The 5 incredible landrace chicken breeds no one is talking about

Breeds
Written By Bri Wyzard
Landrace Swedish Flower Hens venture out into the snow.

Landrace Swedish Flower Hens venture out into the snow.

Landrace chicken breeds may be the perfect option for your flock. Although these breeds aren’t as well-known as they should be, many of them are well suited for particularly harsh environments, and many are gorgeous in appearance.

In this post, you’ll learn:

  • What landrace chicken breeds are

  • Why you may want them

  • And which type is perfect for your backyard

This post contains affiliate links for my favorite products from Amazon. As an associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

What is a landrace chicken breed?

A landrace chicken breed is a breed that developed mainly from natural selection, rather than artificial selection, in a distinct geographic area. This means these breeds developed in response to environmental conditions, such as local temperatures, humidity, and possibly inclement weather.

Whereas most chicken breeds have been developed to have a certain appearance and other qualities desired by breeders, landrace breeds simply came about because they were well-suited to their terrain. Therefore, these breeds tend to be utilitarian.

Because landrace chicken breeds are breeds that naturally developed in a limited geographic area, they developed in isolation from other breeds of chickens. This allowed them to eventually develop their own characteristics that distinguish them from other breeds.

I do want to be clear here, some artificial selection has undoubtedly occurred in landrace breeds. If farmers didn’t like their chickens for any reason—maybe they weren’t laying well enough or were too aggressive, for example—they’d kill them. But much of the selection occurring in these breeds was natural.

Additionally, many modern breeds of chickens have been developed from a mixture of landraces with other breeds, or from artificially developing one line of landrace. For example, modern-day Catalanas, Dorkings, and Sussexes were all artificially bred from older landrace breeds.

Why would you want to have a landrace breed?

Landrace chicken breeds have a lot to offer.

Landrace breeds are:

  • Hardy in certain conditions. Because landrace breeds developed naturally to fit the environments they were raised in, they are incredibly well-suited for those environments.

  • Unique in appearance. Many (although not all) landrace breeds are comprised of individuals who look very different from each other. So, if you like a lot of variety in your chickens and you like to be able to tell your individual chickens apart, some of these breeds may be great for you.

  • Historically important. Many landrace breeds developed naturally over centuries to fit a specific environment and a specific population. Today, with the demand for specialized chicken breeds, many landrace breeds are endangered, and in desperate need of conservation.

The top 5 landrace breeds you can find in the U.S.

Unfortunately, most landrace breeds aren’t available in the United States. They’re often confined to small geographic areas and aren’t well known. Many have gone extinct in the last century. However, there are 5 superb landrace breeds you can find here in the U.S.

You can see a comparison of these breeds in the table below:

Landrace Breed Category* Backyard or free range? Climate
Egyptian Fayoumi Hobby and eggs Free range Warm/hot
Icelandic Pet and eggs Free range All
Sumatra Hobby Free range Warm/hot
Swedish Black Hen Pet and eggs Free range All
Swedish Flower Hen Pet, eggs, and meat Both All

*Breeds labeled as ‘pet’ are great for beginners. Breeds labeled as ‘hobby’ aren’t recommended for beginners unless you really know what you’re getting yourself into, and you’re highly motivated to make it work.

You can learn more about all of these landrace breeds below!

#1 Egyptian Fayoumi chickens

Egyptian Fayoumi chicken facts

Origin: Egypt
Egg-laying ability: Good
Broodiness: Low for 2-3 years, then moderate-high
Meat production: Poor
Cold tolerance: Poor
Heat tolerance: Good-exceptional
Predator evasion:  Exceptional
Foraging ability: Exceptional
Toleration for confinement: Low
Temperament: Flighty, active
Aggression toward flock members: Moderate
Noise level: High

Egyptian Fayoumi egg-laying facts

Egg color: Creamy white/tinted or pink tinted
Egg size: Small
Age of lay: 4-5 months
Eggs/week: 3-5
Eggs/year: 150-250

Egyptian Fayoumis are gorgeous little black and silvery-white birds. You can see what they look like in the video slideshow below.

Bred for the dry Egyptian heat, these little chickens are no strangers to the desert climate. Do keep them away from the cold, though.

Fayoumis are well-known for being disease-resistant. For instance, they have a much higher resistance than most other breeds to the dreaded Marek’s disease.

Fayoumis are great layers of small white eggs and here’s something really unique about them. They’re not a broody breed at all during their first 2-3 years, and then after that, they tend to go broody.

Think about that! During their years of peak production, they don’t go broody—they give you an abundance of eggs. But when they’re old enough their production goes down considerably, then they go broody and give you chicks.

And those chicks will develop into great layers at an early age (4-5 months), and won’t go broody for a few years! This trait makes Fayoumis perfect for any chicken keepers who want to be self-sustainable.

One last thing about Fayoumis—these birds are part of a group of breeds I refer to as “wild child chickens.” They’re very flighty, on the edge of wild, and not recommended for small backyards or urban settings. They also may be challenging for beginners.

“The Fayoumi has remained as true to its original wild ancestors as it is possible to find. In its native country it has only ever been bred for ruggedness and egg production.”
— Frances Bassom, Chicken Breeds and Care

Below is a map that shows you where you can find Egyptian Fayoumi chickens near you:


#2 Icelandic chickens

Icelandic chicken facts

Origin: Iceland
Egg-laying ability: Moderate-good
Broodiness: Moderate-high
Meat production: Poor-moderate
Cold tolerance: Poor-exceptional (depends on comb size)
Heat tolerance: Good-exceptional
Predator evasion: Exceptional
Foraging ability: Exceptional
Toleration for confinement: Low
Temperament: Variable (but many flighty)
Aggression toward flock members: Moderate
Noise level: Moderate

Icelandic egg-laying facts

Egg color: White/tinted, cream
Egg size: Medium
Age of lay: 5-6 months
Eggs/week: 3-4
Eggs/year: 150-200

Icelandic chickens are a homesteader’s dream. These are incredibly hardy chickens, tolerating both heat and cold. However, do be aware that if your Icelandics have large single combs, they’ll need protection from frostbite—I use Sweeter Heaters in my coop for this.

Icelandic chickens are good layers (even in winter), good foragers, great at predator evasion, and broody too.

And these chickens all have unique appearances—they vary in plumage color and pattern, comb type, and crests (or lack of). You can see what Icelandic chickens look like in the video slideshow below:

One drawback of this breed is simply that they’re hard to find in the U.S. I’ve found only a couple of hatcheries who sell these chickens:

#3 Sumatra chickens

Sumatra chicken facts

Origin: Sumatra
Egg-laying ability: Poor-moderate
Meat production: Poor
Cold tolerance: Moderate-good
Heat tolerance: Good-exceptional
Predator evasion: Good-exceptional
Foraging ability: Good
Toleration for confinement: Low
Temperament: Flighty, active, some individuals aggressive
Aggression toward flock members: Moderate-high
Noise level: Moderate-high

Sumatra egg-laying facts

Egg color: White to cream white/tinted
Egg size: Small
Age of lay: 8-10+ months
Eggs/week: 1-2
Eggs/year: 50-100

Sumatra birds are a wild breed meant for the hobbyist. They’re definitely not good for the beginner.

Sumatras are stunningly beautiful with their long, black feathers that glisten blue and green in the sunlight. Roosters have gorgeous long-feathered tails.

“The Sumatra chicken is distinctive and beautiful, with long flowing curves, abundant feathering, and a rich green sheen.”
— The Livestock Conservancy

You can see what Sumatra chickens look like in the video slideshow below:

These chickens are hardy in warm climates and need a setup where they can live a close-to-wild lifestyle (like the Fayoumis, these are “wild child chickens”). This means they’ll need lots of space, good forage, and room to fly. These chickens are superb fliers and jumpers—jumping as high as 6 feet—and should never be kept in confinement.

Sumatra chickens are flighty, active, and sometimes even aggressive (again, not good for a beginner). Males can be extremely aggressive with each other, so you’ll likely need to keep them separated.

Below is a map that shows you where you can find Sumatra chickens near you:

Map Icon Key:

  • Red = Sumatras for sale

  • Orange = Sumatra and Sumatra Bantams for sale

  • Yellow = Sumatra Bantams for sale

     

Also, be aware that the American Poultry Association does have a standard of perfection for the Sumatra breed. This means that many breeders are breeding their Sumatras to fit that physical standard—and so, unfortunately, their chickens may have lost some of their landrace qualities.

#4 Swedish Black Hens or Svart Höna chickens

Swedish Black Hen (Svart Höna) chicken facts

Origin: Sweden
Egg-laying ability: Moderate
Broodiness: Moderate
Meat production: Poor
Cold tolerance: Poor-exceptional (depends on comb size)
Heat tolerance: Moderate-good
Predator evasion: Good-exceptional
Foraging ability: Good
Toleration for confinement: Low-moderate
Temperament: Friendly
Aggression toward flock members: Low
Noise level: Moderate

Swedish Black Hen (Svart Höna) egg-laying facts

Egg color: White, cream
Egg size: Small
Age of lay: 5-6 months
Eggs/week: 2-3
Eggs/year: 100-150

I’m sure you’ve heard of the Ayam Cemani breed, right? You know, the chickens who are black through-and-through. Black plumage, black feathers, black organs, black bones. Well, consider Swedish Black Hens to be the cold-hardy version of the Ayam Cemani.

You can see what these beautiful chickens look like in the video slideshow below:

Swedish Black Hens are hardier than Ayam Cemani chickens, lay more eggs, and are on the smaller side. These are good foragers and, as moderate broodies as well, these make a decent homestead breed. They’re also friendly and make a good backyard bird if you have a large amount of space for them.

Although Swedish Black Hens tolerate cold well (thanks to being developed in Swedish winters), individuals with large combs are still susceptible to frostbite. Definitely consider installing Sweeter Heaters to prevent this.

What about Swedish Black roosters? They’re also called Swedish Black Hens.

Below is a map that shows you where you can find Swedish Black Hen chickens near you:

#5 Swedish Flower Hens

Swedish Flower Hen egg-laying facts

Origin: Sweden
Egg-laying ability: Good
Meat production: Moderate-good
Cold tolerance: Poor-good (depends on comb size)
Heat tolerance: Moderate-good
Predator evasion: Good
Foraging ability: Good
Toleration for confinement: Good
Temperament: Docile
Aggression toward flock members: Low
Noise level: Moderate

Swedish Flower Hen egg-laying facts

Egg color: White, creamy white/tinted, brown
Egg size: Large
Age of lay: 6 months
Eggs/week: 3-4
Eggs/year: 150-200

Another Swedish landrace breed, Swedish Flower Hens are one of my favorites. These chickens come in so many different colors, and some are crested, some not. You never know what your chicks are going to look like until they hatch. The only thing you can be certain about is they’ll have spots—or “flowers.” I just love the variability on these!

You can see what Swedish Flower Hens look like in the video slideshow below:

Swedish Flower Hens are also incredibly versatile birds—great for backyards and homesteads. They’re good layers, good foragers, and they have sweet and docile personalities. They get along well with other breeds of chickens too.

It’s hard to go wrong with this breed. As with most breeds, they’ll need help staying cool in hot summers. And as with all single comb breeds, larger-combed individuals are at risk of frostbite. Sweeter Heaters will be much appreciated!

Roosters in this breed are also referred to as “Swedish Flower Hens.”

Below is a map that shows you where you can find Swedish Flower Hen chickens near you:

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Sources

Bri Wyzard
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