Svarthöna

Svarthöna, Bohuslän-Dals svarthöna, or Swedish Black Rooster, Hen or Chicken is a Swedish landrace of domestic chicken that is considered to have originated from Ayam Cemani / Kadaknath breeds of chickens transported from Mozambique to Norway by sailors sometime in the 17th century.

The Svarthöna has since adapted to a northerly climate, but has retained the rare quality of black skin and connective tissue.

All Swedish entries in gene banks can be traced to a group of chickens that came to Sweden around the turn of the 19th century.

The Swedish Association for Landrace Breeds[1] has preserved the Svarthöna in a gene bank since 1991.

The black pigmentation found in skin and connective tissue has been shown to be caused by a variant of the gene EDN3,[2] a trait shared with the Chinese Silkie, Indonesian Ayam Cemani, and Vietnamese Black H'Mong.