The Jærhøns or Norske Jærhøns is the only indigenous
breed of domestic
chicken
The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adu ...
in
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
. It is named for the
traditional district of
Jæren
Jæren is a Districts of Norway, traditional district in Rogaland county, Norway. The other districts in Rogaland are Dalane, Ryfylke, and Haugalandet. Jæren is one of the 15 districts that comprise Western Norway.
At about , Jæren is the large ...
in the county of
Rogaland.
History
The Jærhøns was the principal chicken breed of Norway until imports of foreign breeds began in the nineteenth century. The Jærhøns was
selectively bred
Selective breeding (also called artificial selection) is the process by which humans use animal breeding and plant breeding to selectively develop particular phenotypic traits (characteristics) by choosing which typically animal or plant m ...
at the state-controlled breeding station at
Bryne
Bryne () is a town in Time municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The city is the administrative centre of the municipality of Time and it is also one of the 50 largest towns/cities in Norway. Bryne's location in the region of Stavanger/Sand ...
in
Jæren
Jæren is a Districts of Norway, traditional district in Rogaland county, Norway. The other districts in Rogaland are Dalane, Ryfylke, and Haugalandet. Jæren is one of the 15 districts that comprise Western Norway.
At about , Jæren is the large ...
from its establishment in 1916 until it closed in 1973. Breeding stock was then transferred to the state agricultural college at
Hvam, Nes. Following work done in the first half of the twentieth century, the Jærhøns is
auto-sexing
Auto-sexing breeds of poultry are those in which the sex of newly-hatched chicks can be determined from the colour and markings of the down. Some breeds of chicken, of goose and of domestic pigeon have this characteristic. The idea of such a b ...
.
The Jærhøns was listed as a "conservation-worthy national breed" by the
Norwegian Forest and Landscape Institute in its 2008–2010 action plan for the conservation and sustainable use of animal genetic resources in Norway.
Characteristics
Two
colour varieties are recognised for the Jærhøns, dark brown and yellow, and light brown and yellow. The comb is single, and the beak and legs are bright yellow.
A bantam Jærhøns with the same two colour varieties was approved in 1994.
Use
The Jærhøns lays approximately 215 eggs per year, about 20% less than industrial purpose-bred layers. The eggs are white, and weigh a minimum of
References
Further reading
* T. Twito, S. Weigend, S. Bluma, Z. Granevitzea, M.W. Feldmand, R. Perl-Trevese, U. Lavib, J. Hillela (2007)
Biodiversity of 20 chicken breeds assessed by SNPs located in gene regions ''Cytogenetic and Genome Research'' 117: 319–326.
* Nina Sæther, Anna Rehnberg (2016)
Norsk Genressurssenters Handlingsplan for Bevaringsverdige Husdyrraser 2016-2019(in Norwegian). Norsk institutt for skog og landskap.
*Nina Sæther, Alvilde Hovden, Peer Berg, Jessica Kathle, Cathrine Brekke, Linn F. Groeneveld (2018)
Strategiplan for Genbanken for verpehøns 2018-2027 NIBIO.
*Nina Sæther (2017)
Jærhøns(in Norwegian). Norwegian Genetic Resource Centre.
* Cathrine Brekke, Linn F. Groeneveld, T. H. E. Meuwissen, Nina Sæther, S. Weigend, P. Berg. (2020
Assessing the Genetic Diversity Conserved in the Norwegian Live Poultry Genebank ''Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica'', Section A — Animal Science, February. Taylor & Francis, 1–13. .
Chicken breeds
Chicken breeds originating in Norway
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