acceptable in the Icelandic and is often observed. Autosomal barring, sometimes called "parallel penciling," is simply non-sex linked barring. Examples of this type barring can be seen in the Campine, Brakel and Hamburg breeds. At least four genes working together are responsible for producing this pattern. The width of the barring may vary. The poor autosomal barring often observed on the backs and wings of young birds is known as protective juvenile coloration. This generally fades with the adult plumage unless modifying genes are present.

– Lyle Behl