Icelandic chicken

Icelandic chickens are a breed of chicken from Iceland. Called "Íslenska Hænan" in the Icelandic language, they are a landrace fowl which are rare or non-existent outside its 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 even have feather crests and legs.

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.

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ee also

* List of chicken breeds