Swedish Flower Hen Thread

[ki4got]

ki4got, I have seen people have white Swedish, is that not considered a standard color? I just noticed it wasn't included in your list.

I don't think they are truly white... Bulldogma has one. they are mottled splash, resulting from breeding 2 mostly blues (very little red/brown coloration) together. but (when they're clean) you can see white tips on the off-white or lightly grey feathers. a true dominant or recessive white is not a SFH but likely something from an outcross. if you breed one of these mottled splash birds to a black-based one, you SHOULD get all blue-based mottled birds. if you get anything else, then it's a mix.

this is a mottled splash cochin, for comparison. same breeding as the roo pictured just below her. she has darker hackles than many splash birds do, due to the melanizing gene she also carries...
currently she's bleached out to more of a dirty white color, but if you look closely on the pic you can see some white feathers and white tipped feathers mixed in with her light silvery ones. I had intended on breeding her to my black mottled cochin roo, but lost him a few weeks ago. so now we just have the mottled blue roo for all 5 girls (solid blue pullet & 2 black mottled pullets). LOL once the pens are done he'll be happy.

 

[kannna]

I have a whitish one.



She's a spaz

 

[ki4got]

I have a whitish one.



She's a spaz

she's a splash... that's why she's got a few darker grey splotches and a lightly grey neck... i'm not a big fan of splash or white anything.

my splash girl came with the blue roo. bred to a black i'd get all blues, bred to blue i'll get 50/50 blue and splash... but once I have enough blues to work with, i'll be placing her somewhere else probably. she doesn't have the right personality for free ranging but tends to be the object of most of the teenaged roos' 'courtship' (if you want to call it that) or else she's hanging out at the house or in the coop... she knows people mean safety tho so when they start harassing her if i'm outside she runs between my feet or the dog's.

 

[cathiesue]

My whites have always had smudges of charcoal and red. Not always in the same place. I lost April when she was just on the point of lay and she looked like she was developing a charcoal collar.
Horn perfectly describes the beak. I'm glad to know that term. Beaks vary so much but horn covers a multitude of variations.

 

[gardengoats11]

I like the crested SFH (pullets with their mushroom hats & cockerel with his "thing"). I thought I saw a post about issues (genetic) from breeding crested to crested. I went back looking for it couldn't find it.

If there are issues of breeding crested to crested, could someone share what these are?

 

[KYTinpusher]

I like the crested SFH (pullets with their mushroom hats & cockerel with his "thing"). I thought I saw a post about issues (genetic) from breeding crested to crested. I went back looking for it couldn't find it.

If there are issues of breeding crested to crested, could someone share what these are?

You can get chicks with vaulted skulls which are more fragile. Also, generally, the crests that result from crested to crested breeding can be large, which can be a liability to a free-ranging bird.

 

[ivyrash]

I had a young pullet that appeared white at the time but a fox got her before she filled out so I don't know what she would have grown into. I see what you mean but wanted to clarify.

I don't think they are truly white... Bulldogma has one. they are mottled splash, resulting from breeding 2 mostly blues (very little red/brown coloration) together. but (when they're clean) you can see white tips on the off-white or lightly grey feathers. a true dominant or recessive white is not a SFH but likely something from an outcross. if you breed one of these mottled splash birds to a black-based one, you SHOULD get all blue-based mottled birds. if you get anything else, then it's a mix.

this is a mottled splash cochin, for comparison. same breeding as the roo pictured just below her. she has darker hackles than many splash birds do, due to the melanizing gene she also carries...
currently she's bleached out to more of a dirty white color, but if you look closely on the pic you can see some white feathers and white tipped feathers mixed in with her light silvery ones. I had intended on breeding her to my black mottled cochin roo, but lost him a few weeks ago. so now we just have the mottled blue roo for all 5 girls (solid blue pullet & 2 black mottled pullets). LOL once the pens are done he'll be happy.

 

[SunnySkies]

I think the judge didn't know what to think of the breed myself, and that is why he said what he did about the legs, but it sounds like the birds themselves are very nice just based on basic good chicken conformation. Good job!

The issue with not having a breed standard per say is that APA wants one base color. They don't seem to appreciate that this breed has several acceptable base colors with the distinctive feature of mottling. But all pure SFH seem to have the features ki4got listed, with the general appearance of being a bird capable of taking care of itself with that upright and alert stance they have.

You guys know what I worry about...people mistaking SS for SFH and vice versa. Maybe we should look at each breed and see how they are different and include that in a list.

 

[rarebear]

I bought 7 Swedish Flower Hens about 7-8 weeks ago. Sadly it looks as though they are all males. They all have combs this pinkish/yellow color. I incubated four of my own in March. Three had small yellow combs and waddles with the one male having a bright red and thick comb. From looking at some photos it seems that some females do have pinkish combs and waddles. Do they or is it my wishful thinking? As well the four white ones have dark mahogany spots which someone told me is on males only. Here are three photos.

 

[minihorse927]

I bought 7 Swedish Flower Hens about 7-8 weeks ago. Sadly it looks as though they are all males. They all have combs this pinkish/yellow color. I incubated four of my own in March. Three had small yellow combs and waddles with the one male having a bright red and thick comb. From looking at some photos it seems that some females do have pinkish combs and waddles. Do they or is it my wishful thinking? As well the four white ones have dark mahogany spots which someone told me is on males only. Here are three photos. that is a boy for sure.