Icelandic Chickens
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.
We are so excited to be able to add this rare breed to our farm!
Did you know?
- Íslenka landnámshænan -- means "Icelandic hen of the settlers.
- The Icelandic breed almost became extinct in the 1950s.
- All the Icelandic Chickens living in the United States came from 11 eggs that were imported by Lyle Behl in 2003.
Click here to see more pictures of our Icelandic Chickens.
