Swedish Flower Hen

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About

Swedish Flower Hens, Sweden’s oldest and largest native chicken breed, nearly vanished in the 20th century but were saved from just a few remote villages in the 1980s. Known in Swedish as “blommehöns” (flower hens) for their stunning, wildflower-like millefleur plumage, these hardy, confident birds combine beauty with real practicality: calm and friendly temperament, excellent cold tolerance, strong free-ranging ability, and prolific laying of 180–230 large-to-jumbo cream eggs per year. Today, with a global population of around 6,000–9,000 birds, they remain rare but are cherished by small farmers and backyard keepers for their vigor, striking looks, and gentle, protective roosters—making them one of the most complete heritage breeds available.

Breed History

Swedish flower hens emerged as a landrace several hundred years ago, the product of a now forgotten mix of primitive breeds that were brought to Sweden by settlers and conquerors. As a landrace, this breed was not intentionally created by a breeder carefully selecting birds as part of a structured breeding program. Rather, this breed was created through natural selection and random pairings as the breed adapted to the climate and conditions of the Sydskanska Plain in southern Sweden.

Swedish flower hens are the largest breed of chickens native to Sweden. Roosters can weigh as much as 8 lbs. With the commercialization of Sweden’s poultry flocks in the last half of the 20th Century, this breed almost became extinct. A couple of decades ago remnant flocks were identified in three small, rural Swedish villages and a focused effort was made to save the breed. By the late 1980s fewer than 500 birds existed in the world. Today, about a thousand Swedish flower hens live in about fifty scattered flocks, and until Greenfire Farms began working with this breed, few if any could be found outside remote villages in Sweden.

Appearance and Behavior

Swedish flower hens are called blommehuns in Swedish; literally ‘bloom hens.’ The complex and brilliant color feather patterns of the birds do, indeed, evoke the image of a tangle of wildflowers. Their full visual appeal can’t be adequately appreciated unless you witness firsthand the rich and striking colors of the birds.

Even more impressive is the personality and hardiness of this breed. They are poised and confident around people. They are independent enough to make excellent free-range birds, but seek and seem to enjoy human interaction. Swedish flower hens are relatively calm but never to the point of being inert or inattentive, they’ll calmly walk right between your legs and out the door if given the opportunity. Our experience is that they are also unusually hardy, rarely falling ill at any stage of life. Swedish flower hens display a level of vigor and mastery of their environment, always on the lookout wether it be for predators or their next snack.

Few breeds are as practical as Swedish flower hens. The roosters have a powerful upright bearing and a broad chest. The hens are prolific layers for most of the year, and they far out-produce other breeds like Orpingtons. The first ‘pullet eggs’ produced by a young Swedish flower hen can be rather small. Be patient: Within a few months the hens will be generating extra-large eggs that are perfect for the table.

The breed is also well-adapted to colder temperatures.

As of 2026, our flocks only produce non-crested chicks.

Hatching Eggs

We incubate and hatch at 99.5F and 55% humidity. The Swedish Flower Hen do very well at these values and we typically see an 80% or higher hatch rate from the eggs that were placed into the hatcher. They typically don't need an extra day to hatch and hatch on day 21. But as a good rule of thumb, if any eggs haven't hatched on day 21 , go ahead and leave them in the hatcher an extra day or two to give them a chance to hatch. The chicks normally hatch well and require little to no assistance.

Keep in mind that since the Swedish Flower Hen is a landrace, the chicks will hatch in a variety of colors. If you plan to hatch this landrace with other bereds, you may need to take additional steps so that you can easily identify them on hatch day.

Notes

Our initial import of the Swedish Flower Hen happened in 2010. In 2012 we identified hens in our flocks that laid exceptionally large eggs, and we kept their offspring as breeders in 2013. In 2014, we imported unrelated bloodlines of Swedish flower hens and are currently selling the blended offspring from these two imports as our regular Swedish Flower Hen line.

In 2023, we sourced an unrelated bloodline from Sweden and imported hatching eggs with the goal of broadening the genetic diversity of our flock. As this line developed, we noticed that some birds exhibited larger combs and inconsistent mottling compared to the traits we typically expect to see. We have been diligently working through selective breeding to improve these characteristics and bring the birds closer to what we expect to see in this landrace. Beginning in 2026, we began offering this line as our Swedish Flower Hen 2023 Import Line.

Breed Availability

= Pick up only

Oct 19, 2026

Swedish Flower Hen Eggs : 5
Swedish Flower Hen (2023 Import) Hatching Eggs : 10

Oct 20, 2026

Swedish Flower Hen Day-Old Chick Unsexed : 14

Oct 27, 2026

Swedish Flower Hen Day-Old Chick Unsexed : 12

Nov 03, 2026

Swedish Flower Hen Day-Old Chick Unsexed : 8
Swedish Flower Hen (2023 Import Line) Day-Old Chick Unsexed : 6

Nov 10, 2026

Swedish Flower Hen Day-Old Chick Unsexed : 8
Swedish Flower Hen (2023 Import Line) Day-Old Chick Unsexed : 6

Nov 17, 2026

Swedish Flower Hen Day-Old Chick Unsexed : 8
Swedish Flower Hen (2023 Import Line) Day-Old Chick Unsexed : 6

Nov 24, 2026

Swedish Flower Hen Day-Old Chick Unsexed : 8
Swedish Flower Hen (2023 Import Line) Day-Old Chick Unsexed : 6

Dec 08, 2026

Swedish Flower Hen Day-Old Chick Unsexed : 8
Swedish Flower Hen (2023 Import Line) Day-Old Chick Unsexed : 6

Dec 15, 2026

Swedish Flower Hen Day-Old Chick Unsexed : 8
Swedish Flower Hen (2023 Import Line) Day-Old Chick Unsexed : 6

Dec 22, 2026

Swedish Flower Hen Day-Old Chick Unsexed : 8
Swedish Flower Hen (2023 Import Line) Day-Old Chick Unsexed : 6

Swedish Flower Hen

This beautiful Swedish landrace breed possesses all the splendor and diversity of a field of wildflowers.

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Swedish Flower Hen (2023 Import Line) Day-Old Chick Unsexed Total Available:

$29.00

Choose Date

Nov 03, 2026 ( Pick up only ) Available: 6

$29.00

Quantity:

Nov 10, 2026 ( Pick up only ) Available: 6

$29.00

Quantity:

Nov 17, 2026 ( Pick up only ) Available: 6

$29.00

Quantity:

Nov 24, 2026 ( Pick up only ) Available: 6

$29.00

Quantity:

Dec 08, 2026 ( Pick up only ) Available: 6

$29.00

Quantity:

Dec 15, 2026 ( Pick up only ) Available: 6

$29.00

Quantity:

Dec 22, 2026 ( Pick up only ) Available: 6

$29.00

Quantity:

Swedish Flower Hen (2023 Import Line) Unsexed Day-Old Chick Unsexed Total Available:

$29.00

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Swedish Flower Hen (2023 Import) Hatching Eggs Total Available:

$10.00

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Oct 19, 2026 Available: 10

$10.00

Quantity:

Swedish Flower Hen Day-Old Chick Unsexed Total Available:

$29.00

Choose Date

Oct 20, 2026 Available: 14

$29.00

Quantity:

Oct 27, 2026 Available: 12

$29.00

Quantity:

Nov 03, 2026 ( Pick up only ) Available: 8

$29.00

Quantity:

Nov 10, 2026 ( Pick up only ) Available: 8

$29.00

Quantity:

Nov 17, 2026 ( Pick up only ) Available: 8

$29.00

Quantity:

Nov 24, 2026 ( Pick up only ) Available: 8

$29.00

Quantity:

Dec 08, 2026 ( Pick up only ) Available: 8

$29.00

Quantity:

Dec 15, 2026 ( Pick up only ) Available: 8

$29.00

Quantity:

Dec 22, 2026 ( Pick up only ) Available: 8

$29.00

Quantity:

Swedish Flower Hen Eggs Total Available:

$8.00

Choose Date

Oct 19, 2026 Available: 5

$8.00

Quantity:

Total

00.00

Breed History

Appearance and Behavior

The breed is also well-adapted to colder temperatures.

As of 2026, our flocks only produce non-crested chicks.

Hatching Eggs

Notes

More Details

Tinted

Large

150 - 200 Eggs Per Year

Table Breed

Sweden

Cold Hardy

Year of Import: 2010

Occasionally Broody

About

Breed History

Appearance and Behavior

The breed is also well-adapted to colder temperatures.

As of 2026, our flocks only produce non-crested chicks.

Hatching Eggs

Notes

Breed Availability

= Pick up only

Oct 19, 2026

Swedish Flower Hen Eggs : 5
Swedish Flower Hen (2023 Import) Hatching Eggs : 10

Oct 20, 2026

Swedish Flower Hen Day-Old Chick Unsexed : 14

Oct 27, 2026

Swedish Flower Hen Day-Old Chick Unsexed : 12

Nov 03, 2026

Swedish Flower Hen Day-Old Chick Unsexed : 8
Swedish Flower Hen (2023 Import Line) Day-Old Chick Unsexed : 6

Nov 10, 2026

Swedish Flower Hen Day-Old Chick Unsexed : 8
Swedish Flower Hen (2023 Import Line) Day-Old Chick Unsexed : 6

Nov 17, 2026

Swedish Flower Hen Day-Old Chick Unsexed : 8
Swedish Flower Hen (2023 Import Line) Day-Old Chick Unsexed : 6

Nov 24, 2026

Swedish Flower Hen Day-Old Chick Unsexed : 8
Swedish Flower Hen (2023 Import Line) Day-Old Chick Unsexed : 6

Dec 08, 2026

Swedish Flower Hen Day-Old Chick Unsexed : 8
Swedish Flower Hen (2023 Import Line) Day-Old Chick Unsexed : 6

Dec 15, 2026

Swedish Flower Hen Day-Old Chick Unsexed : 8
Swedish Flower Hen (2023 Import Line) Day-Old Chick Unsexed : 6

Dec 22, 2026

Swedish Flower Hen Day-Old Chick Unsexed : 8
Swedish Flower Hen (2023 Import Line) Day-Old Chick Unsexed : 6

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Swedish Flower Hen

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