About

Every nation seems to harbor its share of backyard biologists and mad monks who are irresistibly drawn to tinker with the chicken genome in the quest for a more perfect bird. Sweden is no exception, and its monk –almost literally in this case—was Martin Silverudd, a priest who in the tradition of Gregor Mendel before him plumbed the depths of genetics and created a number of chicken breeds in the 1900s.

To an astonishing degree Silverudd was successful in his quest and along the way created breeding protocols that would later be studied and adopted by sophisticated university geneticists and animal scientists. But, perhaps his greatest achievement was the creation of the Silverudd's Blue, a breed as practical as it is beautiful. This breed was once mistakenly named the Isbar (pronounced Ice-bar) however this naming was incorrect as the Isbar was actually a breed that was created about 20 years before the creation of the Silverudd's Blue. Martin Silverudd died before the breed was completely finished and confusion about what the breed was called was corrected by the Swedish Cultural Hen Association. The breed was officially named Silverudd's Blue in 2016, to pay homage to Martin Silverudd.

Father Silverudd created a number of fancifully named breeds including the 55 Flowery Hen, Queen Silvia, the Molilja, and, of course, the Silverudd's Blue. (Greenfire Farms has also imported the 55 Flowery Hen and Queen Silvia, although we no longer have Queen Silvia at our farm.)

There are three main colors of Silverudd's Blue: black, blue, and splash. Simply put, if the birds lack a blue gene they are black, if they have one copy they are blue, and if they have two copies of the blue gene they are splash. Roosters of the Silverudd's Blue have shimmering metallic hackles.

Greenfire Farms first imported this breed from Sweden in 2011. Our Silverudd's Blue were fertile and produced many chicks, but we believe the birds were closely related and showed some signs of a suppressed immune system that could be linked to inbreeding depression. In 2013, we imported Silverudd's Blue from unrelated flocks. These birds should allow breeders to mitigate the effects of inbreeding in their flocks.

These cold-hardy birds are thrifty foragers that will produce 200-250 green eggs a year. We often let our Silverudd's Blue forage on pasture, and they are alert for predators but calm with people. The eggs vary in shade of green from dark olive to lighter moss green. Some eggs also have small brown speckles against a green background, and many chicken aficionados think Silverudd's Blue eggs are the most beautiful of any egg. Whether speckled or pure green, the Silverudd's Blue eggs are as fantastic and exotic as the birds themselves.

Since our flock is comprised of all three colors (blue, black, and splash) and we will do our best to include a variety of chick colors in your order.