Icelandic chickens number less than 3,000 worldwide and are considered critically endangered. There is a dedicated group of people working to promote and preserve this landrace fowl which was first introduced to Iceland in 900 by the Vikings. My stock comes from the legal importation of hatching eggs from Iceland to the US in the last 13 years. Icelandic chickens are standard sized, not bantams, although they are on the smaller side. They have white earlobes and lay bright white to pale cream colored eggs. I see the cream color mostly in pullet eggs and they are bright white by the time they are full sized eggs. The eggs range from medium to large and I have one hen who lays a jumbo egg. There is no standard color or comb type for Icelandic chickens. Some may even have slate legs and some may have light feathering on the legs. Some are crested, some are not. The most wonderful part of owning these birds is in the diversity. These birds are winter hardy, good layers, go broody, and make great free rangers. They are not flighty but don’t care to be cuddled either. They always come up to the house when I go outside and follow me down to the barn for a treat. I have hatched hundreds of chicks and they too are very hardy with few instances of pasty butt or leg problems. My flock does not consume huge amounts of feed, preferring to forage on the acreage they occupy. They like to roost as high up in the coop as they can get, often in the rafters. I have 35 free ranging Icelandics on my property and people always remark about how many different breeds of chickens I have! I am not sure they believe me when I tell them they are all the same breed!
My alpha rooster Isi (Icy) from my foundation stock.
Silver hen with lovely crest.
One of my hens with a laced crest.
Free ranging.
My youngest juveniles on the roost.
Picnicking.
Rock dwellers.
Lovely young pullets.
Lukka, one of my original hens with a baby chick. I have lots of blues in my flock.
They make very enthusiast mothers.
Isi and his girls.
Hatching Icelandics is like opening a box of chocolates! You never know what you are going to get!
This is my most recent hatch from last week with a silver and a chocolate brown chick!
NOTE: November 2015. We are longer breeding chickens, just enjoying them for the sweet, gentle creatures they are. I obviously love Icelandic chickens. I cannot say the same for the people involved. If you are interested in obtaining Icelandics, I cannot provide you with any information. Thank you for visiting The Egg Farm.
Cynthia Wallace says
We are very interested in having a sustainable chicken flock. Icelandic seem to be great for this. Do you have eggs or chicks for purchase? Thank you
Cynthia
Julia Grammer says
Your chickens a beautiful! I absolutely love the variety of colors and combs. I understand why some people are interested in standardizing breeds but personally I like them just the way they are and think it would be a shame to rein in the breed too much. I live in western Washington and would be interested in helping out these endangered birds any way I can. Do you have to import the eggs from Iceland in order to start a flock or are there breeders in the US that will sell hatching eggs or chicks?
Barbara says
So, are there any plans to somewhat standardize the breed? Seems it would be good to at least have the same comb style.