Šumava Chicken

     The Šumava, or the Šumavanka, is an exceedingly rare breed of Chickens, that originated in the Bohemian forest in the Czech Republic. Unfortunately, the original fowl became extinct, and thus the breed had to be restored. To do this, local fowls that were similar in appearance to the original Šumava have been selected, and then were crossed with many other chicken breeds including; buff Plymouth Rocks, Wyandottes, New Hampshires, and Rhode Island Reds.

     The Šumava is a dual-purpose chicken breed, which is used for both eggs and meat production. It has the potential as a showy bird too, with its proud stance and beautiful plumage. The Šumava has a rose comb, red earlobes, and slate-blue legs. The bird is almost available in one color-variety; black-tailed buff. The ground color is kinda dark with some black splatter over it, (black spots are more obvious in hens).

     Šumava hens produce plenty of eggs (around 180 brown eggs per year, each weighs about 58 g), but they rarely go broody. These birds also yield meat of excellent quality, perhaps it’s due to the fact they are good foragers, and are mainly raised free-ranged. A bantam version is also available for the Šumava.