Like many of the other animals that came to Iceland with the settlers, the Icelandic hens exhibit various colours and compositions of them. The Icelandic weather does not bother hens much as they are happy to go outside in all kinds of weather. They start laying eggs at 5-6 months of age and continue laying until they are 3 years old, after that the number of eggs decreases. Although hens lay fewer eggs in general in late summer and during the fall. Throughout this period they lose their feathers and grow new ones, a process called molting. The Icelandic hen is most related to the Israeli Bedouin hen. It is believed that people emigrated from Southwestern Asia to Nordic countries many years ago and most likely brought animals (hens included) with them.
