Swedish Flower Hen Thread

[jeremy]

Maybe she is just a late blooming roo? Or maybe they slipped another breed accidentally into your order?

A picture would be great!

 

[daisyjack]

Quote:
could it be an american bresse?

 

[jeremy]

Probably not. They have slate blue legs, it's one of the characteristics that the breed is known for. They were also recently imported, I don't believe GF had them in the States yet this Spring.

 

[sunnyvera]

Quote:
could it be an american bresse?

Thank you for the suggestion. Maybe I was not clear enough. She/he is the correct color pattern in every way, just wrong body shape - HUGE!! I hope it is a SFH, since that is what I ordered. Jennie assured me they were. She stands taller than the roosters. When I show you a pic you will see.

 

[Phage]

Maybe she has a pituitary tumor and excess growth hormone??
I saw a similar story about another bird here on BYC who turned out to have one.

Do you have pics?

 

[crunchynut]

I'm stalking my babies tracking updates. An hour ago they were at a postal facility about 1 1/2 hours from here, so hopefully within the next hour or two I'll be getting a call from the local PO. Yeah! I hope they're all doing ok, it was pretty cold out last night and this morning.

 

[crunchynut]

They're home! And I may be developing psychic powers.

I had a dream (actually more nightmare) that my house was infested with chicks - they were literally everywhere and about the size of a large bug or baby mouse. They were so pretty and all different colors (even lime green, purple and orange!) so I tried to catch them so they wouldn't get stepped on. It was so difficult because when I'd put one chick in a box, three would pop out like trying to stuff the 'beans' back into a beanbag chair. The nightmare part was when they just kept coming and coming and were getting stuck in my hair...anyway. It was one strange dream.

I got the call to come pick them up and we started our walk to the post office. I was worried they'd end up cold on the trip (it has been below freezing at night and pretty cold for chicks during the day too) and when we were home I opened the box without the kids around just in case one didn't make it. I opened up the box and was amazed, not because any were dead, but because it was crawling with chicks! I ordered 8 and this looked like way more than that.

Counted them one by one as I added them to the brooder - 14 total! Wow! Thanks Greenfire!

Now I have to break the news to DH that our chick number has almost tripled (I already had 8 assorted breed chicks in the brooder that hatched last week from eggs we incubated)!

There are a bunch of different colors/patterns and I can't wait for my real camera to finish charging so I can get some pics of them and figure out how many of each color.

 

[Contrastphoto]

Yes they made it! 6 extra, I guess that made it a little more worth the wait. I also had extras I was afraid to tell my DH about. Now the surprises keep coming. It takes 3-4 weeks to see crest.

 

[anniesmom]

Wow, you guys are really lucky. I only got one extra - and 6 of the 9 are boys (I could tell when they got here).

Congratulations on the new babies!!!! We want pictures, of course.

 

[crunchynut]

Quote:
Oh boy! I already have a few extra roosters from my spring hatch that need new homes. Hopefully I luck out with these and have a ton of females. Also hoping extra SFH cockerels might be easier to find homes for than some other breeds - especially if they turn out really pretty.

On quick glance (and quick it must be because they haven't stopped running around the brooder yet). I've got a bunch of black with yellow chests, several brownish/tan ones, and a couple yellow. The battery for my DSLR is still charging and I'm getting impatient, though I don't know how they'll stand still long enough for me to get a decent shot - probably have to do several groups.

Here are some pics from my phone:

First opening the box

In the brooder (the older chicks from last week are hiding on the other side of the brooder away from the intruders)