This is a traditional hardy breed that has knowingly been in western Sweden and in Norway since the mid 1800's. It's history before that is somewhat obscure but they are thought to have arrived to Europe from Mozambique with early sailors and thereafter made their way to Scandinavia where they adapted themselves to the climate. They take little notice of bad or cold weather. They are calm and friendly but very alert and good flyers. Ours weigh 1,5 - 3kg, are very good sitters and lay around 3 eggs each a week. Their most striking feature is how black they are. Roosters combs are a deep mullberry, their skin, bones and meat is very dark to black.
I only cage and separate the hens for breeding in early spring. I then keep the best hens with the best rooster for a couple of weeks before saving the eggs to ensure the right genes are passed on. I also never breed from young hens as I want to be sure that I only breed from strong hens that have lived through our harsh winters. In autumn I cull excess roosters as having more than one to every five hens is cruel to the hens. They get constantly gang raped loosing feathers and lay less eggs and some don’t even come down from their perches to eat.
Anyway, I skin the young roosters and the dark meat in combination with a wild bird taste and texture prepared in a slowcooker is a recipe to a great supper.
Hagström's Vader
We used to keep two separate free range groups. The one group lived very happily with our Forest Sheep and would sometimes even ride on their backs. We now no longer have the sheep and have all the chickens in one large group which even includes some New Hampshire chickens, a great combination breed, lots of eggs and good for eating. I also bought a couple of turkeys after I started having problems with a hawk. In theory the hawk will see the turkey which is much bigger than him and think that the chickens are under protection. It seems to work as we haven’t lost a chicken since the turkeys arrived. They get on well with chickens and share perches with them.
My son Ivo with Tuppe (RIP) A New Hampshire rooster
The main man
Our Forest Sheep
My daughter with friends
Instead of the Forest Sheep we now have Geese, pure Skåne Gås a large old breed common to the southern region. They are great lawnmowers and much easier to look after than sheep. We have one male and four females year round and sell the offspring in autumn.
Close enough..
Baby geese under watchful eyes
