Chicken Breed Focus - Hedemora

[Couchmo]

Hi!

I have a small flock of Hedemora! Hatched out 18 eggs in May. Super beautiful and really friendly A little video of my daughter feeding them pumpkin!

Welcome to BYC! Thanks for showing us your adorable daughter and beautiful chickens! Please tell us a little about yourself and your flock? ;-)

 

[Liilu]

Thank you! We live in Sweden, Ockelbo. I birrowed some Hedemora chickens from the local farm here last year and decided to have some of my own. We hatched out 18 eggs or so. Sadly a fox took the very ones I was going to keep so I bought 3 more hens and kept the cockeral. The rest I gave away to friends and others. I'm keeping my eye out for a nice ullhöna (silkie feathered hen) to add to our little flock. There is a great facebook page (though in Swedish) called Hedemorahöns with lots of info and pictures etc of Swedish people's Hedemora chickens.

How did you get Hedemora chickens all the way over there in America?

 

[Liilu]

I have friends here in Sweden who keep their Hedemora birds in a barn overnight with no heating. The temperatures up here are often down to -20. They have told me that they just need to make sure the water doesn't freeze. I have an insulated play house with a heat lamp that I'm planning to put on if it gets below 0 or -5. I have one silkie chicken that I'm guessing is not as cold hardy.

I haven't managed to get any of them to sit on my knee yet but if we go out into the garden and shout for Kristoff (the rooster) he crows and comes to find us. Once they see us, they run or even fly over to us. They are really beautiful - everyone seems to love the black combed ones and the silkie feathered ones.

There are genebank chickens where you must have a certificate and I guess they are registered here too. Those apparently can't be hatched by eggs, they are naturally bred only. I don't have anyof those... yet.

 

[N F C]

@Liilu that's a beautiful rooster!

 

[mothernaturesdaughter]

They can die or go downhill after about a week or less of being exposed to 90 degree temperatures. Ugh the thought of that makes me sad. We sometimes see those temperatures here but we have dense woods where they dig and sit in holes to keep cool and we run a small fan in their coop at night which, works very well for them.

I believe silkies or anything that carries the silkie generally is believed to be prone to Mareks disease.

 

[Couchmo]

Well, I'm pretty well settled in my new home here in SE Missouri and I'm lovin' it! Now, I just need to populate my backyard with some chickens! I REALLY want a small flock of Hedemoras. Do any of you have any to sell or can you refer me to someone who might? I don't have an incubator yet but if absolutely necessary, I will buy one if only hatching eggs are available. Thanks in advance. ;-)

 

[amila]

I'm in central ms and have got these in me incabator at present.. I was told they do good in south Florida so I figured they'd do good here ??? Wyt..

 

[mothernaturesdaughter]

They are known to drop over dead in temps of 90+. They have more down than any other breed and suffer in the heat. They do best in zones 2 to 4 and 5 as long as they are artificially cooled in the hot months or mine (zone 5) have dense woods where they go out and dig holes to keep cool and have fans in their runs and coops. I have had to clip my hedemoras underside in over hot summers and bring some inside, I guess I could let them stick it out and maybe lose a few but, why have an animal if you cant give it the care they need or they are going to suffer. I am very sorry someone has steered you wrong and I am sorry for their Hedemoras if they think they do fine in Fl. I also dont recommend they be kept in extreme cold temperatures without adequate shelter and wind breakers as they only weigh about 5 pounds which is slightly larger than a bantam.

 

[Olina]

Does anyone know where I can purchase Hedomora hatching eggs or chicks in Washington state?

 

[IveGoneQuacky]

I just got my first two today. I can't wait to see how they turn out