Shetland Hens​

The Shetland Hens​ is a small to medium-sized landrace breed known for its distinctive crest, clean legs, and naturally varied plumage patterns. Their most recognizable feature is the prominent crest, which can become quite full and dramatic. In some birds, the crest feathers may grow large enough to obstruct vision, so occasional trimming can help improve visibility and make foraging and navigation easier.

Active, hardy, and highly self-sufficient, Shetland Hens are exceptional foragers that thrive in free-range environments. They spend much of the day searching for insects, seeds, and greens, making them an excellent choice for sustainable homesteads! Roosters are especially attentive flock guardians, often keeping a watchful eye on their hens while guiding them to food sources and sounding alarms when danger is near.

Shetland Hens are dependable layers of stunning green to blue eggs, typically producing around 150 to 200 eggs per year. True to their independent and somewhat whimsical nature, our hens often prefer laying their eggs in carefully chosen spots around their coop rather than neatly inside nest boxes, adding a bit of daily treasure hunting for their keepers. Shetland Hen ladies do not tend to go broody. Hens generally weigh between 3.5 and 5 pounds, while roosters mature to a slightly larger 4.5 to 6 pounds, giving the breed a compact yet hardy build well-suited for active outdoor living.

Shetland Hen Eggs​

We incubate shetland hen eggs​ at 99.5F and 55% humidity. The Shetland Hen generally hatch reliably, with around 80% of eggs in our hatcher successfully hatching right on schedule (day 21).