Swedish Flower Hen Thread

[Dahlisgrams]

Some of mine were obviously crested at hatch, some didn't come in until weeks later.

Same here. I'm usually sure if the chick has a crest by 4-5 weeks or so but occasionally one will fool me and it will come in a little later.

 

[TarheelBirdy]

I am ..torn..about the "faults" people notice. These birds originated very successfully on their own and so what we might not like, such as sprigs, obviously hasn't hindered them. Even split wing hasn't been naturally selected against. They survived just fine. I'm kind of wondering if sometimes what we see as a fault isn't so much a problem for the bird as it is for our eye. Does that make sense?

I think we humans kind of mess things up when we go to breed for specific traits. I bred Arabians for a while, and I noticed the ones that are considered most beautiful sometimes had no functionality, in that all sense and gentleness was bred out. I have a mare that is kind of a fool about things, and she isn't young, but her bloodlines are amazing and she was bred to be pretty, to fit the human standard.

I'm sure one of my two SFH has split wing, but I like his color, and he is a great forager. Do I cull him in favor of a bird that doesn't have as pretty a red color and isn't as good a forager but has ideal wings and thus sacrifice something the breed is known for? I dunno. Just rambling on.

AMEN. I totally agree with you about human opinions on what is desirable, etc. Arabians historically were one of the most sensible, smart and good-minded of all breeds. Too bad that has been somewhat bred out of them in the interest of beauty. I have had a few Arabians, and saw glimpses of their wonderful traits, but have resorted to my sensible AQHA and APHA trail horses in the end.

The split wing issue is interesting, and I'm tuned in. I will look at my birds to observe what they have and do not have....and will go from there.

 

[Bernie56]

I found that my chicks feathers grew at very different rates. Has anyone hatched any solid buff colored SFH?

I'd love to do some Spring egg trading for specific colors if anyone is interested.. I would love to have some white/reds and have some nice blues and other colors to offer in return.. They seem to change daily. I'm so glad the last pullet proved to have a good wing.

Good idea regarding counting the primaries. Thanks for the tip.

I have some beautiful red and white pullets. Last year I had almost 100% red and white. I do think that they are beautiful I just wanted some other colors as well. I have culled out all of the splash hens, and my red/white roosters. My new roosters (from kimberly35042) are beautiful birds with darker colors, and lovely flowering. I'm not sure what to expect from these pairings as I haven't hatched any eggs from them yet, but would be surprised if you didn't get some red/white. I would certainly be interested in an egg swap. I did get two lovely pullets from Kim, a black/white, and a mille fleur, but am still hoping for more of the darker colors.

 

[TNBEARCHICK]

I think until there is a standard, we should only cull for obvious defects or your personal preference, what will we do if we find out the one we culled is the most sought after. We have one straight from Greenfire that has chocoate legs And beak. We checked into it And we r not the only one, we have yet to see what these birds have to offer.

 

[texasmomma]

I have two SFH. One is a rooster. He had curled toes when he was born and I put a bandaid on them to straighten them. They were fine until a couple of weeks ago and they started to curl. He has the split wing. He is beautiful, though; he even has a crest. I'm thankful he hasn't started to crow, as we aren't supposed to have roosters here.

His hatch mate is a girl, I think. She doesn't raise her hackles like he does. She is most definitely submissive to him and smaller. She has a crest as well, but I don't think she has much of a split wing.

I put the 2 SFH in with two barred rock hens a couple of weeks ago and they are still working out the pecking order. It's slowly getting better. The SFH roo definitely helped the transition as the two br's weren't allowed to peck on his girl.

 

[Dahlisgrams]

I have some beautiful red and white pullets. Last year I had almost 100% red and white. I do think that they are beautiful I just wanted some other colors as well. I have culled out all of the splash hens, and my red/white roosters. My new roosters (from kimberly35042) are beautiful birds with darker colors, and lovely flowering. I'm not sure what to expect from these pairings as I haven't hatched any eggs from them yet, but would be surprised if you didn't get some red/white. I would certainly be interested in an egg swap. I did get two lovely pullets from Kim, a black/white, and a mille fleur, but am still hoping for more of the darker colors.

Sounds great! I'm thinking March or early April going by the age my other pullets began laying.

I think until there is a standard, we should only cull for obvious defects or your personal preference, what will we do if we find out the one we culled is the most sought after. We have one straight from Greenfire that has chocoate legs And beak. We checked into it And we r not the only one, we have yet to see what these birds have to offer.

I agree. I'd like to gather as many different colors as possible in my flock simply to add a bit of genetic diversity but am not breeding for any particular color. I have a solid buff pullet with yellow legs that has no white in her feathers at all. I questioned her purity but GF says she's pure. I'm not sure what to do with her though, in terms of breeding. Is this a coloration to avoid when the breed is known for their flowers, or is it merely another color in the rainbow? I am considering a test breeding just to see what the chicks would inherit. She is currently with my laying flock but is not quite to the point of lay. I'll try to get some good photos.
The chocolate is very interesting. I wonder what else is hiding in the gene pool?

 

[Dahlisgrams]

I have two SFH. One is a rooster. He had curled toes when he was born and I put a bandaid on them to straighten them. They were fine until a couple of weeks ago and they started to curl. He has the split wing. He is beautiful, though; he even has a crest. I'm thankful he hasn't started to crow, as we aren't supposed to have roosters here.

His hatch mate is a girl, I think. She doesn't raise her hackles like he does. She is most definitely submissive to him and smaller. She has a crest as well, but I don't think she has much of a split wing.

I put the 2 SFH in with two barred rock hens a couple of weeks ago and they are still working out the pecking order. It's slowly getting better. The SFH roo definitely helped the transition as the two br's weren't allowed to peck on his girl.

I wonder if the curled toes are genetic with him? Especially if they are returning after being straightened. Hmmm...

My roosters are protective of their hens too. When we caught each one yesterday for pest and wing inspection, the head rooster ran to rescue his girls but settled quickly when he realized that we weren't hurting them. So far none are aggressive, thankfully.

 

[kimberly35042]

Quote:

Would LOVE to see pics of how the babies grew out.

I think until there is a standard, we should only cull for obvious defects or your personal preference, what will we do if we find out the one we culled is the most sought after. We have one straight from Greenfire that has chocoate legs And beak. We checked into it And we r not the only one, we have yet to see what these birds have to offer.

I have to agree and respectfully disagree. I'm breeding primarily for me, not "the most sought after". I love to share when I can, but type above all has to come first. Anything small regardless of color will not make the cut into the breeding pen. My newest group is 6 weeks old tomorrow. There are already huge differences in size including a very large white based pullet. I do not necessarily like the whites, but I guarantee you she will be in the breeding pen with my best roo!

 

[kimberly35042]

Quote:

Would LOVE to see pics of how the babies grew out.

I think until there is a standard, we should only cull for obvious defects or your personal preference, what will we do if we find out the one we culled is the most sought after. We have one straight from Greenfire that has chocoate legs And beak. We checked into it And we r not the only one, we have yet to see what these birds have to offer.

I have to agree and respectfully disagree. I'm breeding primarily for me, not "the most sought after". I love to share when I can, but type above all has to come first. Anything small regardless of color will not make the cut into the breeding pen. My newest group is 6 weeks old tomorrow. There are already huge differences in size including a very large white based pullet. I do not necessarily like the whites, but I guarantee you she will be in the breeding pen with my best roo!

 

[Leahs Mom]

I have two SFH. One is a rooster. He had curled toes when he was born and I put a bandaid on them to straighten them. They were fine until a couple of weeks ago and they started to curl.

Its possible that those curled toes are a nutritional deficiency in vitamine B1 and/or B2. If that is what it is, it can cause death. If he were mine, I'd immediately give him raw liver cut into small pieces daily for the next few days to a week and see if you see any improvement. If it improves, I'd continue to give the raw liver at least a couple times a week. I'd also give regular ground meat raw at least a couple times a week on a regular basis in general - especially in winter.