Swedish Flower Hen Thread

[Kimbroe1981]

Here's a pic of both girls on the nest.

 

[lawatt]

pretty young. she's about 9-10 months. I was really surprised she went broody. She just started laying in March.

i had FIVE 10-month-olds go broody this spring, out of a flock of 12 -- they were certainly ready for it!

 

[chiques chicks]

My only laying hen went broody on six eggs a couple weeks ago. Ice already hatched 11 of hers, so I figure by next weekend I'll see how she does as a mother.

 

[johnlogan]

This guy started out like this:

And turned into this:

Very beautiful coloring, but what is wrong with his wing? Does he have a split wing?

 

[Sebrightsrock]

He is gorgeous. One of the reasons I bid on your eggs and WON! The question I have for you is do you have problems with aggressive SFH Roos? Just wondering if it is genetic? My husband is familiar with having aggressive roos. He said you have to let them know who is boss early in raising them.

We had one aggressive rooster at one point but he is gone now. That guy is really friendly though and that is one of the reasons we use him. As far as it being genetic, I'm not entirely sure. I've heard a lot of people say they only use friendly roosters so you won't get aggressive offspring. For letting them know is boss early, I think that definently helps. A lot of people say to pick them up and just hold on to them until they stop struggling and just carry them around for a while.

 

[Sebrightsrock]

Very beautiful coloring, but what is wrong with his wing? Does he have a split wing?

I'm pretty sure he doesen't have split wing. None of the chicks I hatch out have split wing.

 

[pickitfarm]

Thank you for responding Sebrightsrock. Approximately 10 days until we should start to see those beautiful SFH chicks. These will be our first. They are in the incubator with 12 Blues Splash Americaunas. I am hoping for success.

 

[ki4got]

Not sure how to sex chicks. MIne are all over 4 weeks.
When do roosters begin to crow?
Is there any other way to tell male from female?

ok... roosters crow... hm.. a lot depends on the breed, how fast they mature, etc. my sfh boy didn't start until probably 5 months old? my bantam cochins start anywhere from a week on. LOL funniest thing in the world, hearing a teeny little 'uh-urrr' coming out of the brooder.

early on, again depends on the breed. my dorkings I can usually sex at hatch, and by 2 weeks or so at the latest, once breast feathers start coming in (see pic below), but typically anything that starts developing wattles before 3 months of age is a roo. combs vary depending on the breed, so I don't use that at all. sfh seem to develop theirs a bit later than some breeds, maybe 7-9 weeks of age. again bantam cochins, usually 2-3 weeks is the start of comb/wattles.

so really there isn't any set answer for any of your questions, sorry. it's all going to depend on breed, family lines, etc. granted this is the sfh thread, so hopefully you saw my answers above. LOL

and the dorkings, here's a pair of 4-5 week olds. pretty obvious by that age what's what. the hen has the salmon breast the roo black. don't need to go by comb/wattle on them. which hadn't developed yet. the second pic is an adult silver grey roo and 2 hens (foreground) the rest are reds (mostly).


unfortunately, the sfh are not as easy to tell at such an early age.

 

[SunnySkies]

We had one aggressive rooster at one point but he is gone now. That guy is really friendly though and that is one of the reasons we use him. As far as it being genetic, I'm not entirely sure. I've heard a lot of people say they only use friendly roosters so you won't get aggressive offspring. For letting them know is boss early, I think that definently helps. A lot of people say to pick them up and just hold on to them until they stop struggling and just carry them around for a while.

I do think there is a genetic component. We carried ours around like you describe, and they still became aggressive. Yet the barnyard mix roosters and the EE roo, also handled the same way, are so not aggressive. The barnyard mix came from a friend's flock -- she gave me lots of eggs -- but they always slaughter all aggressive roosters and any too easily captured, thereby selecting for ones that are standoffish but definitely not aggressive. I would not save eggs from a mean roo, but one like you describe deserves to have lots of babies!

I am letting my juveniles free range in a limited fashion, and they took right to it and love it. It's supervised for now, to make sure everyone comes back. But in an interesting twist, one of my older Cochin roos decided he wanted to join this flock, moved in, and he seems to be showing them the ropes. This guy has a delightful personality as well, very gentle to hens and people, so I am hoping he shows the young bucks (there are 9 young roosters in that group) in the flock proper behavior.

 

[ki4got]

re: rooster behavior vs flock protector... I don't see where a good flock protector HAS to be aggressive to anything other than threats to his flock...

my dorking roos are big babies, totally non-aggressive with people, but one took on a hawk that was after his girls. lost part of his comb in the process. but still a totally mellow guy that has no problem with me picking him up randomly. my cochins are very much the same, tho not as big on being caught/held, and not as adventuresome as the dorkings when it comes to exploring the acreage. I've never been stalked by either breed, but all the roos are protective of their girls and alert for trouble.

I don't see any reason why selecting for friendly roos is going to hurt the breed for it's free ranging capabilities.

I will not tolerate an aggressive rooster. period. and I've told them all that. so far they're listening. the roos that didn't, didn't hang around long. LOL (over the years all the oegb, sultan, polish, d'uccle all went to freezer camp or were sold).