Chicken Breed Focus - Swedish Flower Hen

[FlyingNunFarm]

Someone described them as Avian Snowflakes. I love that!

 

[FlyingNunFarm]

8 weeks!

 

[FlyingNunFarm]

So once again chickens have made a liar out of me.
This was taken at 11 weeks old. One of the first to hatch she was always on the larger side.

These were the confirmed boys at 12 weeks. Definitely a difference.


Yep she is a he! At 13 weeks someone showed their saddle feathers.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

So once again chickens have made a liar out of me.
View attachment 1104232 This was taken at 11 weeks old. One of the first to hatch she was always on the larger side.

View attachment 1104234 These were the confirmed boys at 12 weeks. Definitely a difference.

View attachment 1104233
Yep she is a he! At 13 weeks someone showed their saddle feathers.

OUCH!

That late of a bloomer is a deal breaker for breeding for me... especially in this breed when they are often well identifiable gender wise by 6-8 weeks.

Thanks for sharing, I love updates. So what was your count for boys/girls?

 

[FlyingNunFarm]

I couldn't believe it! One of the others who I think is a boy isn't showing saddle feathers. I keep telling him he could always lay eggs! I won't hold my breath.

I hatched 7 (out of 9 set) and now have 3 boys and 3 girls. I lost one I suspect to cocci. Was treating it then DBF pointed out I wasn't giving the right amount of Corid. Not sure how many times I screwed it up.

Too many boys was why I didn't want to hatch. I'm a softy and don't cull for no reason. Being a boy isn't a good enough reason for me.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I couldn't believe it! One of the others who I think is a boy isn't showing saddle feathers. I keep telling him he could always lay eggs! I won't hold my breath.

I hatched 7 (out of 9 set) and now have 3 boys and 3 girls. I lost one I suspect to cocci. Was treating it then DBF pointed out I wasn't giving the right amount of Corid. Not sure how many times I screwed it up.

Too many boys was why I didn't want to hatch. I'm a softy and don't cull for no reason. Being a boy isn't a good enough reason for me.

Being a boy isn't a good enough reason alone to cull. But not having to feed an EXTRA boy, that I don't have room for, doesn't fit my breeding program, or could otherwise be feeding my family is good enough reason for me along with other behavioral/health issues. Plus knowing that's one more bird that I didn't buy from Big Chicken gives me the satisfaction of knowing EVERY boy we cull had a lot of really great days and one not so great but it was over quick. Helps to keep going. But YES, I have started looking for someone to process for us. We can do, we do, we don't like it. It's a job. And like you say... the DOWN side of hatching with a soft heart!

Sorry for your loss. Corid acts as a thiamine blocker. It's possible your messed up dose could have caused the death or cocci. That label seems really hard to translate sometimes along with then getting the measurements right. Seriously, experience is the mother of all teachers... and I bet you get it figured out next time. We all make mistakes and learn (hopefully), do don't be too hard on yourself about it.

Speaking of too many boys, I was wondering how it goes in the wild..

 

[Windy's Feathered Friends]

I
I lost one I suspect to cocci. Was treating it then DBF pointed out I wasn't giving the right amount of Corid. Not sure how many times I screwed it up.

(What is the right dosage and how do you dose corid?)

What type of chicks are they?

Too many boys was why I didn't want to hatch. I'm a softy and don't cull for no reason. Being a boy isn't a good enough reason for me.

 

[FlyingNunFarm]

Being a boy isn't a good enough reason alone to cull. But not having to feed an EXTRA boy, that I don't have room for, doesn't fit my breeding program, or could otherwise be feeding my family is good enough reason for me along with other behavioral/health issues. Plus knowing that's one more bird that I didn't buy from Big Chicken gives me the satisfaction of knowing EVERY boy we cull had a lot of really great days and one not so great but it was over quick. Helps to keep going. But YES, I have started looking for someone to process for us. We can do, we do, we don't like it. It's a job. And like you say... the DOWN side of hatching with a soft heart!

Sorry for your loss. Corid acts as a thiamine blocker. It's possible your messed up dose could have caused the death or cocci. That label seems really hard to translate sometimes along with then getting the measurements right. Seriously, experience is the mother of all teachers... and I bet you get it figured out next time. We all make mistakes and learn (hopefully), do don't be too hard on yourself about it.

Speaking of too many boys, I was wondering how it goes in the wild..

I said they can all stay till I see how they interact with the girls. If someone is an abusive jerk he has to go. They all look so different so I could pick based on that. There are so many free roosters up for grabs I doubt I would get rid of them to someone not wanting dinner.

Maybe a good reason for a few more girls. I think in the wild the boys would form their own bachelor flock. Safety in numbers but without the drama of fighting over girls. I even considered housing them separately.... again I'm a softy.

 

[emily88]

How do you mark your chicks so you can tell the difference?

 

[FlyingNunFarm]

When they were young it was much more difficult. I sometimes had to have the 2 that looked alike close together to tell the difference.
You can see the 2 on the left that look similar in body have a different "mohawk" of color on their head. 2 others that were similar in body appearance had different beak colors. One has a yellow beak the other a brown.

Now that they are older it is much easier. I only have 6 to tell apart though. If their were more I don't know if I could.

You could always mark them with small zip ties. Or numbered bird bands. As long as it's not tight on their leg they don't seem to notice. (side note...zip ties will fade with time)