Safely breeding crested Swedish Flower

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Hmm, that may be a problem as I do not have an incubator and plan on using a broody duck to hatch them. My older hens' eggs do have thinner shells. How can you tell if an egg is more porous? Is there a way to tell if the shell will be strong enough before incubating?

You can see porousness in the form of lighter spots in the shell when candling an egg. Sometimes it doesn't show up for a day or two after the egg is laid, but should show up if it's going to after that point. I would definitely not set any eggs that are overly porous under a broody hen! Thinner shells might be tricky as well if your duck is very large or clumsy on the nest.

I can go see if I have a porous egg I can grab a picture of to show you real quick here. No guarantees because eggs are few and far between here these days and most of them I'm getting are from point of lay pullets

 

[StinkyAcres]

You can see porousness in the form of lighter spots in the shell when candling an egg. Sometimes it doesn't show up for a day or two after the egg is laid, but should show up if it's going to after that point. I would definitely not set any eggs that are overly porous under a broody hen! Thinner shells might be tricky as well if your duck is very large or clumsy on the nest.

I can go see if I have a porous egg I can grab a picture of to show you real quick here. No guarantees because eggs are few and far between here these days and most of them I'm getting are from point of lay pullets

Got it, thank you so much! Yes, my duck is very large and very clumsy, so probably not the best idea, huh? Hatching eggs is very new to me so all this is very good to know.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

This is how a porous egg appears being candled. The lighter spots are where the shell is excessively thin and can let out too much moisture or allow bacteria to enter over the course of the incubation period. If I were collecting to incubate, I might consider setting this one in an incubator if I didn't have any better eggs to set, but probably would not set it under a hen. Much more of this spotting and I wouldn't even bother to put it in an incubator. I have set eggs with fewer porous spots than this under hens without issue, however.

 

[StinkyAcres]

This is how a porous egg appears being candled. The lighter spots are where the shell is excessively thin and can let out too much moisture or allow bacteria to enter over the course of the incubation period. If I were collecting to incubate, I might consider setting this one in an incubator if I didn't have any better eggs to set, but probably would not set it under a hen. Much more of this spotting and I wouldn't even bother to put it in an incubator. I have set eggs with fewer porous spots than this under hens without issue, however.

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Very helpful, thank you!!

 

[Perris]

My cockerel is a Swedish Flower and he is crested. I know breeding crested to crested is not advisable.

I have had and been breeding (for myself, not for sale) crested SFH since 2018. There have been no vaulted skulls or any other issues, including with their vision, and they have evaded predators from dawn till dusk 24/7 for (so far) 8 years. The only bird in my flock that needs a crest trim after moulting is an Araucana.

Some people without experience of crested birds in general or Swedish Flowers in particular are happy to repeat/ assert what they find by googling, even though they don't actually know if it is true or not. You choose whose advice to follow.

Also, one of the hens is nearly 9 years old - could this cause any problems?

My oldest hens are 8. Neither lay thin-shelled eggs. Hens of any age suffering with illness may lay thin-shelled eggs while they're symptomatic; endemic and ubiquitous Mycoplasma Synoviae is a classic cause of such issues.

I set one of one of the 8-yr old's eggs in summer 2024, when she was 7. As that was the Araucana, and she's the only one in the flock to lay blue eggs, there is no possibility of confusion that it was her egg set and hatched, nor, because it's the only one with beard and muff, that this is the bird that grew out of it: the roo crowing

Crests are not a health hazard per se. Lots of wild birds have them too. Inbreeding is what you want to avoid if you want healthy birds.