Swedish Flower Hen Thread

[OHfarmerswife]

3 weeks is a bit young to be able to sex SFH, or a bit old, depending on how you look at it. Some people have good luck feather sexing them at 3 days old. You can try posting pics (good side head shots) when your birds get to be 6-7 weeks old and we will try to give you our best guesses, but lots of times that's exactly what they are at that point - guesses. The crested ones can take longer to be sure. Usually by 10-11 weeks you will know on all of them. What you want to be looking for is definite wattles coming down - the pullets don't get wattles (more than a sliver) until they are getting close to POL. also, on the crested ones, roos will have spiky crests and the pullets crest feathers will be more rounded. I hope this helps.

thanks KYtinpusher. I appreciate your help. Will wait & post pics at a later date.

 

[ki4got]

Quote: the problem is, you CAN'T reliably sex sfh chicks, as we've been saying all along. you were not ignored, you were simply not addressed directly. you'll know by the time they're 7-9 weeks old. before that it's hit or miss. especially with photos.

and texasmomma already knows it's a roo, as she said so in her post. she was asking, if it was crested (can't tell from that pic, sorry).

 

[PugBug]

Yes - they are a landrace breed and will not be recognized by the APA any time soon due to the color issue. I will primarily be focusing on my boys without sprigs (provided their all-over quality and health is good)... but it seems that a very high percentage of SFH cockerels do have sprigs.

What is everyone else seeing on this?

I have 4 and none have it- they are 5mo old so it should have shown up right?

 

[OHfarmerswife]

the problem is, you CAN'T reliably sex sfh chicks, as we've been saying all along. you were not ignored, you were simply not addressed directly.  you'll know by the time they're 7-9 weeks old. before that it's hit or miss. especially with photos.

and texasmomma already knows it's a roo, as she said so in her post. she was asking, if it was crested (can't tell from that pic, sorry).

thanks ki4got for the info

 

[SunnySkies]

Besides being difficult to sex -- I thought I had a pretty red and blue pullet, but no, yesterday I realized that bird is a roo (at 7 weeks!) -- they are very stubborn. I had two pullets in the main coop trying to graft them onto the flock. And they refuse to be part of it.

 

[DeltaBluezTess]

I have an opportunity to buy 4 hens (2 splash) and a rooster for $120...is that a good price....this is my first foray into the SF area!

 

[ki4got]

I have an opportunity to buy 4 hens (2 splash) and a rooster for $120...is that a good price....this is my first foray into the SF area!

are they mature? not counting roo, that's $30 each for the hens, which isn't unreasonable, IF they're good quality birds...

when i'm looking at group prices, I don't add the roo in, just figuring the price with the hens. most people have a hard time GIVING roos away, so that's why I estimate $30 per hen.

do you have any pics of them?

things you want to pay attention to... (things we've been discussing in regards to what a sfh should have and shouldn't...)

yellow legs, red/orange eye color, mottling. all sfh must have these things IMO. if the primary color is more blue or black, then darker leg color is ok as long as the bottoms of their feet are yellow.

you do NOT want, split wing (extend the wing. if both wings have a big gap between the primary and secondary feathers, that's NOT a good thing unless there's signs that feathers were broken off or growing back in... crooked toes - while not always a genetic fault, are something I would avoid. crooked beaks are also a defect that can affect the ability to forage and eat properly.

I would also pay attention to tail set... if the tail droops lower than the back when the bird is relaxed and moving around naturally, I would pass. a good sfh should have a nice erect stance. i'm borrowing bulldogma's pic, but it's a good example of what a sfh roo should look like, at least in shape, if not coloration.
ok pic is being hinky. here's the link to it.
http://cdn.backyardchickens.com/6/64/6412aecf_000aSwedishFlowerHenSOPRooster.jpeg

 

[DeltaBluezTess]

Ah Gee, it's amazing how much I DO NOT know...here is the ad


http://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/grd/3913710102.html

 

[PugBug]

Ah Gee, it's amazing how much I DO NOT know...here is the ad


http://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/grd/3913710102.html

Just from the pics, it's not a bad price. They look like nice birds, could be a good start for you if you are wanting to get into SFH

 

[ki4got]

Ah Gee, it's amazing how much I DO NOT know...here is the ad

http://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/grd/3913710102.html

one comment i'll disagree with... uncrested birds CAN NOT produce crested chicks... so something smells funny with that statement. also, if the splash girls are truly as white as they look in the pics, i'd want to see them in person to verify that they actually have SOME color on them...

my biggest reservation would be the 2 splash girls... but the others look pretty nice. the roo does have some side spurs at the back edge of his comb, but that seems to be a pretty common fault, for now, and can be culled in later generations.