Swedish Flower Hen Thread

[Knock Kneed Hen]

Hi everyone! I'm new to this breed and thread. A friend is giving me their flock and I'm wondering if they are quality specimens or not. There are a few color variations that they have and I know they purchased their starter birds from a breeder a few years ago (but I also know some "breeders" aren't on the up and up. Some of their birds have a "top hat" or somewhat of a wig of extra feathers on their heads. Can anyone tell me a bit about these specimens? Do they look full bred or decent? Here a couple pics I took:

Those look like nice birds from the photos, pure SFH.

 

[TxFlowers]

I have a GP pup as well. He is 10 months old and loves on my poultry to death as well. He does it to all my animals out of affection, not aggression. Other people have told me this will stop too, I can't wait for that to happen so I can trust him when I'm not around. lol Glad to know someone else is in the same boat.

I have a question for both of you with GP puppies. Your puppies are about same age. Did your pups begin this behavior at a certain age or were they doing this with the birds all along?

 

[OleMissChic]

Those look like nice birds from the photos, pure SFH.

That is great news! They have a variety of colors and some crested, some not. From what I'm reading on this forum I'm able to breed any of the roosters to any of the various colored hens? I prefer the non crested versions so I would probably not take the crested ones they have. Would this be an issue in breeding?

 

[redrooster99]

That is great news! They have a variety of colors and some crested, some not. From what I'm reading on this forum I'm able to breed any of the roosters to any of the various colored hens? I prefer the non crested versions so I would probably not take the crested ones they have. Would this be an issue in breeding?

thats funny i like the cresteds better. ( i don't have any )

 

[Knock Kneed Hen]

That is great news!  They have a variety of colors and some crested, some not.  From what I'm reading on this forum I'm able to breed any of the roosters to any of the various colored hens?  I prefer the non crested versions so I would probably not take the crested ones they have.  Would this be an issue in breeding? 

No, it's not an issue. I have only two crested hens and a non crested roo. The rest of my hens are non crested. I free range so prefer the non crested birds.

 

[OleMissChic]

I have a question for both of you with GP puppies. Your puppies are about same age. Did your pups begin this behavior at a certain age or were they doing this with the birds all along?

Luca (my pup) didn't start this behavior right away with the poultry. He was born with turkeys and goats from working parents and spent every night in my chicken coop from the day I brought him home. He did try to play with my goats kids as if they were other puppies from day 1. My little buckling played back. Now both my female goats are pregnant and Luca annoys them and tries to roughhouse but I separate them when the girls start yelling for me.
When he's not in "play mode" all my poultry (and goats) will sleep next to him, hang out with him, etc.
I can tell you that I had to learn the hard way that Luca does NOT respond to "showing him who's boss" or food rewards. He is very alpha and only responds to praise.
He has accidentally killed 3 turkeys, 2 chickens and 2 ducks so far, he's just too big to play. My friend's LGD would purposely kill and eat their poultry, rabbits, etc and one day she just stopped and now protects their flocks. Luca is already very protective and was worth his weight in gold by 4 months old when he ran off a killer raccoon and a large owl in the same week. I'm really looking forward to being able to trust him completely with the animals. For now I just keep an eye on him.

 

[OleMissChic]

Ha, it seems like I'm in the minority on this thread, most seem to like the crested. lol

 

[OleMissChic]

No, it's not an issue. I have only two crested hens and a non crested roo. The rest of my hens are non crested. I free range so prefer the non crested birds.

Sweet! This seems like a very fun breed. I think my friends got them from GFF.

 

[HaplessRunner]

Ha, it seems like I'm in the minority on this thread, most seem to like the crested. lol

It goes both ways. There are also many on this thread who will only breed for non crested birds. My personal preference is for both crested and non crested. You do have to be careful when breeding crested to crested. In some cases, as you will note on the thread, it can result in a condition called vaulted skulls. In many cases the condition is fatal or cause higher numbers of hatch failures. In other cases the chicken with the vaulted skull behaves normally. They just have a very heavy growth of crested feathers. Not all heavily crested SFH have vaulted skulls but some may.

Enjoy your SFHs! They are a fascinating breed.

 

[OleMissChic]

It goes both ways. There are also many on this thread who will only breed for non crested birds. My personal preference is for both crested and non crested. You do have to be careful when breeding crested to crested. In some cases, as you will note on the thread, it can result in a condition called vaulted skulls. In many cases the condition is fatal or cause higher numbers of hatch failures. In other cases the chicken with the vaulted skull behaves normally. They just have a very heavy growth of crested feathers. Not all heavily crested SFH have vaulted skulls but some may.

Enjoy your SFHs! They are a fascinating breed.

Interesting. It seems similar to the frizzle x frizzle breeding... How does the cresting breed with them? Can two non crested throw any crested? Is there a breed standard? I have been unable to find this so far.