Olandsk dwarf Chicken
- Country of origin: Olands, Sweden
- Primary uses: Ornamental purposes
- Lifespan: 5 years
- Eggs
- Egg production: 250 eggs per year
- Egg size: Small
- Color: White to cream
- Weight
- Cock: 0.6 – 1 kg
- Hen: 0.5 – 0.8 kg
- Colors: Splashed with a variety of colors including white, red, yellow, black, and gray.
- Useful to know: calm, gentle, docile, and friend chicken breed. Olandsk dwarf chickens are suitable with limited spaces and mainly used for ornamental purposes.
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Introduction
If you desire to raise a chicken breed but worry about your limited space, Olandsk dwarf chickens can be the perfect choice for you.
These small and beautiful chickens can help you to have great experiences with their special and unique features. To get a detailed understanding about them, let’s continue to read the information below.
Background and History of the Olandsk dwarf Chicken Breed:
The Olandsk chicken breed is a rare breed and originated from Olands Island, Sweden.
Olandsk chickens are true dwarf chickens, meaning they are not smaller versions breeding down from a full-size chicken fowl like Bantam breeds.
Their forebears are thought as British Garden hens imported over centuries ago. Over time, this breed turned to necessity and natural selection for Olandsk dwarf chicken’s size, hardiness, and production to fit the region.
In the 1980s, the number of Olandsk dwarf chickens was only about 50 and nearly on the edge of extinction.
Luckily, after being imported to the United States by the organization named Greenfire Farms, their numbers have improved and Olandsk dwarf chickens are becoming more popular here and in Sweden with a lot of hard work during over 20 years.
However, Olandsk dwarf chickens are still critically rare and considered as one of the most extremely endangered chicken breeds. Therefore, Swedish conservation agencies have established a rescue plan to prevent this heritage chicken breed from being extinct.
Appearance
Though Olandsk dwarf chickens are considerably similar in type and style, they do not have a standard of specification and perfection.
Olandsk dwarf chickens have small bodies with colorful feathers splashed with a variety of colors including white, red, yellow, black, and gray.
Besides, Olandsk dwarf chickens have straight combs or rose combs with quite large sizes. Their earlobes, wattles’ color are red. Their faces are also red tint with orange eyes and bright yellow beaks.
Olandsk dwarf chickens have strong and rather long legs. Their legs can come into bright yellow or white colors.
Behaviour
Olandsk dwarf chickens are very calm and known as friendly and docile chickens, that is why a lot of people raise them as home pets to become friends with their children.
In addition, Olandsk dwarf chickens are also gentle and can live with other chickens in harmony if managed well.
Broodiness
Olandsk dwarf chicken hens tend to go broody. However, during their brooding time, Olandsk hens usually steal the eggs of other hens and add them into their clutch. This prolongs the hatch and is not beneficial.
Besides, though Olandsk dwarf chicken hens are good at covering their eggs and can relieve chicken keepers from brooder responsibility, they are not good mothers. To be more specific, they can fight over their baby chicks and lead to their death.
Furthermore, after their egg hatch, Olandsk dwarf chicken hens seem to end their mother duty. They do not allow their baby chicks to nestle under them, therefore, there are some baby chicks dying as soon as they hatch.
Olandsk dwarf Chicken Productivity
Is the Olandsk Dwarf Chicken Good for Eggs?
Of course, yes. Olandsk dwarf chickens can lay about 250 eggs per year which can be equal to other layer chicken breeds.
Though Olandsk dwarf chickens’ eggs are quite small, this disadvantage can be compensated by their good amount of eggs.
Besides, Olandsk dwarf chicken eggs are considered good quality and taste. Therefore, Olandsk dwarf chickens also can bring benefits for chicken raisers from their high egg productivity or become a rich egg source for daily needs of their owners apart from ornamental purposes.
Is the Olandsk Dwarf Chicken Good for Meat?
Absolutely, no. As we said, Olandsk dwarf chickens are considered as one of the most extremely endangered chicken breeds, so this is the main reason why they should not be allowed to be used for meat production.
Common issues of the Chicken
Most people raising Olandsk dwarf chickens usually encounter coccidiosis problems.
Coccidiosis is an intestinal disease of chickens when a parasite enters into their intestinal lining and prevents them from absorbing essential nutrients. These parasites can be microscopic eggs or oocysts carried on chicken droppings.
Olandsk dwarf chickens are good forages and love walking around to look for their natural food, so they always can consume infected droppings accidentally and suffer coccidiosis disease.
Generally, chickens under 6 months old are more susceptible to this health problem than older chickens since they are weaker and do not develop their natural immunity sufficiently.
However, coccidiosis can be transmitted from young chickens to adult chickens so preventative methods are always needed to prevent your chickens from coccidiosis.
Here are some methods that you can refer to apply:
- Firstly, make sure to clean your clothes and farming equipment before accessing them. This method can impede parasite appearance and keep disease sources away from your chicken flocks.
In some cases, if you used to work at other chicken farms, never use the same farming tools and protective clothes without washing and cleaning for your own farm.
- Secondly, it is necessary to provide them with fresh, clean, and dry living areas.
Humid and dirty living spaces can make good conditions for diseases to thrive quickly, therefore you should keep brooders, coops, feeding areas clean to prevent the disease from spreading.
- Thirdly, providing adequate space. Since coccidiosis can transmit in overcrowded places very quickly, you should give your chicken flocks generous spaces.
- Last but not least, vaccination.
Baby chicks need time to develop their fully immune system, therefore vaccination is a necessary preventative technique to assist them be proof against diseases throughout that point.
8 weeks old Olandsk dwarf baby chicks ought to take the primary vaccination and you have got to shoot them at the correct time and totally.
Environment needs
Generally, Olandsk dwarf chickens demand basic living needs like other chickens.
Coop conditions
Since Olandsk dwarf chickens are small, they will save areas for chicken raisers. However, it is still necessary and vital to relinquish them wide and clean living areas.
- Firstly, every Olandsk dwarf chicken ought to be accommodated with four square feet.
- Secondly, their floor ought to be lined with dry materials like straw or wood shavings.
- Thirdly, other coop furniture like perches, nest boxes, etc have to be compelled to be clean and dry to avoid parasites.
- Finally, since Olandsk dwarf chickens have weaker tolerance for warm weather, you have got to form positive their coops area unit well oxygenated to stay their temperature cool throughout hot months.
Lighting
Light is one of the foremost vital factors throughout chickens’ parturition method. So, since Olandsk dwarf chickens will lay a decent amount of eggs, you will be able to enhance their laying ability by giving correct lighting conditions.
To be more specific, it would be better to equip them with a soft yellow color to help Olandsk dwarf chickens to lay eggs. You furthermore may have to be compelled to find a natural time mode in order that the light can close up within the night.
Benefits and downsides of Raising Olandsk dwarf Chickens
Benefits of Raising the Olandsk dwarf Chicken
Olandsk dwarf chickens are an appropriate unit with restricted areas.
- If you do not have an outsized space to house your poultry, Olandsk dwarf chickens may be one in all the simplest choices for you since they have little sizes and do not need huge living areas.
- Olandsk dwarf chickens manufacture a decent quantity of eggs.
- Though most of the people raise Olandsk dwarf chickens for decorative functions as a result of their attractive look, they will conjointly become an egg supply for family’s demand or commercialism.
Challenges or Drawbacks of Raising the Olandsk dwarf Chicken
Rareness. As we have a tendency to mention, Olandsk dwarf chickens are a very rare chicken breed, thus it would be tough to shop for them.
In addition, you furthermore may need to pay heaps of cash to buy this chicken breed. Olandsk dwarf chicks will price up to a hundred dollars, thus it will be an enormous downside with people that have restricted budgets.
How to Raise the Olandsk Dwarf Chicken?
Dietary feed
Dietary feed is one of the foremost crucial factors of chickens’ development. Luckily, Olandsk dwarf chickens do not need any special diet, in order that they will grow well if given ample nutrients like other chicken breeds.
For example, Olandsk dwarf chickens’ main food is grains, wheat bran, etc. Besides, you ought to feed them with some sorts of cooked or cut vegetables like potatoes, carrots, etc.
Olandsk dwarf chickens will consume protein content from natural sources like insects, bugs, worms, etc since they are great forages and love walking around to appear for his or her food.
However, it is quite tough for them to scratch the soil and get their food in winter, you will be able to conjointly offer them some protein supplements.
In addition, as a result of Olandsk dwarf chicken hens lay heaps of eggs, calcium includes a vital role and is rarely incomprehensible in their diets. This is often chiefly as a result of calcium helps their productivity and makes the eggshells sturdier.
Some calcium sources that you simply will offer their calcium demand for area unit oyster shells, eggshells, or limestone grit.
What should we notice once shopping for hatching eggs?
If you get Olandsk hatching eggs, it is vital for you to understand that they will be harder to hatch and might simply drown if the humidity increases.
The ideal humidity ought to be forty percent and not be on top of fifty-five percent. Additionally, you ought to not add water into the incubator throughout the first stage of the hatching process.
You may also like: 21 Best Chicken Keeping eBooks
Should we keep Olandsk dwarf chickens with other full-size chickens?
Actually, no. Although Olandsk dwarf chickens are mild and might live with other chickens well, it is not a decent plan to house them with full-size chicken flocks. Here are some reasons why we should not do it:
- Firstly, attacking.
Since Olandsk dwarf chickens are significantly smaller than full-size chickens, larger chickens will attack them once being aggressive. In the worst case, they will kill Olandsk dwarf chickens.
- Secondly, full-size chickens cannot take up Olandsk dwarf chickens’ roosting places, so they’ll be bitten by mites or lice in the dead of night.
- Finally, full-size roosters will injure or perhaps kill Olandsk dwarf chickens while making an attempt to mate with them.
Final Thoughts
So, with their special and distinctive options, Olandsk dwarf chickens may be an exciting chicken breed that you simply ought to strive for.
Olandsk dwarf chickens not solely please your eyes with their vibrant and beautiful body covering, however can also manufacture a decent amount of eggs. This prime quality eggs will bring heaps of business edges for chicken raisers or afford their families’ demand.
In addition, Olandsk dwarf chickens do not seem to be far-famed for any serious health issues excluding coccidiosis disease.
However, this disease is kind of common with poultry and there are some ways to stop as well as solve once they are infected, thus it would be fine if you are taking up some caution and have the right solutions.
Though Olandsk dwarf chickens’ disadvantage is the expensive price, it’s conjointly helpful. To be more precise, however, if you are willing to pay more money to buy and raise them, you will be able to contribute to preserve this rare chicken breed.
So, if you are feeling fascinated by Olandsk dwarf chickens and your finance will afford them, do not hesitate to try it.
Links to useful resources:
- Janet Garman, “Olandsk Dwarf Chickens”, https://backyardpoultry.iamcountryside.com/chickens-101/olandsk-dwarf-ultra-rare-chicken-breeds/, April 29, 2020.
- “Breed Profile: Olandsk Dwarf Chicken”, https://backyardpoultry.iamcountryside.com/chickens-101/olandsk-dwarf-chicken/, March 14, 2019.
- “Olandsk Dwarf Chicken”, https://www.sugar-feather.com/product/olandsk-dwarves/.
- “Olandsk Dwarf Bantam”, https://www.domesticforest.com/olandsk-dwarf-bantam/.
- “Coccidiosis & Your Chickens – What You Need to Know”, https://www.freedomrangerhatchery.com/blog/coccidiosis-your-chickens-what-you-need-to-know/.