Swedish Flower Hen Thread

[ki4got]

not an SFH, but a VERY good momma who will be sticking around for a while to come... thought i'd share.



she's got nearly 30 chicks that were supposed to be handled by 2 broodies, but the other girl ran screaming when all the eggs hatched. LOL this one just took both sets as her own before i knew what happenned.

 

[SunnySkies]

That is too cool! LOL

 

[Spifflove]

So how many of you use organic food and why? And can you get a bag shipped for less than $80.00 US?

 

[KYTinpusher]

I was using organic until recently. I had to drive an hour away to get it. It was about $28 for 50 lbs. With the driving, it just got too expensive, both time and money wise. I am looking into ordering organic feed from Azure Standard. They just started delivering near me and they also have the organic raw ACV in 5 gallon buckets for about $38. They have lots of items both chicken and grocery-wise. Worth checking into, IMO.

FWIW, my chickens ate 2 to 3 times as much of the organic feed as they are of the Layena, so my feed bill is now 1/3-1/4 of what is was, maybe even less since the Layena costs half as much.

 

[Frizzled Pink]

I do organic feed, but we also do organic veggies/fruits etc so not doing organic with the chickens would have been detrimental to our master plan. We are extremely lucky to have an organic grain farmer within 20 miles so i dont have to deal with shipping costs. While i dont think he will actually ship his grain mixes i know people who have been there when we are have driven hours to come to him. He will actually mix grains for us to be at whatever protein level we are feeding at for that season.

 

[Leahs Mom]

I do organic. We have an old fashioned feed mill that mills to order. I do no-soy as well. I tell them what I don't want in it and the formulator works a formula with nutrient levels.

I also ferment the feed...it goes a long way. Just starting a new series of info on fermented feed if anyone is interested. It will be in 3 parts but only 1 is currently there. All the parts s/b up by Sunday I think. It may be worth looking into as it definitely saves in feed as they get more nutrition out of less with MUCH LESS WASTE..

 

[SunnySkies]

I want to do organic, but there isn't a local place making it. I did just learn someone resells Countryside near my office, 1.5 hours away. I have also heard organic feed doesn't go as far, but no explanation as to why.

But I'm feeding this bunch for $40/month right now, with feed I can easily pick up from the local feedstore, and I'm having a hard time wrapping my brain around going to at least $70/month if we switch, as well as having to order feed, planning for at least a month or two, and hauling it home.

 

[TNBEARCHICK]

Copy and paste the list and add your name to the bottom...

Bulldogma - Near Greatna, VA (1 hr from Roanoke, VA / 2 hours from Greensboro, NC / 3 hours from Johnson City, TN)

TarheelBirdy - Liberty, NC (In the Triad area; 15 minutes from Greensboro, NC and Burlington, NC; 1 hr from RDU).

Bernie56 - Fairburn, Ga. (Atlanta metro; near Hartsfeild/Jackson Int. Airport)

jbarrett - Groveland, FL ( 1 hr north of Orlando, 1 hr south of Ocala

pugbug- Independence, La (1 hr from Baton Rouge, 1 1/2 hr from New Orleans)

Dahlisgrams - Eastern Long Island, NY. Fairly convenient access to the Cross Sound Ferry terminal to New London, CT.

cathiesue - Collinsville OK (20 minutes north of Tulsa Oklahoma)

ki4got - between Roanoke and Blacksburg VA (about 2 hours from Bulldogma)

SunnySkies - Mount Airy, MD, (1 hour north of Washington DC, 1.25 hours south of Gettysburg, PA)

ChickNmamma - Jackson, CA (1 hour away from Sacramento, CA)

Laingcroft - Powhatan, VA (1 hour west of Richmond, VA )

Frizzled Pink - Olathe Ks 30 min west of Kansas City

Jmarie- Hampton, VA (1 Hr south of Richmond)

chiques chicks - Lancaster, Pa

KYTinpusher - Owen Co., KY (halfway between Cincinnati and Louisville)

BHep - Faison, NC ( middle of no- where)

SandBsmom - Snohomish,Wa (20mins outside of Seattle)

kraftyladies - O'Brien, FL (1 1/2 hrs west of Jacksonville)

MaryRuthLangdon - Four Oaks, NC ( Very small town - 1/2 hour south of Raleigh, NC )

lawatt -- sonoma county, CA (an hour north of San Francisco)

Knock Kneed Hen - in the mountains of east San Diego county

Spifflove - Somwhere this side of the Rio Grande in South Texas.

Leahs Mom - Near South Bend, IN

you're added, but like I said before, login to a google acct (gmail will work) and you can add/edit yourself. 8)

Tnbearchick - Johnson City, TN near Bristol Motor Speedway(north of Knoxville)

 

[Margiechickmom]

Look what I hatched yesterday! 4 little Swedish Flower Hen chicks! I'm so excited! Unfortunately 1 died during hatching.

It looked like it was too big for it's egg and didn't have any air cell. Poor baby. But I am thrilled to have 4 healthy, happy little babies. These were shipped eggs and the 4 out of 9 hatched. 2 were scrambled and 2 were real early quitters.

And I got 2 light and 2 dark. Now, if they'll all be hens......

 

[ki4got]

well, so far so good, the eggs i'm hatching for bulldogma. out of 10 shipped eggs, 6 are out 1 more is working on it.

i've been having problems maintaining humidity in my hatcher the last few weeks, so i've had to help a couple where they had shell stuck to their backs (walking around dragging shells with them LOL). the one working on it is also shrink wrapped I think.

i've opened it up a bit for him to breathe better, and when he REALLY starts sounding annoyed/desperate, then i'll let him out. that's my method to helping... i let them tell me when they're ready. if they're just peeping occasionally but don't sound stressed, they can stay where they are.

don't think the other 3 are going to do much, they haven't even pipped yet.