Swedish Flower Hen Thread

[Melabella]

So, everyday brings change, especially with 6 week old baby swedes and on this clear beautiful Fall day I think it's become quite clear I HAVE FOUR OUT OF FIVE baby boys!!!!!!! Weigh in for me here guys. Out of 8 SFH eggs I've hatched I think the score is 6-2 with the boys beatin me up! Love them all but we have decisions comin.
Chick 1 I thought was a Mille Fluer girl, but it's comb has popped and it is sparring madly with the other 3

Chick 2 Very light almost all white boy with brown and gold spots

Chick 3 LOVE this boy, very pretty seems blue, with rust coming on his wings. Can't wait to watch him grow

Chick 4 Thought it was another Mille Fluer girl, but don't think so any more. LOTS of white taking over

 

[Melabella]

I think this is my one pullet from the 5 of them. I've named her Cara

 

[Alpine Chicken]

I think this is my one pullet from the 5 of them. I've named her Cara

I like this one. She´s beautiful! I´ve also had times when mostly boys have hatched. My worst year was 70% boys. Don´t know if there´s any factor influencing that (outside temperature or something like that?), but I suppose Big Industry would have figured that out a long time ago. Probably just bad luck.

 

[Leahs Mom]

@Bulldogma

I'm going a bit crazy over here.... pretty excited to get my boy.... (boys?)

And hard to wait.....

 

[NM Chicks]

They're beautiful! I took some pictures of my chicks today too. It was so nice out and I let them have their first trip into the garden, out of their big run. I was watching for hawks since one had already tried to get one from inside their run. They enjoyed it, then went back into the run and sunbathed/roosted. They are growing so fast!

 

[Leahs Mom]

Pretty birds!

 

[NM Chicks]

These are some of the six week old chicks from above. There are ten six week old and eight nine week old. Two stray dogs got in one day and I lost one from each clutch, reinforced the fencing, then a hawk was in with them, but I went out at exactly the right moment to send it on its way (kind of) and get the chicks inside. They stayed in the covered coop for four days while I pondered what to do. Then I used twine to build a huge spider web over the top of the run and it has deterred aerial predators so far. This photo was taken between the strings. Their colors and the differences in them amazes me. Such beautiful birds. I guess they are all SFHs in the second clutch and I have one or more SFH/Turken cross in the first clutch. I think there are several roosters, but I haven't decided yet which to keep. All of them???

 

[Bulldogma]

I think this is my one pullet from the 5 of them. I've named her Cara

Wow... that many cockerels?? Well, I suppose the luck gods looked down on you and said, "Meh - she got 2 snoleopard chicks her first hatch. Let's give her one pullet this time!" (Dumb luck gods!)

@Bulldogma

I'm going a bit crazy over here.... pretty excited to get my boy.... (boys?)

And hard to wait.....

Mwaahaahaaa!


NM Chicks... where did you get these eggs/chicks?? It looks to me as if not all of them are pure. I'm sorry to be the one to drop this bomb. See notes below:

They're beautiful! I took some pictures of my chicks today too. It was so nice out and I let them have their first trip into the garden, out of their big run. I was watching for hawks since one had already tried to get one from inside their run. They enjoyed it, then went back into the run and sunbathed/roosted. They
are growing so fast!

This one looks good:


This one looks ok from this angle:


This one... not so much. This looks like a wildtype coloration and one not indicative of a purebred SFH. There is also a definite lack of flowering on the back. At this age there should be much more flowering.


This one sends up a red flag for me. Let's see how it grows, but right now I don't think it's pure. The one next to it - is that the same one from above? From this angle it looks like a cross. The markings seem to be very inconsistent and muddy.

I'm so sorry to bring this up if you weren't already aware that some of these birds are crosses. If they are from your eggs, is there a chance a different rooster got in with your hens in the 2-3 weeks prior to these eggs being laid? If these came from someone else, please contact them with photos and see if that breeder will rectify the situation.

 

[NM Chicks]

Yes, they can be crosses. I got eggs for the first clutch from two different farmers who are neighbors. Once one of them saw the Turken with flowering, she told me their free ranging chickens must be visiting each other (she has turkens). The younger chicks came from three dozen the SFH farmer sent over and she marked them Swedes, Crested Swedes, and mixed breed moms w/ swede roo. I have no idea which hatched, especially since they all roll around at the end, so appreciate your insights. Thanks for taking the time! I've been wondering what people might know about them. All I know is 1. they eat a lot and 2. they are beautiful.

 

[Loriemarler]

Can someone tell me or show me a snoeleopard SFH? I have no clue what color that is