Icelandic Chickens: A Complete Guide for American Homesteaders

Hardy, historic, colorful—and made for a more self-reliant flock

If you want chickens that forage enthusiastically, raise many of their own chicks, tolerate cold climates, and bring remarkable variety to the homestead, Icelandic chickens deserve a closer look.

Known in Iceland as Íslenska landnámshænan, or “the settlers’ chicken,” these birds descend from farm chickens brought to Iceland by early settlers more than 1,000 years ago. Generations of adaptation produced an alert, resourceful landrace suited to small farms and difficult conditions.

Today, Icelandic chickens remain uncommon in the United States. The Livestock Conservancy lists the landrace as Threatened, so every thoughtfully managed pure flock can contribute to its future.

Considering Icelandic chickens for your homestead?
[View Available Chicks and Hatching Eggs] or [Contact Our Farm]

Icelandic Chicken Facts at a Glance

• Origin: Iceland
• Type: Historic landrace rather than a standardized show breed
• Conservation status: Threatened
• Primary uses: Eggs, natural reproduction, foraging, and genetic conservation
• Hen weight: Approximately 3–3.5 pounds
• Rooster weight: Approximately 4.5–5.25 pounds
• Egg color: White, cream, or lightly tinted
• Egg size: Small to medium, often relatively large for the hen’s size
• Estimated production: Around 180 eggs per year under favorable management
• Climate: Particularly well suited to cooler regions
• Temperament: Alert, active, curious, and variable between individuals
• Broodiness: Common enough in many flocks to produce natural replacement chicks
• Foraging ability: Excellent
• Confinement: Usually not their strongest fit
• Flight ability: Stronger and more agile than many heavier chicken breeds

What Is an Icelandic Chicken?

An Icelandic chicken is a landrace, not a breed developed to match one fixed color, comb, or body pattern.

A landrace develops through adaptation to a place and a way of life. Icelandic chickens were selected primarily by survival and usefulness on traditional farms—not by a poultry-show standard. Consequently, a pure flock can display an extraordinary range of colors, patterns, comb types, crests, and shank colors.

That diversity is part of the landrace’s identity. Icelandics should not all look alike.

Typical characteristics include:

• Small, agile bodies
• Clean, unfeathered legs
• Single, rose, or other comb variations
• Crested and non-crested birds
• Numerous feather colors and patterns
• White to pale-yellow earlobe or facial patches
• Active, watchful behavior

A bird does not become an Icelandic simply because it resembles one. Documented ancestry and responsible breeding matter—especially when the goal is conservation.

Why Homesteaders Choose Icelandic Chickens

1. They are exceptional foragers

Icelandics are energetic birds that naturally search for insects, seeds, vegetation, and other edible material. In Iceland, they have also been called “pile chickens” because of their habit of working through compost and debris piles.

Good forage can add variety to their diet and make them useful around orchards, gardens, and compost systems. It does not, however, replace an age-appropriate complete poultry ration. Foraging conditions change with the season, and laying hens need dependable nutrition.

2. They are well adapted to cold climates

Their history makes Icelandics an appealing choice for northern homesteads and regions with long winters. They are active, hardy birds, and many hens maintain useful winter production.

Cold-hardy does not mean weatherproof. Icelandics still need:

• A dry, draft-protected coop
• Ventilation above roosting level
• Unfrozen drinking water
• Dry bedding
• Protection from wind and precipitation
• Daily observation for frostbite or cold stress

Because comb type varies, some individuals may be more susceptible to frostbite than others. Moisture control is often just as important as temperature control.

3. Many hens retain strong brooding instincts

Commercial laying strains are often selected not to brood. Icelandic hens have retained more of the natural instinct to set, hatch eggs, and care for chicks.

Not every hen will become broody, and broodiness varies by bird and flock. Nevertheless, a well-managed Icelandic flock may be able to produce replacement birds with less reliance on artificial incubation.

4. Every flock is visually distinctive

Icelandics can produce a kaleidoscope of colors, patterns, crests, and combs. Their appearance is one of the joys of keeping them, but diversity is more than decoration: it reflects the history and character of a true landrace.

Responsible breeders preserve this diversity instead of selecting the entire population toward one fashionable color or physical feature.

5. They offer useful homestead egg production

Icelandic hens commonly lay small-to-medium white, cream, or lightly tinted eggs. Production varies with genetics, age, nutrition, health, daylight, climate, and management, but approximately 180 eggs per hen per year is a useful general estimate.

They are not the right choice if maximum commercial egg output is your only priority. They make more sense for keepers who value a combination of eggs, foraging, natural reproduction, hardiness, and conservation.

6. They are lively and full of personality

Icelandics are curious, busy, and observant. Birds handled gently from a young age can become friendly, although temperament varies widely.

Their intelligence and agility also mean they can fly over short fences, roost in trees, and explore farther than expected. People looking for a placid flock that remains behind a low garden fence may prefer a heavier breed.

Are Icelandic Chickens Right for Your Homestead?

Icelandics may be an excellent fit if you:

• Have room for an active flock
• Want chickens with strong foraging ability
• Live in a cool or cold climate
• Enjoy natural brooding and chick raising
• Value genetic diversity over uniform appearance
• Want to participate in rare-livestock conservation
• Can provide secure nighttime housing
• Are comfortable managing agile birds that may fly or roost high

They may not be the best choice if you:

• Need the highest possible egg or meat production
• Plan to keep birds in close confinement
• Want every bird to have a uniform color and appearance
• Cannot provide predator-resistant housing
• Need chickens that reliably remain behind low fencing
• Intend to mix them indiscriminately with other breeds

How to Raise Icelandic Chickens in the USA

Check local poultry rules first

Before buying birds, review your city, county, homeowners-association, and state requirements. Local rules may limit flock size, prohibit roosters, regulate coop placement, or require permits.

Interstate poultry movement can also be subject to testing and documentation requirements.

Start with healthy, traceable stock

Purchase from a breeder who can explain the ancestry of the flock and demonstrate a commitment to keeping Icelandics pure.

Ask prospective breeders:

• What documented Icelandic bloodlines are represented?
• Are other chicken breeds housed or bred nearby?
• How are breeding groups managed to prevent accidental crosses?
• Does the seller participate in the National Poultry Improvement Plan?
• What health testing has been completed?
• Are the birds selected for overall vigor and function rather than one color?
• Can the breeder provide hatch dates and basic care instructions?

The USDA’s National Poultry Improvement Plan is a voluntary testing and certification program covering poultry breeding flocks, chicks, hatching eggs, hatcheries, and dealers. Requirements differ between states, so confirm the rules before purchasing or shipping birds across state lines.

Provide a secure, well-ventilated coop

Their agility can help Icelandics respond to danger, but it does not make them predator-proof. Raccoons, foxes, coyotes, dogs, mink, weasels, hawks, and owls can still kill free-ranging birds.

A suitable setup should include:

• A solid coop that can be locked every evening
• Openings covered with securely fastened hardware cloth
• Dry bedding and good drainage
• High ventilation that removes moisture without blowing directly on roosting birds
• Wooden roosts with adequate room for every bird
• Nest boxes in a quiet, accessible area
• A covered or protected run when free-ranging is unsafe
• Fencing appropriate for agile, flight-capable chickens

Automatic doors can be useful, but they should not replace regular head counts and inspections.

Feed for health, not merely survival

Even outstanding foragers require reliable nutrition.

Provide:

• Chick starter for young birds
• Grower feed during development
• A complete layer ration for laying hens
• Clean, fresh water at all times
• Insoluble grit when birds consume foods other than prepared feed
• Calcium, such as oyster shell, offered separately to laying hens

Pasture, insects, garden surplus, and approved treats should supplement—not displace—a balanced ration. Poor nutrition can reduce laying, fertility, hatchability, feather quality, and winter resilience.

Plan for both cold and heat

Icelandics are celebrated for cold hardiness, but American keepers may also face humid summers and extreme heat.

During hot weather, provide:

• Deep shade throughout the day
• Abundant cool drinking water
• Air movement and ventilation
• Multiple water stations
• Dust-bathing areas
• Reduced handling during the hottest hours

Watch for panting, wings held away from the body, weakness, or loss of coordination. Any chicken can suffer heat stress.

Manage free-ranging carefully

Icelandics often thrive when allowed to explore, but unrestricted free-ranging carries real risks.

Consider:

• Supervised ranging
• Electronet or taller fencing
• Covered runs during heavy raptor activity
• Livestock guardian animals where appropriate
• Rotational access to pasture or orchard areas
• Locking the flock inside before dusk
• Temporary confinement during disease alerts or wild-bird migrations

The right balance depends on your land, predator pressure, disease risk, and tolerance for loss.

Practice serious flock biosecurity

Hardiness is not immunity. Icelandic chickens can contract avian influenza, parasites, respiratory illness, and other poultry diseases.

Protect your flock by:

• Buying from reputable, tested sources
• Separating new or returning birds before introduction
• Using dedicated footwear around the coop
• Cleaning feeders, waterers, tools, and transport crates
• Limiting unnecessary poultry-area visitors
• Preventing wild birds from entering feed and water areas
• Storing feed in rodent-resistant containers
• Isolating sick birds promptly
• Contacting a veterinarian, extension office, or animal-health official about unusual illness or sudden death

Follow current USDA and state guidance during avian-influenza outbreaks.

Breeding Icelandic Chickens Responsibly

Keeping Icelandics is an opportunity to conserve a living piece of agricultural history.

Keep the landrace pure

Do not allow Icelandic breeding groups to cross with other chicken breeds. Crossbred offspring may be enjoyable homestead birds, but they should never be represented or sold as pure Icelandics.

Accurate labeling protects future buyers and the broader population.

Preserve diversity instead of creating a “look”

Avoid narrowing a flock around one feather color, crest, or comb. Conservation breeding should maintain the variety, vigor, fertility, behavior, and practical qualities associated with the landrace.

Maintain records

Keep notes on:

• Breeding pens and parentage
• Hatch dates
• Fertility and hatch rates
• Growth and adult health
• Temperament
• Brooding and mothering behavior
• Egg production
• Sources of new genetics
• Illnesses, defects, and mortality

Even simple records help prevent accidental inbreeding and make future breeding choices more informed.

Select for functional health

Breed from active, sound birds with good fertility and no serious inherited defects. Appearance is only one part of a conservation program.

When possible, collaborate with other responsible Icelandic breeders to exchange unrelated genetics while maintaining traceable ancestry and sound biosecurity.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Icelandic chickens good for beginners?

They can be. Their hardiness and natural behavior appeal to new keepers, but their flying ability, activity level, and need for secure ranging make thoughtful housing important. Beginners should learn basic poultry nutrition, predator control, and biosecurity before bringing birds home.

Are Icelandic chickens cold-hardy?

Yes. They are especially well suited to cooler climates. They still require a dry, ventilated, draft-protected coop, unfrozen water, balanced nutrition, and monitoring during severe weather.

Can Icelandic chickens handle hot summers?

They can live in warmer parts of the United States when given excellent shade, airflow, and constant access to clean water. They are more strongly associated with cold hardiness, so monitor them closely during extreme heat.

How many eggs do Icelandic chickens lay?

A general estimate is approximately 180 eggs per hen annually, although actual production varies. Eggs are usually white, cream, or lightly tinted and small to medium in size.

Do Icelandic hens go broody?

Many do, but not every hen will. Broodiness varies between individual birds and flock families.

Are Icelandic chickens good free-range birds?

They are skilled and enthusiastic foragers. Their alertness and agility are helpful, but no chicken is safe from every predator. Secure nighttime housing and a site-specific predator plan remain essential.

Can Icelandic chickens fly?

Yes. They are lightweight, agile birds capable of clearing fences and reaching high roosts. Taller fencing, covered runs, or carefully managed ranging may be needed.

Are Icelandic chickens a recognized show breed?

They are best understood as a landrace rather than a standardized breed selected for one uniform appearance. Their natural variation should be preserved.

Are Icelandic chickens rare in the United States?

Yes. They remain relatively uncommon, and The Livestock Conservancy lists the landrace as Threatened.

Where can I buy Icelandic chickens?

Look for a conservation-minded breeder who maintains pure, traceable stock and follows appropriate poultry-health practices. Ask about ancestry, breeding arrangements, health testing, and NPIP participation before purchasing chicks, adults, or hatching eggs.

Help Preserve a Living Landrace

Icelandic chickens offer something increasingly rare: a productive homestead bird shaped by more than a millennium of adaptation rather than uniform commercial production.

They forage, explore, brood, hatch, teach their chicks, and fill the farmyard with extraordinary variety. In return, they need responsible care—and breeders committed to protecting their identity.

Choosing Icelandics is more than adding colorful chickens to a backyard. It is a chance to help carry a remarkable agricultural legacy into its next thousand years.

Start Your Icelandic Flock

At Mema’s Inclination in Burke, NY, we raise Icelandic chickens with a focus on health, genetic diversity, practical homestead traits, and preservation of the landrace.

[View Current Availability]
[Join the Chick and Hatching-Egg List]
[Ask Us About Raising Icelandics]
[Schedule a Farm Visit]

Not ready to buy? Share this guide with another homesteader. Helping more people understand Icelandic chickens is one of the best ways to build a secure future for the landrace.