These were ordered by a friend for my birthday from Whippoorwill Farm in Wisconsin. Nice variety of colors!
"Considered an Old World treasure, Icelandic chickens were brought to Iceland by the Vikings in the 9th century AD and were found on most farms for centuries. Indeed, one of their Icelandic names -- Íslenska landnámshænan -- means Icelandic hen of the settlers. With the advent of the commercial type chickens, the Icelandic breed was nearly extinct by the 1950s. All the birds now existing ( estimated to be around 5000 ) are descended from a very small group of fowl saved in the 1970s. The Icelandic chicken is significantly different genetically than modern chicken breeds. According to an interview with the former president of the Icelandic preservation association (Júlíus Baldursson), a 2004 study of blood samples from the Icelandic chicken, done in Britain, revealed that 78% of the DNA of the Icelandic chicken was unique and could not be found in any other chicken breeds in the world. It is for this reason that crossing with other breeds is strongly discouraged, once crossed, the offspring and descendants from these crosses can never be considered Icelandics."
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