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Although almost extinct, the Shetland Hen is one of the most fascinating and intriguing landrace chickens in the world.
| Item | 1+ | Quantity |
|---|---|---|
| Shetland Hen Day-Old Chick Unsexed | 59.00 | |
| Shetland Hen Eggs | 13.00 | Sold Out |
| Shetland Hen (2023 Import Line) Unsexed Day-Old Chick Unsexed | 59.00 | |
| Shetland Hatching Eggs (2023 Import Line) | 13.00 | Sold Out |
Our intrepid Greenfire Farms staff visited Scotland, and we were able to locate and procure a breeding flock of Shetland Hens, one of the rarest and most interesting poultry landraces on the planet. Scotland, a place of wild and raw beauty, provided the perfect testing ground to produce some of the most amazing livestock in the world. Now, we’re privileged to introduce this ancient Scottish chicken to the United States.
The Shetland Hen is a vanishing landrace of chickens that hails from the windswept isles of Scotland. Shetland Hens trace their origins to Spanish galleons that ran aground in Scotland almost 500 years ago. Some of these boats carried chickens with exotic genetics including the blue-egg gene that originated in South America. These Spanish birds bred with the local Scottish chickens and produced a wonderful race of birds now lauded for their unique traits including the tappit, or tufted, head feathering. These birds are listed on the Slow Food Ark of Taste as a breed critically in need of preservation. We don’t have a large breeding flock of Shetland Hens, and we think demand for these birds will be high, so if you want to own some of these remarkable birds now is the time to place your order. Hens will produce blue and/or green eggs. We've noticed that our flock produces more green eggs than blue but we do get both colors.
In 2023, Greenfire Farms successfully imported an unrelated bloodline from the U.K. Starting in 2025 we will begin offering chicks and eggs from this new line. Availability will be extremely limited. We are working to grow the flock size but we weren't able to make as much progress on that in 2024 as we hoped. This new line produces more light colored offspring, which is a huge benefit to the Shetland Hen gene pool here in the U.S. as our flock produces mostly dark offspring. This new line will be sold separately from our other line and will have "2023 Import Line" added into the name so you can distinguish the two. Please contact us today to be added to our waitlist for chicks from this newest line.
The Shetland Hen is a vanishing landrace of chickens that hails from the windswept isles of Scotland. Shetland Hens trace their origins to Spanish galleons that ran aground in Scotland almost 500 years ago. Some of these boats carried chickens with exotic genetics including the blue-egg gene that originated in South America. These Spanish birds bred with the local Scottish chickens and produced a wonderful race of birds now lauded for their unique traits including the tappit, or tufted, head feathering. These birds are listed on the Slow Food Ark of Taste as a breed critically in need of preservation. We don’t have a large breeding flock of Shetland Hens, and we think demand for these birds will be high, so if you want to own some of these remarkable birds now is the time to place your order. Hens will produce blue and/or green eggs. We've noticed that our flock produces more green eggs than blue but we do get both colors.
In 2023, Greenfire Farms successfully imported an unrelated bloodline from the U.K. Starting in 2025 we will begin offering chicks and eggs from this new line. Availability will be extremely limited. We are working to grow the flock size but we weren't able to make as much progress on that in 2024 as we hoped. This new line produces more light colored offspring, which is a huge benefit to the Shetland Hen gene pool here in the U.S. as our flock produces mostly dark offspring. This new line will be sold separately from our other line and will have "2023 Import Line" added into the name so you can distinguish the two. Please contact us today to be added to our waitlist for chicks from this newest line.
| Egg Color | green |
| Egg Size | Medium |
| Table Breeds | Yes |
| Country of Origin | UK |
| Cold tolerant | Yes |
| Year of import(s) | 2018 |
| Landrace | Yes |
| Great for beginners | No |
| Free-range ability | No |
| Broodiness | Not often to never |
| Ideal Rooster-to-hen Ratio | Average, 1:10 |
| Auto-sexing | No |
