Hedemora Thread

[snowpetals907]

Ventilation is definitely important but I think that wind chill was the reason my birds got frostbite. I refuse to leave my birds in the coop all day so it's a risk I'm willing to take. We had a week of - 20 winds, after that all my roosters suffered some severe frostbite. I just wish hedemora had pea combs! Btw your hen is gorgeous dentaku

 

[Dentaku]

Wind chill might definitely be a reason as well. I'm glad i have a big coop since my flock won't go out if there's too much snow on the ground. If there's just a little i'll put fir twigs out and clear the snow away from some of the space but now it's just not doable. There's heaps of it and it just keeps on snowing.

We've actually discussed the combs of old Swedish breeds on a Swedish forum and the fact that all of them have single combs despite their hardiness in other areas. The explanation is simply that no genes for other types of combs were prevalent in Sweden in those days and even though frostbites might cause the specific animal some pain it's not lethal and probably wasn't taken into consideration when breeding.

Btw, another native breed worthy of preservation has been found in Sweden! This one has it's roots even further up north than the Hedemora and is called Bjurholmshöna. It has been isolated for 120 years on a small farm close to the town of Umeå in northern Sweden. There's an article here: http://www.kackel.se//files/tidningen/Bjurholmshonsen.pdf (in Swedish) with pictures.

 

[snowpetals907]

That's awesome!!! Thanks for sharing

 

[Dahlisgrams]

Wind chill might definitely be a reason as well. I'm glad i have a big coop since my flock won't go out if there's too much snow on the ground. If there's just a little i'll put fir twigs out and clear the snow away from some of the space but now it's just not doable. There's heaps of it and it just keeps on snowing.

We've actually discussed the combs of old Swedish breeds on a Swedish forum and the fact that all of them have single combs despite their hardiness in other areas. The explanation is simply that no genes for other types of combs were prevalent in Sweden in those days and even though frostbites might cause the specific animal some pain it's not lethal and probably wasn't taken into consideration when breeding.

Btw, another native breed worthy of preservation has been found in Sweden! This one has it's roots even further up north than the Hedemora and is called Bjurholmshöna. It has been isolated for 120 years on a small farm close to the town of Umeå in northern Sweden. There's an article here: http://www.kackel.se//files/tidningen/Bjurholmshonsen.pdf (in Swedish) with pictures.

Thanks very much for sharing the link.

 

[Dentaku]

I ran the link in Google translate and it worked pretty well if anybody is interested in reading about the Bjurholm hen(i can definitely recommend it). Of course the automatically text contains errors - some funny, some just weird - but it shouldn't be too hard understanding most of it.

http://translate.google.se/translat...ackel.se//files/tidningen/Bjurholmshonsen.pdf

 

[Dahlisgrams]

I ran the link in Google translate and it worked pretty well if anybody is interested in reading about the Bjurholm hen(i can definitely recommend it). Of course the automatically text contains errors - some funny, some just weird - but it shouldn't be too hard understanding most of it.

http://translate.google.se/translat...ackel.se//files/tidningen/Bjurholmshonsen.pdf

Some errors but a wonderful read. I only wish the photos had not been lost. Lots of similarities here. Thank you for sharing!

Question regarding Hedemora. Is there a particular ratio of cocks to hens that is best? Is there a traditional number, does anyone know?

 

[Dentaku]

The Gene bank recommends no less than 3 hens/cock and experienced breeder's advice is to either have one cock or 3<. Those who have 3 cocks or more usually have about 20 or so hens, not to prevent the cocks from fighting as much as sparing the hens...

I don't know if there's a traditional number though.

 

[Dahlisgrams]

The Gene bank recommends no less than 3 hens/cock and experienced breeder's advice is to either have one cock or 3<. Those who have 3 cocks or more usually have about 20 or so hens, not to prevent the cocks from fighting as much as sparing the hens...

I don't know if there's a traditional number though.

Thanks very much for the information.. looks like I need a few more hens to go with the cocks. I'll keep them separated once they're a bit older but seem fine for now. Hatching eggs are proving very difficult to find. There are sometimes ebay auctions selling them but none of the sellers are offering any at present. I'm still searching if anyone knows of anyone selling them. Shipping eggs in the winter is tricky though. I haven't had great hatch rates with winter eggs but still willing to try. Hoping to be finished hatching by late spring to make summer housing simpler. We're really enjoying the Hedemoras.

 

[VioletBlueIvy]

Here are some pictures of my hedemora. I had to dub my rooster as he had horrible frostbite. I guess that is the only reason I think chantecler are superior winter-wise Poor little dubbed man! He's fine, though. He's the calmest, sweetest rooster I've ever had. Maybe one of the loudest crows I've heard, also.

e Catching my breath!

 

[gadgetgrl]

At what age will I be able to sex my Hedemora chick?