Swedish Flower Hen Thread

[PugBug]

Bangingmyheadhardonthe wall.

My second son was helping me feed this morning. Wasp, my 6 month old SFH roo, jumped him unexpectedly while i was putting feed in the other feeder, and my son was just standing there. Left scratches on his arm and side. Wasp has shown some aggression to me in the past, but now he runs fast the other way when I come. I hadn't seen it shown to the kids.

Ugh. I wanted to keep this rooster.

And I wonder what we are doing wrong to make them mean? We didn't handle Wasp at all.

I'm not really set up right now to confine Wasp, but I guess I have to.

I'm surprised when I hear things like this because all 4 of my SFH roos have shown NO aggression what so ever to anyone except each other or other roos that walk past their run. I did handle all my birds when they were younger. They seem to enjoy the attention, the boys more so than the girls. I hope things work out for you & Wasp!

 

[PugBug]

Leigh I'm interested to see how your experiment turns out with the roos. I have a few young roos that I didn't handle, not SFH but other breeds- mostly because I knew they were headed for the freezer & didn't want to get attached. Still no aggression from them, but they are more skittish than all the other guys that have been handled. In fact the only 1 roo that has ever shown any signs of that is Spell, my silkie sizzle roo- he tends to run at the door when I am leaving the run after feeding- but bless his heart I don't worry about him because if he ever did do anything to me it would be like having my ankles getting attacked my a feather duster

 

[Raven1]

Here are a few shots of the Bernie56 chicks I hatched. There are 4 Marans and a blk Polish in there too.

 

[ki4got]

I'm wondering SunnySkies, do you have other roos turned loose with him or is he an only roo?

it seems i'm hearing (and seeing for myself) that the sfh roos that tend to mind their manners are also NOT only roos. mine are far from being 'top dog' too, since my dorkings and blrw take those spots and enforce it regularly... my free ranging flock consists of 3 dorking roos (2 currently, one is confined and treating for bumblefoot), 1 LF blrw, 2 juvenile sfh roos and an assortment of 5 or 6 bantam cochin roos, plus Weeble, my 'stealth roo' (who gets all the girls by NOT announcing his presence LOL).

 

[AuroraSprings]

Is slipped wing common in the breed? I have several cockerels that seem to be letting their wing "slip" down. If it was geese I'd think the wings were a bit too heavy right now and it should correct itself. But I'm not sure that happens in chickens. Does it? Could it be split wing? I know I'd have to catch them to find out on that one, but I think I'm being paranoid. They are only 16 weeks old right now.

 

[SunnySkies]

Wasp has other roos (I have currently a total of 10 roos, all but 3 free ranging most of the time) out with him, and they were actually IN this morning while we were feeding (the puppies are stealing chicken feed, lol, so we feed in the coops right now, then turn everyone loose for the day, then they go back in for dinner and bedtime).

My son was just standing there, watching me, when Wasp acted up.

The others are very well behaved, and right now, Wasp is not the boss roo. He got dethroned by an older, wiser mixed breed. He was better behaved before Eyebrow (my kids are creative at names) took over. Maybe I will take Eyebrow away. Or maybe pen Wasp and a couple young ladies together and not allow free ranging for him until he grows up a bit more,

Wasp has always been "dominant" behavior-wise. Like I remember him pecking at our hands when we removed the feeder as a chick. The kids didn't want to hold chicks because of him, which was fine with me; they were always afraid of being pecked when they reached in the brooder.

I was having the kids squirt him with squirt guns, but they seem to have lost all the squirt guns. Must replace and try again. When the kids are playing outside, I tend to be out there and monitor everybody's behavior.

It's just the one SFH doing this. Not a single mixed breed has acted up. The EE roo is a delight. The Cochin roos are so good; a couple will let you catch them and carry them around. The Silkie roos are not incredibly friendly, but they are not aggressive. My other SFH are curious, but no aggression at all; I handled those ones little to none. I have two young guys I pick up almost daily that seem to be fine so far.

I like him otherwise, so I'm willing to give him more time to get over himself, but I can't have him attacking people. My goal is to have birds and people living together in happiness and freedom, so birds unable to live within those guidelines can't stay.

 

[Bulldogma]

Is slipped wing common in the breed? I have several cockerels that seem to be letting their wing "slip" down. If it was geese I'd think the wings were a bit too heavy right now and it should correct itself. But I'm not sure that happens in chickens. Does it? Could it be split wing? I know I'd have to catch them to find out on that one, but I think I'm being paranoid. They are only 16 weeks old right now.

Split wing is not uncommon in this breed, unfortunately. BUT - that said, many birds can appear to have split wing for a while because the first primary hasn't grown in yet... so wait until they are about 20 weeks or more to make a final determination.

It's just the one SFH doing this. Not a single mixed breed has acted up. The EE roo is a delight. The Cochin roos are so good; a couple will let you catch them and carry them around. The Silkie roos are not incredibly friendly, but they are not aggressive. My other SFH are curious, but no aggression at all; I handled those ones little to none. I have two young guys I pick up almost daily that seem to be fine so far.

I like him otherwise, so I'm willing to give him more time to get over himself, but I can't have him attacking people. My goal is to have birds and people living together in happiness and freedom, so birds unable to live within those guidelines can't stay.

I hear you. Too bad he's being such a butt, and I hope your kiddo is OK. Interesting that he was "pecky" as a chick... yes - certainly a sign of being more dominant and not too friendly. Let us know what happens! (Love the water gun idea!!)

 

[PugBug]

Water guns work well for roos being too rough with the hens too

I hope it works out for you & Wasp, but I agree if he can't settle down he needs to be culled.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Whoa...I need to get some water guns for my hens and teach them how they work!

 

[SunnySkies]

I'll leave Wasp and company in tomorrow while working out a pen to keep him away from people for now.

Squirt guns are on sale right now