Swedish Flower Hen Thread

[Ashdoes]

Here we go..it took two days, and three different rooms for correctly colored pictures.
The triplets. One of them has white eyebrows...

The red and the darker one.

 

[KYTinpusher]

Adorable!

 

[dungheap71]

Hey folks. Winter wasn't kind on my sfh's lost two of my three hens and my oldest roo. I have two young Roos left and I need to get rid of one is anyone interested?

I've had bad luck with this strain of the breed. I've had three hens, all of which layed normal size eggs but it was hard to tell which end was up. I had zero luck hatching any of thier eggs. The ones that were strong enough to pip were eventually very deformed in the beak and couldn't walk, the other chicks would kill them. Others would pip and quit. Very frustrating. All of my ameris hatch strong, strong healthy chicks always. Same with the oe's.

My ameri roosters tended to beat on the hens too much but the sfh Roos are great, protective, gentle, gentlemanly. So I've got sfh roo and a crele oe crossed with an sfh roo that I really like. Those are the two I'm keeping.

The other Roos I have is one full blooded blue sfh. Three barred oe crossed with sfh. And one that a product of a black ameri roo and an sfh hen.

Any interest in any of these? I'll give them to you and can meet you with them. I can get pics tomorrow if interested

 

[minihorse927]

I guess the threats of chicken soup got the point across! I got 2 swedish flower eggs today!

 

[KYTinpusher]

C

I guess the threats of chicken soup got the point across! I got 2 swedish flower eggs today!

WooHoo!

 

[lovemybudgie517]

Oh, Thank you, for bringing this beautiful chicken breed to our attention. What a magnificent looking bird! I am going to go read about them from your post. We are planning to get another bunch of chickens and I'd love to add this one to our coop! Thanks, again!

 

[song of joy]

Hello. I'm new to this thread and need your advice. I'll be getting some SFH hatching eggs in a couple of weeks. The eggs will be shipped. This is my 1st time hatching and I'll be using a Brinsea Mini Advance. (I know. Bad idea to attempt a 1st hatch using expensive hatching eggs!)

1. Should I incubate the eggs in an upright position and if so, for how long before laying them flat?

2. I've heard that humidity needs to be lower for SFH than for other breeds. Is this true? I'm not sure how to make an adjustment on the Mini Advance, as it has a water reservoir with only two options (fill 1 or both sides).

3. IF ANY eggs hatch, I'll use non-medicated feed. Is 24% protein chick starter best for SFH chicks? American Livestock Breeds Conservancy recommends 26-28% game bird starter ration for heritage breeds (from hatch to 8 weeks of age), but I wasn't sure if this would be appropriate for SFH.

Any other advice? I'm so excited, but trying not to get my hopes up in case nothing hatches.

 

[Alpine Chicken]

Hello. I'm new to this thread and need your advice. I'll be getting some SFH hatching eggs in a couple of weeks. The eggs will be shipped. This is my 1st time hatching and I'll be using a Brinsea Mini Advance. (I know. Bad idea to attempt a 1st hatch using expensive hatching eggs!)

1. Should I incubate the eggs in an upright position and if so, for how long before laying them flat?

2. I've heard that humidity needs to be lower for SFH than for other breeds. Is this true? I'm not sure how to make an adjustment on the Mini Advance, as it has a water reservoir with only two options (fill 1 or both sides).

3. IF ANY eggs hatch, I'll use non-medicated feed. Is 24% protein chick starter best for SFH chicks? American Livestock Breeds Conservancy recommends 26-28% game bird starter ration for heritage breeds (from hatch to 8 weeks of age), but I wasn't sure if this would be appropriate for SFH.

Any other advice? I'm so excited, but trying not to get my hopes up in case nothing hatches.

Hello! I can try to answer a couple of your questions:
1. they should be incubated upright with the pointy end down. I lay them flat on day 18. There are some pretty good tips about hatching eggs in the Learning Center.
2. Many people incubate SFH using the dry incubation method (there´s also a thread about it in the Learning Center). I keep mine around 20% and turn up to 50-60% for hatching. My incubator also does not have an automatic humidity regulator. I bought a hygrometer from a reptile supply store that reptile owners use in terrariums (there´s a small measuring device I put in the bator, and the cable runs out and I have the display outside of the bator). You just need a little practice figuring out how much water you need to put in to get a certain humidity. I´d practice before you get the eggs.
3. Yes, non-medicated is a good idea. I buy an organic mix with 24%, but I also breed my own meal worms to give them as treats (they love them and they get tamer when they learn they get goodies out of your hand), and they get a few a day of those, too. I´m not sure what the official recommendation is.

Wish you luck!

 

[song of joy]

Thank you Alpine Chicken!

 

[Tourist9394]

Are they good layers after a season? I have 4 hens, had them since last spring. I am only getting one egg per day, its spring already.