The Norwegian Jaerhone, is a breed of chicken developed in the 1920s

BREED NAME: Norwegian Jaerhone 

BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The Norwegian Jaerhone, is a breed of chicken developed in the 1920s. Breeding stock was made up of available local breeds near Stavanger, Norway. This is the South Atlantic coastal region of Norway where the first Jaerhone were exported to North Western US in 1998.

Norwegian Jærhøne (Norske Jærhøns) or Jaerhon, The Facts:

Class: Heavy but small

Size: Standard Male: 5 Ibs. / Standard Female: 3.5 Ibs. Comb, Wattles & Earlobes: Red – large single arched comb, large wattles and lobes.

Color: There are 2 options, light or dark, described as yellow-brown or brown-yellow. Hens have grey/black and white barred bodies and a golden barred neck. Roosters have a mostly white body and tail with gold in the hackles and back. Legs are yellow, beak horn colored, dense.

Place of Origin: Norway

Conservation Status: Rare

Special Qualities: Coming in only two color varieties, dark or light: brown-yellow or yellow-brown, might sound drab, but they are an elegant and hardy breed well suited for the Norweigan climate.

Hens are extreme layers of large white eggs, sometimes producing to their detriment and not known to go broody. Roosters hold their heads and tails high with sickles and upper tail feathers inches higher than their combs.

Hen feathering makes her much darker than the male, but with similar characteristics and proud stance.

Roosters can weigh in at 5 lbs and hens at 3.5. They are considered a small chicken but are stout and normally proportioned.

They have a heritage “old world” look to them making them fit best into the image of a family country farm rather than production pens and cages. This is a very active breed with the ability to fly as well as chickens can. Legs are clean and yellow.

Bjorn Netland, a doctor, had several sent to him in Washington State, UDA in 1998; possibly familiar with the breed prior to living in the States. This is a rare breed that hasn’t taken off in popularity in its brief history in the US.

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