Swedish Flower Hen Thread

[KYTinpusher]

I have noticed that my hens seem to get a little more white with each molt.

 

[ki4got]

I have noticed that my hens seem to get a little more white with each molt.

that's normal for any mottled breed...

 

[FeyRaine]

pretty much add blue to red... LOL so if you have a mille fleur hen, use a blue roo.

<face palm> well so much for making that here any time soon, pretty sure my 2 (totally handsome) Roos are black & splash .
(lets just say the sad blue cockerel I *had* did not make the cut for breeding stock...)

But I will keep that in mind for the future; thanks for the info!

 

[ki4got]

Quote:
well, splash is a double dose blue, so if your hen's mille fleur (black) then you'll get all blues from the splash roo...

 

[FeyRaine]

well, splash is a double dose blue, so if your hen's mille fleur (black) then you'll get all blues from the splash roo...

OH!
I need to stare at that chart some more!

"Flo" Black Hen x "Stav" Splash Roo = all blue based chicks

so F2 take the best blue Roo from above & x over Flo again, or another Mille Fleur (black) hen = might get a 'ginger" gal like the one in the picture.
that is very non-intuitive but it does give me a plan to shoot for, THANKS

 

[OHfarmerswife]

the issues you're mentioning are not usually associated with humidity, but temperature fluctuations during incubation... 

I incubate between 5-15% and up to 55-65 during lockdown, the only issues I've ever had were some shrink wrapping, usually because I pull chicks when they're dry. I try to bring the humidity back up quickly but don't always get it fast enough.  I've never had a chick so dry it wouldn't hatch, and late quitters are rare for me. normally if it makes it to lockdown, it hatches. 

just had another successful hatch of my own sfh chicks (still praying for crested, but they're eluding me!)  2 bantam cochins (fertility is an issue because of those fluffy butts and I won't AI them...) and 15 sfh (of 15 set)

ki4got

the temp was a constant at 99.5, no fluctuations that I am aware of. I have the Brinsea Octo 20 & have hatched several times.
I have more eggs coming....will try again.

 

[OHfarmerswife]

...

 So sorry your hatch did not go well. I find that 30-35% during incubation (I set the humidity pump at 30% and it rarely turns on) and 65% during lockdown works pretty well for me. We are fairly close geographically, so perhaps try that next time.

Thanks ky. What temp do you set your incubator?

 

[OHfarmerswife]

Things just didn't go right with this hatch.
Took the sport CCL & hatch mate, put under a broody SFH, her 1st time on Saturday afternoon.
Went to check on them Sunday morn @ 6:30 they were fine. I went to check on them again @ 9:30,
both chicks were in the shavings near the door & both were cold & dead.
Apparently the hen didn't know what to do as she was still sitting in the nest.
Soooooooo sad!!!!!!

 

[KYTinpusher]

Things just didn't go right with this hatch.
Took the sport CCL & hatch mate, put under a broody SFH, her 1st time on Saturday afternoon.
Went to check on them Sunday morn @ 6:30 they were fine. I went to check on them again @ 9:30,
both chicks were in the shavings near the door & both were cold & dead.
Apparently the hen didn't know what to do as she was still sitting in the nest.
Soooooooo sad!!!!!!

That's awful!

I set mine at 99.6 because apparently after you change the temp it only goes up or down by .2. The only way to get it back to 99.5 is to reset to factory defaults.

Do you check the temp with another thermometer to make sure the reading is correct? I know mine was off after my first few hatches and I had to restore the factory defaults to get it correct again. I use a Brinsea Spotcheck to check mine now. Which reminds me, I have been meaning to do that as my last hatch was a little late.

 

[MountainDirt]

Hi! I'm new to this thead but I'm so excited because I just got my first two Swedish Flowers! I'm in love with their coloring and wanted to show them to see what y'all think.