Swedish Flower Hen Thread

Quote: This was my first time shipping birds out, but I've received a number in... they've all arrived just fine. chicks on the other hand... my chicks from sandhill preservation center, I had one good shipment, one OK shipment, all 3 shipments from McMurray were received dead... then again, those all got lost in st Louis for 2 days each time too. go figure.

I won't ship day old chicks, there's just too much at stake for so many little ones. but the adults have always been shipped express and always received right on schedule.

the adults I've received have come from KY, AR, ME and OH... mostly bantam cochins,... actually come to think of it, they've ALL been bantam cochins. LOL

shipping was easy. a little bit of shavings and pellets in the box, with an apple cut in half for them to nibble on for moisture.

on the birds I've received, sometimes the apples are still whole, sometimes all that's left is peel... the hens have laid eggs while on route, one girl ate hers. I think maybe it cracked and she just gobbled it up. the roosters seem to travel faster. maybe they're more annoying. LOL

now that I've shipped successfully I'm not as 'afraid' of it as I was. LOL I am planning on buying some more shipping boxes. the two I used were ones I got some cochin boys in this spring. I also plan to try shipping younger birds too, but never anything under 4 weeks old. if you know you might ship, I might suggest training them to eat apple slices now and then. young birds seem to accept new foods easier than adults.

IMO it's the express vs priority that makes all the difference with the day old babies. when I ordered from sandhill I opted for express, so the babies got here faster. mcmurray didn't have that option. and I know others have had good results, but I won't do that again. those 3 attempts resulted in over 100 dead chicks, which saddens me like you'll never know. well you might, I don't know but I'd rather not have to go thru that again.

but fwiw, the breeders I've worked with (on the receiving end) have all been byc members. some I've met since buying birds from them. a couple I hope to meet someday in the future. 8)
 
Oh...and some roo head shots. He was pretty young here.




This boy was from Beth's eggs; hatched December 30, 2012
the person I sent the youngsters to (Pug?) mentioned getting a crested roo, I wondered if it might be your boy. guess not. LOL

I'd be interested in seeing what hs comb looks like now.
 
My first shipping experience was last October. I shipped an ~ 5 pound SFH cockerel to Texas from Virginia. Quite frankly, I was so worried and concerned fro him. But he arrived in 2 days time and was in great shape. So shipping of older birds can be done but there are logistics in terms of acquiring boxes, etc. It is not an inexpensive proposition.
 
So, with a nice Cokerel and two 4 month old little ladies... I am anxious to get my flock growing quickly. I just fell in love with SFH and need more ladies.

My problem is that I have a limited budget and no incubator. With any luck I'll make it down to the Gilmanor Swap & Sale and perhaps pick of little girl or two. But at the end of the day, I just want to put my flock on warp speed and get it to full strength.
 
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Turnip - you'll have a good flock of SFH before you know it! They are quite addictive!

Well - we just moved and I'm renovating a 10' x 14' building on our new property into a Swedish Gingerbread Coop... because I'm crazy like that. I'll have three 4' x 4'6" coops on the left side with 20' runs and four 3' x 3'6" coops with shorter runs on the right side. There is also going to be a 3' x 5' raised grow out coop inside and in another building on the property I will have a brooder and incubator room with extra cages for sick or injured birds.

Addicted?? Me??

lau.gif






(Yes, Ki4got - this was a change from the original plan... and one that my DH suggested.
lol.png
)
 
Turnip - you'll have a good flock of SFH before you know it! They are quite addictive!

Well - we just moved and I'm renovating a 10' x 14' building on our new property into a Swedish Gingerbread Coop... because I'm crazy like that. I'll have three 4' x 4'6" coops on the left side with 20' runs and four 3' x 3'6" coops with shorter runs on the right side. There is also going to be a 3' x 5' raised grow out coop inside and in another building on the property I will have a brooder and incubator room with extra cages for sick or injured birds.

Addicted?? Me??

lau.gif






(Yes, Ki4got - this was a change from the original plan... and one that my DH suggested.
lol.png
)

I LOVE it! I wish I could get my DH to understand that having a decent looking _fill in the blank_ does actually matter.
A Ginger Bread coop for SFH is perfect :)
 
So, with a nice Cokerel and two 4 month old little ladies... I am anxious to get my flock growing quickly. I just fell in love with SFH and need more ladies.

My problem is that I have a limited budget and no incubator. With any luck I'll make it down to the Gilmanor Swap & Sale and perhaps pick of little girl or two. But at the end of the day, I just want to put my flock on warp speed and get it to full strength.

well, I've got about 18 eggs in the hatcher due tomorrow, not to mention the 8 next youngest plus 1-2 point of lay pullets, 4 12 week old girls and 7 or 8 that are about 6 weeks old... ok let me see if I can add. LOL well that's about 20 already hatched (from 3 weeks old on up) plus the ones due tomorrow and another hatch due next wed, just in time for Gilmanor. I'll be doing the 'broody thing' again this year I think, so tomorrow's hatch will probably go to a pair of bantam cochins that are co-broody, and the next hatch will go to another bantam cochin. they're not great mommas on average, but for the next week or so, they can act as living heaters. then maybe if I take babies away they'll go back to laying sooner LOL
 

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