Swedish Flower Hen Thread

[Bulldogma]

Well bulldogma, we can be upset together.....I just went out to check on everybody (feewd and water) My 100%faoirte SFH rooster Oliver just passed away in my arms.... I just sat out there and cried, Never cried about a chicken before but this was my buddy hed fly up on my shoulder like a parrot when I went in their enclousur

He is now burried in my flower bed I did last year...I loved that boy!

OMG - I'm so sorry! Do you have any idea what happened?

 

[OldChurchEggery1]

Thank you, Tony. (Great avatar picture, by the way)
The general thought on the Natural Chicken Keeping thread and among other friends is that it was likely either poisoning or heart failure. I just found out today that our neighbors had an exterminator come a few days ago. It's possible a poisoned mouse was wandering about and Gunnar gobbled it up... but I should know more in the next few days from the vet.

The biggest piece of the puzzle was that Gunnar went from perfectly healthy to dead in less than 24 hours... and his comb and wattles turned bluish-purple and were cold to the touch. This would indicate a lack of oxygen - one of the most common side effects of poisoning... or heart failure. He was also unusually thirsty in the 12 hours before his passing.

Hi Leigh, that kind of thirst sounds in keeping with the poisons used against rodents. The older type of rat/mouse poison (warfarin) used to be counteracted with Vitamin K, but modern rat and mouse poisons like Bromone don't have such an antidote. Warfarin is still in use in some formulations and the way it works is it's an anticoagulant. It kills mice (and other animals through secondary exposure) by causing them to bleed to death, often internally because the blood thins to the point of leaking from vessels.

 

[jbarrett]

Last week the 3the crested brothers he grew up with would not let him out of coop forn3 days didnt realize it at first then i took him out and they jumped him and he just declined from there loosing weight and would not move at all today would not eat or drink since yesterday i i was very upset and he is now burried in the flower bed I did last year

 

[lawatt]

so sad to read about all these roos passing away! my condolences!!

my Max is as loud as ever -- and i have two three-week-old chicks, one is his offspring, a mix of SFH and cream legbar, and looking likely to be a boy, the other is a pure SFH possibly-girl -- and my one remaining broody on eggs will hopefully be hatching three more SFHs, along with some birchen marans. below is a picture of the three-week-olds, the cross (Max Jr!) is on the right:


can't wait to see how they grow up!

 

[Bernie56]

Sorry for your losses! Here's something on the lighter side.



My blue Ameraucana broody with her 8 SFH biddies that hatched out yesterday. I collected eggs from my two blue hens and the mille fleur hen thinking that I would get dark chicks. Half of them are very light...but still super cute! I will be traveling for work over the summer and would like to reduce the chicken population before I leave. If anyone is interested in some layers (9 months old) and possibly some juveniles for local pickup let me know.

 

[wildhorseannie]

Well bulldogma, we can be upset together.....I just went out to check on everybody (feewd and water) My 100%faoirte SFH rooster Oliver just passed away in my arms.... I just sat out there and cried, Never cried about a chicken before but this was my buddy hed fly up on my shoulder like a parrot when I went in their enclousur

He is now burried in my flower bed I did last year...I loved that boy!

I am so very sorry to hear about this, JBarrett. You gave him a good life for the time that he had. Precious few get to be held in loving arms as they draw their last breath.

 

[Bulldogma]

Had to share -
DH took me to an estate sale today just for fun... to cheer me up. The man that passed used to run a country store than had been in his family for 100+ years, so the antiques there were just amazing! I took pictures.

We sat down to watch the auction (so fun!) and they brought up an item I hadn't seen while walking around... but when I saw it just before it went up, I had to have it. No, understand - I'm not the kind of girl who ever has to have knick-knacks or little dishes. I could only see it from a distance, but really, really wanted it!

I only bid up to $10 (which is about $10 more than I would normally spend on an item that wasn't a necessity) but when I stopped bidding, DH jumped in and won it for $15.

It wasn't until it was in my hands that I realized it looks just like a crested Swedish Flower Hen!













It seems to be an antique, and is hand-blown Jadite glass. My grandparents used to have some jadite egg holders (my grandmother is currently 104... and a quarter. LOL!)

 

[ddpbk1]

Question about crested chicks. THe crest is not as noticeable as a polish or other top at birth correct? I had a yellow chick hatch with a very distant puff on its head. The other that I hatched 12weeks ago weren't noticeable until 2 weeks. Do you think swedish or a mistake on the sellers part?

 

[pineneedlefarms]

I've had a mix result on the outcome of crests. Some I can tell on day one that they will have a crest, some not until a month does a crest start to grow.

 

[cathiesue]

Question about crested chicks. THe crest is not as noticeable as a polish or other top at birth correct? I had a yellow chick hatch with a very distant puff on its head. The other that I hatched 12weeks ago weren't noticeable until 2 weeks. Do you think swedish or a mistake on the sellers part?

My experience with crested is that they don't start showing until week 4 or 5. Mine have at that point gotten a few pinfeathers that pop up. the slight s curve in the comb at that point alerts me to crest. all my crested hens haev a little curve. is this true for everyone? inquiring minds....