Luttehøns

An extremely rare Danish landrace chicken, the Luttehøns is one of Denmark's smallest native chicken breeds — the name roughly translates to 'little hen' in Danish dialect. Originating from small farms on the island of Lolland and the surrounding southern Danish archipelago, Luttehøns are tiny bantam-like birds though technically classified as small large fowl. They have a single comb, clean legs, and a compact, rounded body. Plumage is variable — white, brown, black, speckled, or mixed — reflecting their landrace origin where uniform colour was never a priority. Luttehøns were the traditional chicken of Danish smallholders who valued a bird that could forage for itself on minimal feed and still produce a respectable number of small tinted eggs. The breed nearly disappeared with the industrialisation of Danish agriculture after 1950 but has been rescued by Danish conservation breeders. Registered in DAD-IS and maintained by DFfR (Dansk Fjerkræ Forum) as a national heritage breed.