Svart Hona, Svarthona, or Swedish Black Hen
This bird by any name is a true Nordic black beauty
Life is precious and what better way to celebrate it than with baby chicks. Our chickens come from Greenfire Farms, and Ewe Crazy Farms...though we are looking for another good line to add, so if you can recommend one who also focuses on breeding hardy free rangers, then please let us know. We want the best survivalist on our farm, as we have such heavy predation in our area. We do not have pampered(cooped) birds who are bred for looks. Our birds forage for most of their feed and need little input from us to survive here. We do tractor broody mothers hatching out eggs, or walking back from the woods with chicks under them, and give them some protection for a couple of weeks, but when they start roosting up off the nest and the cats stop looking at them as easy prey they are ready for freedom.
Do you have chicks/eggs available?
We have some chicks which we are offering locally(you must pick up here), so if you are interested in them let me know. We do have hatching eggs available for shipment, but not shipping chicks at this time due to current USPS issues.
Straight run day old chicks: $17(6 chick minimum, 25 chick maximum) We offer scheduled local pickup, but are not shipping live chicks again till the USPS reorganizes and revises their shipping experience for live chicks again.
Hatching eggs for your incubator are $7 per egg. They can be picked up or shipped. USPS Priority Mail shipping is $20.
If you want to purchase hatching eggs you must email me first...links below for ordering online have now been turned off, because not everyone will take the time to read this.
WHAT KIND OF CHICKEN IS THAT ANYWAY?
Svarthöna, Bohuslän-Dals svarthöna, or Swedish Black Rooster, Hen or Chicken(Take your pick what to call them) is a Swedish landrace breed of domestic chicken that is considered to have originated with chickens transported from Mozambique to Norway by sailors sometime in the 17th century. Since then the Svart Hona(translated means black female) has adapted to a northerly climate but has retained the rare quality of black skin and connective tissue.
They are often compared to/with the Ayam Cemani in looks, but from what we read online the Swedish Black Hen is much more practical. Combining practicality with bewitching good looks, this breed is definitely a conversation starter.
We chose to raise the Svart Hona over the Ayam Cemani chickens because they are more cold hardy than the Cemani which are from Indonesia and therefore less cold tolerant. The Swedish Blacks also seem to lay longer over the year unlike the Cemani which lay in cycles of fewer eggs and without being the best broody. That was just not acceptable to us. Compared to what we read online(as we had no first-hand experience with either breed at the time) was that Svart Hona are better foragers for free range as well. While I still can not personally compare the two breeds since we have not gotten any Ayam Cemani, I can say that they have absolutely no problems in cold weather, as they roosted right out in the trees this past winter, and they are great foragers. They are very friendly, but more flighty than some of the other family friendly breeds we have had(Orpington, Silkie, Swedish Flower), but it helps them to stay away from predators better than those breeds...which was a problem free-ranging the others. The LGDs are great at keeping two and four legged pests away, and do bark at big birds overhead, but hawks and owls are just too good at the snatch and grab jobs for the dogs to be effective. The Svart Hona do a much better job of keeping themselves safe from all predators it seems.
The Swedish Black Hen, or Svart Hona(which literally translates to "black hen"), has the same fibromelanistic trait as that most coveted chicken breed from Indonesia, the Ayam Cemani. That is, virtually every physical feature outside and inside the Swedish Black Hen is black in color. Some claim to see differences between the Ayam Cemani and the Swedish Black Hens –for example, the Ayam Cemani have been said to be more like gamefowl in body type– but I can't really see a difference. Despite these physical commonalities the Swedish Black Hen has a vastly different history and has over the centuries adapted to a much colder climate than the Ayam Cemani. Also, Swedish Black Hens are even rarer than Ayam Cemani. A national poultry census in Sweden verified the existence of fewer than 500 Swedish Black Hens.
The gene that causes fibromelanosis is a mutation that existed in Asia more than 800 years ago. The gene promotes the proliferation of black pigment cells. This same mutation may have made its way in chickens transported to Norway as many as 400 years ago. (Norway and neighboring Sweden have a complex and often bloody history, but suffice to say that for a period of time Norway was a state within Sweden until Norway won independence in 1905.) A landrace of exotic black birds flourished on what is now the Sweden-Norway border, and what had probably begun as a tropical transplant to this frigid region eventually adapted to the colder climate. Some sources suggest that Swedish Black Hens made their way to the Nordic countries from seamen who traveled from Mozambique in the 1800s, although explanations vary and are often vague.
What is certain is that Swedish Black Hens are relatively small and sleek –the roosters weigh about 4 lbs.—and have a friendly, relaxed temperament but can be flighty. The hens lay white or cream-colored eggs of different shades. Usually, the birds are almost completely black although some have deep mulberry red facial skin. Feathers can shimmer with iridescent greens and purples. These birds are capable foragers and reflect the mastery that comes from the hundreds of years of free-range living enjoyed by their ancestors. A Swedish poultry keeper told us that Black Hens are known for not suffering from frostbite on their combs. We found they are the most cold hearty birds we have ever raised.
Please note...Because of many variables, nobody can guarantee hatch rate of eggs, so the old saying of "Don't count chicks till they are hatched" applies. I don't care how long someone has been hatching chicks, their next hatch has the same chance of success/failure that everyone else. For that reason, I offer no refunds. To make it clear, I don't care if you are a self titled "master hatcher", I OFFER NO REFUNDS for eggs that do not hatch.
Do you have chicks/eggs available?
We have some chicks which we are offering locally(you must pick up here), so if you are interested in them let me know. We do have hatching eggs available for shipment, but not shipping chicks at this time due to current USPS issues.
Straight run day old chicks: $17(6 chick minimum, 25 chick maximum) We offer scheduled local pickup, but are not shipping live chicks again till the USPS reorganizes and revises their shipping experience for live chicks again.
Hatching eggs for your incubator are $7 per egg. They can be picked up or shipped. USPS Priority Mail shipping is $20.
If you want to purchase hatching eggs you must email me first...links below for ordering online have now been turned off, because not everyone will take the time to read this.
WHAT KIND OF CHICKEN IS THAT ANYWAY?
Svarthöna, Bohuslän-Dals svarthöna, or Swedish Black Rooster, Hen or Chicken(Take your pick what to call them) is a Swedish landrace breed of domestic chicken that is considered to have originated with chickens transported from Mozambique to Norway by sailors sometime in the 17th century. Since then the Svart Hona(translated means black female) has adapted to a northerly climate but has retained the rare quality of black skin and connective tissue.
They are often compared to/with the Ayam Cemani in looks, but from what we read online the Swedish Black Hen is much more practical. Combining practicality with bewitching good looks, this breed is definitely a conversation starter.
We chose to raise the Svart Hona over the Ayam Cemani chickens because they are more cold hardy than the Cemani which are from Indonesia and therefore less cold tolerant. The Swedish Blacks also seem to lay longer over the year unlike the Cemani which lay in cycles of fewer eggs and without being the best broody. That was just not acceptable to us. Compared to what we read online(as we had no first-hand experience with either breed at the time) was that Svart Hona are better foragers for free range as well. While I still can not personally compare the two breeds since we have not gotten any Ayam Cemani, I can say that they have absolutely no problems in cold weather, as they roosted right out in the trees this past winter, and they are great foragers. They are very friendly, but more flighty than some of the other family friendly breeds we have had(Orpington, Silkie, Swedish Flower), but it helps them to stay away from predators better than those breeds...which was a problem free-ranging the others. The LGDs are great at keeping two and four legged pests away, and do bark at big birds overhead, but hawks and owls are just too good at the snatch and grab jobs for the dogs to be effective. The Svart Hona do a much better job of keeping themselves safe from all predators it seems.
The Swedish Black Hen, or Svart Hona(which literally translates to "black hen"), has the same fibromelanistic trait as that most coveted chicken breed from Indonesia, the Ayam Cemani. That is, virtually every physical feature outside and inside the Swedish Black Hen is black in color. Some claim to see differences between the Ayam Cemani and the Swedish Black Hens –for example, the Ayam Cemani have been said to be more like gamefowl in body type– but I can't really see a difference. Despite these physical commonalities the Swedish Black Hen has a vastly different history and has over the centuries adapted to a much colder climate than the Ayam Cemani. Also, Swedish Black Hens are even rarer than Ayam Cemani. A national poultry census in Sweden verified the existence of fewer than 500 Swedish Black Hens.
The gene that causes fibromelanosis is a mutation that existed in Asia more than 800 years ago. The gene promotes the proliferation of black pigment cells. This same mutation may have made its way in chickens transported to Norway as many as 400 years ago. (Norway and neighboring Sweden have a complex and often bloody history, but suffice to say that for a period of time Norway was a state within Sweden until Norway won independence in 1905.) A landrace of exotic black birds flourished on what is now the Sweden-Norway border, and what had probably begun as a tropical transplant to this frigid region eventually adapted to the colder climate. Some sources suggest that Swedish Black Hens made their way to the Nordic countries from seamen who traveled from Mozambique in the 1800s, although explanations vary and are often vague.
What is certain is that Swedish Black Hens are relatively small and sleek –the roosters weigh about 4 lbs.—and have a friendly, relaxed temperament but can be flighty. The hens lay white or cream-colored eggs of different shades. Usually, the birds are almost completely black although some have deep mulberry red facial skin. Feathers can shimmer with iridescent greens and purples. These birds are capable foragers and reflect the mastery that comes from the hundreds of years of free-range living enjoyed by their ancestors. A Swedish poultry keeper told us that Black Hens are known for not suffering from frostbite on their combs. We found they are the most cold hearty birds we have ever raised.
Please note...Because of many variables, nobody can guarantee hatch rate of eggs, so the old saying of "Don't count chicks till they are hatched" applies. I don't care how long someone has been hatching chicks, their next hatch has the same chance of success/failure that everyone else. For that reason, I offer no refunds. To make it clear, I don't care if you are a self titled "master hatcher", I OFFER NO REFUNDS for eggs that do not hatch.
