- Jul 25, 2009
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NORWEGIAN JÆRHØNS
A. ORIGIN:
Norwegian landrace fowl that were developped on Jæren near Stavanger (Norwegian west coast) from around 1920, which are very good egg layers of white eggs. Very hardy, very frugal and good foragers.
B. OVERALL IMPRESSION, BEHAVIOUR AND TEMPERAMENT:
Nice chicken breed of the landrace type with a quite lively temperament and not unlike the Danish Landrace Fowl in temperament and size. A primary trait in the breed is that it is autosexing in both colours.
C. BREED CHARACTERISTICS:
ROOSTER:
Body: Lightly constricted, cylindrical, seems firm and thickset.
Head: Medium sized, not too wide.
Face: Smooth; no feathers, down or wrinkles.
Eyes: Well-rounded, vivacious, reddish brown.
Beak: Quite strong and lightly curved, yellow with a slightly greyish horn colour.
Comb: Straight single comb with 4 or 5 backwards slanting not too spiky points, following the curvature of the neck.
Ear lobes: Small, slightly oblong, smooth and white.
Wattles: Medium length, well rounded.
Neck: Not too long, though slightly straight and with full feathering.
Back: Approximately horizontal, lightly curved.
Tail: High carriage, 60-70 degree angle, full and with well curved sickle feathers.
Wings: Quite strong in relation, tight, not carried too low.
Chest: Well rounded, slighty protruding.
Belly: Broad and full.
Thighs: Quite strong and well defined, without being too prominent.
Shanks: Medium to short length, quite thin, yellowwhite with grey nails (all yellow shanks is not a fawlt).
HEN:
In accordance with the above description, allowing for the natural gender differences. The tail though not carried quite so high (40-60 degree angle), carried with a good fan-shape, and quite broad control feathers.
Comb: Small and quite fine-tissued, so that it lops slightly in the back.
EGGS:
Shell colour is white.
Minimum weight for hatching eggs: 55 grams.
Weight:
Rooster: 1.75-2.00 kilograms (3.9-4.4 lbs)
Hen: 1,5-1,75 kilograms (3.3-3,9 lbs)
Band size:
Rooster: F
Hen: G
A-faults: White in the face, significantly red ear lobes.
Faults: Too light and thin in body, greenish shanks.
COLOUR VARIETIES:
DARK: brown-yellow (barred)
Autosexing.
Down colour in male chick is dark brown with a quite large diffuse neck spot.
Down colour in female chick is dark grey-brown with a small light neck spot.
PLUMAGE:
ROOSTER:
Head and neck feathers: almost white (light, with corn yellow barring in the lower parts of the feathers towards the back, shoulders and chest.
Back and saddle feathers: whitish (light) with a grey-brown-yellow colour along the shaft and golden-yellow border, which has a faint hint of blurred barring.
Tail: Control feathers white with a touch of light grey in the outer part of the feather. Side and main sickle feathers as control feathers but with a faint hint of grey-brown irregular barring in the outer part of the feather.
Wings: Wing bow - light golden yellow interspersed with some white. Wing
bar/speculum - in the visible dark grey-brown with faint distinct barring Flight feathers almost white (a slight hint of grey is not considered a significant flaw).
Chest, abdomen and thighs: Upper chest (foreneck) is almost a mixture of white (light) with a very yellowish tint, that changes into a more grey-brown-yellow at the chest, irregular barring. This barring grows stronger in colour and more distinct especially on the abdomen and thighs.
NOTE: The light feather colour in the roosters can vary quite significantly, but should still always show a certain hamony in allround impression.
HEN:
Head and neck: Yellowish with yellow-brown irregular barring that grows stronger and more distinct at chest and abdomen.
Back: Dark brown-yellow irregular barring, the barring grows more indistinct and fainter at the base of tail.
Tail: Dark brown with a lighter, though still dark brown-yellow speckling.
Wings: Wing bows and bar, with a broad dark grey-brown and yellowish white barring, that grows more indistinct and converging towards the wing bar. Flight feathers primaries grey-brown with a lighter brownish spattering. Secondaries are almost uniformly grey-brown. There can be an amount of white in the flight feathers; all white flight feathers are not considered a significant flaw.
Chest: A relatively distinct and quite broad barring of grey and light yellow-brown colouring, that subsides and becomes more grey towards abdomen, thighs and bottom down.
NOTE: The overall impression in the colouring is more even in the hen than in the rooster; the barring mentioned above is not sharply defined in any of the parts of the feathers.
A-faults: Entirely asymmetrical colouration and pattern, which is largely disturbing the overall impression. Straw colour in wing and tail feathers.
Faults: Lesser colouration and pattern flaws compared to the above.
LIGHT: yellow-brown barred
Autosexing.
Down colour in male chick is almost uniformly yellow.
Down colour in female chick is yellow with a brownish stripe down the neck and back.
PLUMAGE:
ROOSTER:
The colour pattern is approximately as given for the Dark variety, though lighter overall.
HEN:
The pattern in the feathers of the body is something between double speckled (like the East Frisian Gull / Ostfriesische Möwe) and barring. The base colour is yellow and grey-black.
Head and neck: Yellowish barring with nice gray-black speckling.
Back and base of tail: Faint light yellow with grey-black speckling/barring that becomes more defined towards base of tail and tail.
Tail: Lower steering feathers grey-black with faint brownish spattering. Outer (upper) steering feathers yellow brown with a more defined grey-black speckling.
Chest, abdomen and thigh: Foreneck yellow with indistinct barring that runs into a mixed yellow chest colour. At abdomen and behind thighs the grey down colour is more prominent.
NOTE: Colouration and pattern of the two varieties is somewhat imprecise, thus serious flaws only rarely occur. Still, a certain harmony and a certain uniformity between the individuals is required, especially uniformity i colouration and barring in the hen.
A-flaw: In colouration and pattern is practically non-existant (see note).
Flaw: Larger groups or occurences of plain coloured feathers that disturb the overall impression. Grey in wings and straw colour in tail feathers.
A. ORIGIN:
Norwegian landrace fowl that were developped on Jæren near Stavanger (Norwegian west coast) from around 1920, which are very good egg layers of white eggs. Very hardy, very frugal and good foragers.
B. OVERALL IMPRESSION, BEHAVIOUR AND TEMPERAMENT:
Nice chicken breed of the landrace type with a quite lively temperament and not unlike the Danish Landrace Fowl in temperament and size. A primary trait in the breed is that it is autosexing in both colours.
C. BREED CHARACTERISTICS:
ROOSTER:
Body: Lightly constricted, cylindrical, seems firm and thickset.
Head: Medium sized, not too wide.
Face: Smooth; no feathers, down or wrinkles.
Eyes: Well-rounded, vivacious, reddish brown.
Beak: Quite strong and lightly curved, yellow with a slightly greyish horn colour.
Comb: Straight single comb with 4 or 5 backwards slanting not too spiky points, following the curvature of the neck.
Ear lobes: Small, slightly oblong, smooth and white.
Wattles: Medium length, well rounded.
Neck: Not too long, though slightly straight and with full feathering.
Back: Approximately horizontal, lightly curved.
Tail: High carriage, 60-70 degree angle, full and with well curved sickle feathers.
Wings: Quite strong in relation, tight, not carried too low.
Chest: Well rounded, slighty protruding.
Belly: Broad and full.
Thighs: Quite strong and well defined, without being too prominent.
Shanks: Medium to short length, quite thin, yellowwhite with grey nails (all yellow shanks is not a fawlt).
HEN:
In accordance with the above description, allowing for the natural gender differences. The tail though not carried quite so high (40-60 degree angle), carried with a good fan-shape, and quite broad control feathers.
Comb: Small and quite fine-tissued, so that it lops slightly in the back.
EGGS:
Shell colour is white.
Minimum weight for hatching eggs: 55 grams.
Weight:
Rooster: 1.75-2.00 kilograms (3.9-4.4 lbs)
Hen: 1,5-1,75 kilograms (3.3-3,9 lbs)
Band size:
Rooster: F
Hen: G
A-faults: White in the face, significantly red ear lobes.
Faults: Too light and thin in body, greenish shanks.
COLOUR VARIETIES:
DARK: brown-yellow (barred)
Autosexing.
Down colour in male chick is dark brown with a quite large diffuse neck spot.
Down colour in female chick is dark grey-brown with a small light neck spot.
PLUMAGE:
ROOSTER:
Head and neck feathers: almost white (light, with corn yellow barring in the lower parts of the feathers towards the back, shoulders and chest.
Back and saddle feathers: whitish (light) with a grey-brown-yellow colour along the shaft and golden-yellow border, which has a faint hint of blurred barring.
Tail: Control feathers white with a touch of light grey in the outer part of the feather. Side and main sickle feathers as control feathers but with a faint hint of grey-brown irregular barring in the outer part of the feather.
Wings: Wing bow - light golden yellow interspersed with some white. Wing
bar/speculum - in the visible dark grey-brown with faint distinct barring Flight feathers almost white (a slight hint of grey is not considered a significant flaw).
Chest, abdomen and thighs: Upper chest (foreneck) is almost a mixture of white (light) with a very yellowish tint, that changes into a more grey-brown-yellow at the chest, irregular barring. This barring grows stronger in colour and more distinct especially on the abdomen and thighs.
NOTE: The light feather colour in the roosters can vary quite significantly, but should still always show a certain hamony in allround impression.
HEN:
Head and neck: Yellowish with yellow-brown irregular barring that grows stronger and more distinct at chest and abdomen.
Back: Dark brown-yellow irregular barring, the barring grows more indistinct and fainter at the base of tail.
Tail: Dark brown with a lighter, though still dark brown-yellow speckling.
Wings: Wing bows and bar, with a broad dark grey-brown and yellowish white barring, that grows more indistinct and converging towards the wing bar. Flight feathers primaries grey-brown with a lighter brownish spattering. Secondaries are almost uniformly grey-brown. There can be an amount of white in the flight feathers; all white flight feathers are not considered a significant flaw.
Chest: A relatively distinct and quite broad barring of grey and light yellow-brown colouring, that subsides and becomes more grey towards abdomen, thighs and bottom down.
NOTE: The overall impression in the colouring is more even in the hen than in the rooster; the barring mentioned above is not sharply defined in any of the parts of the feathers.
A-faults: Entirely asymmetrical colouration and pattern, which is largely disturbing the overall impression. Straw colour in wing and tail feathers.
Faults: Lesser colouration and pattern flaws compared to the above.
LIGHT: yellow-brown barred
Autosexing.
Down colour in male chick is almost uniformly yellow.
Down colour in female chick is yellow with a brownish stripe down the neck and back.
PLUMAGE:
ROOSTER:
The colour pattern is approximately as given for the Dark variety, though lighter overall.
HEN:
The pattern in the feathers of the body is something between double speckled (like the East Frisian Gull / Ostfriesische Möwe) and barring. The base colour is yellow and grey-black.
Head and neck: Yellowish barring with nice gray-black speckling.
Back and base of tail: Faint light yellow with grey-black speckling/barring that becomes more defined towards base of tail and tail.
Tail: Lower steering feathers grey-black with faint brownish spattering. Outer (upper) steering feathers yellow brown with a more defined grey-black speckling.
Chest, abdomen and thigh: Foreneck yellow with indistinct barring that runs into a mixed yellow chest colour. At abdomen and behind thighs the grey down colour is more prominent.
NOTE: Colouration and pattern of the two varieties is somewhat imprecise, thus serious flaws only rarely occur. Still, a certain harmony and a certain uniformity between the individuals is required, especially uniformity i colouration and barring in the hen.
A-flaw: In colouration and pattern is practically non-existant (see note).
Flaw: Larger groups or occurences of plain coloured feathers that disturb the overall impression. Grey in wings and straw colour in tail feathers.
