Chickens Have Arrived!

We picked up our first batch of chicks yesterday, and they are settling in nicely so far. After doing a bit of research, we chose Icelandic chickens, a relatively rare heritage landrace, for our homestead. Icies have been raised since the time of the Vikings for self-sufficiency and adaptability to harsh weather conditions, so they seemed like a natural choice for one of the coldest and snowiest parts of Massachusetts. Because they are a landrace developed for specific traits, rather than a breed with set visual characteristics, Icelandics are incredibly varied, ranging from solid black to pure white with almost every possible color combination in between. They may have several types of comb, and some (but not all) even have tufted head crests. Right now, we can tell that no two of our chicks are quite the same color, most or all of them will be multicolored rather than solid, and at least two have little downy puffs that are likely to develop into feathered crests. We're very excited to see what they grow up to look like, and I'm sure there will be plenty more photos to come!