Ölandshöna

A Swedish landrace chicken from the island of Öland in the Baltic Sea, a narrow, limestone-rich island off Sweden's southeast coast with a unique alvar grassland ecosystem found nowhere else in the world. The Ölandshöna is a medium-sized, exceptionally hardy bird with a single comb and clean legs, evolved over centuries in Öland's sparse, windswept landscape where trees are rare and the ground is mostly bare limestone pavement. Its plumage is variable — commonly white, black, grey, or speckled — and its body is lean, active, and built for constant foraging. Ölandshönas are among the hardiest of all Swedish landrace chickens, capable of surviving outdoors in conditions that would kill less robust breeds. Rediscovered in the late 20th century and stabilised through the Swedish gene bank, the Ölandshöna is registered in DAD-IS and recognised by the Scandinavian Poultry Standard as a valuable conservation breed.