Gotlandshöna

Gotlandshöna, or the Gotland hen, is a Swedish landrace chicken from the island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea. It is maintained for genetic variety rather than a narrow show standard, so flocks may display many colors, patterns, comb details, and body shades while still belonging to the landrace tradition. The important identity is origin and continuity, not uniform plumage. Gotlandshöna chickens were shaped by farm conditions where adaptability, foraging, fertility, and household usefulness mattered.

Keepers value Gotlandshöna for conservation, hardy small-flock life, and the living diversity of a landrace. Management should provide secure housing, outdoor access, and enough flock size to preserve variation rather than pushing every bird toward one fashionable color. Buyers should seek stock from breeders who maintain Swedish landrace principles and can explain their source. Because landraces are easily damaged by careless crossing or over-standardization, records of origin and matings are important. The goal is a healthy, locally rooted population, not a row of identical birds.

Colors: Barred, Birchen, Black, Blue, Brown, Buff, Columbian, Crele, Cuckoo, Duckwing, Gold, Gold Laced, Laced, Lavender, Mille Fleur, Mottled, Partridge, Penciled, Porcelain, Red, Silver, Silver Laced, Spangled, Splash, Wheaten, White