Norwegian Jaerhon

[CelticMoon1]

Quote:
Do you read Norwegian? I can give you a link for a Norwegian forum where there's a lot of discussion on Norwegian jærhøns..

 

[JaerhonChanteclerEuskies]

I have them they are a great breed almost bantan yet they lay large eggs very active but they can lay them selves out by laying too much.

 

[clatsopduck]

I can read a fair amount of Norwegian - do you still have that link? (I'll report back what I find.)

 

[clatsopduck]

One thing I notice is that this bird is from Stavanger - as a coastal town, it is much milder than the rest of Norway. All the pictures I've seen so far show a single comb,so it might still be a bit prone to ice and snow, I don't know. However, as a very good egg layer (from what I'm hearing), I would expect that it might lay later into the year than other breeds.

 

[clatsopduck]

According to the Norwegian Wikipedia, the Jærhøne begins laying at about 5 months of age and produces about 160 eggs per year, so good, but not comparable to the Leghorn, for example. The eggs weigh 55g - not sure how that compares to other breeds.

Apparently, there are actually two varieties - one light (lyse) and one dark (mørke). The dark color is dominant.
The light one has light brown hackle/neck and head. The dark one seems to have pencilled and/or spangled feathers (varying shades of gray). The light variety lays white eggs, the dark variety lays cream-colored eggs.

There also seem to be two sizes - a large (don't know how big yet) fowl and a bantam. The large one seems to be more nervous and less broody than the banty version. http://www.ostfold-rasefjerfeklubb.com/22339003 (All in Norwegian - might look at it more tomorrow.)

This breed forages well, but benefit from supplementation - even in the warmer months. They are not broody. They fly easily - roosting 6 or more feet off the ground.

I hope this helps.

 

[Vcomb]

does anyone have some young pairs or adults of the Norwegians they'd be willing to sell? I've a friend who is looking for some to replace the ones his girlfriend lost. Thanks!

 

[clatsopduck]

That "his GIRLFRIEND lost"??? sounds like an interesting story.

Anyway, to continue from yesterday, the large fowl version of this breed (still don't know the size) was only developed in the 80s in Østfold (the Norwegian "state" where this breed originates) by Trond Hansen and Johan Viker using hens from Jæren and some gene bank stock (I'm slightly unclear what exactly that is in this case...) and managed to create a large fowl with the correct coloring and conformation.
Johan continued working to make a good bantam variety which was accepted to their standard in 1994.

I do use Google Translate to assist me, but I'm really glad I don't have to rely on it completely - as it's often very confusing!

 

[Vcomb]

Quote:
I don't know the specifics, all I know is she got some and lost them one way or another through predation (got out, or something got in, not sure) and he is looking to replace them for her.

 

[clatsopduck]

Everything likes chicken. Hope you find some.

 

[becky3086]

I just hatched 2 chicks and on feathersite it says that you can sex the day old chicks by color. They even give an example but I don't see the difference. Are the females lighter?