Swedish Flower Hen Thread

[ki4got]

Thanks for the informative page on genetics, ki4fot.

my pleasure!

to be honest, so many people were asking me this or that, i got tired of typing the same thing over and over...

hope it was at least a little bit helpful. if not a lotta bit.

 

[ki4got]

Hi everyone, just learned about this thread. I've been reading some of your posts & thought I would join in. I have 10 SFH, mine about about 7 wks old now. Very colorful, I love this breed. I 1st became interested in them while looking for something from Sweden for my DH for Christmas. I came across SFH, I just had to have some! I got my babies strait run, but I think I've lucked out b/c it looks like I've got 1 boy, 9 girls. None have split wing that I can tell so far, and all of my birds are crested. I need to take some new pics, but I'll post a few of the ones I took the day after they arrived @ 3 & 4 wks old.

This last pic is of my little roo "Vanno", his comb was red even at this young age. I've named all my birds after my DH's family since they are all Swedes

i might suggest you add some non-crested to your lot, or you're likely to get some REALLY foofy chicks out of them... not quite as bad as the polish, but still. LOL

i'd like a 50/50 mix myself. we'll see what hatches down the road.

 

[PugBug]

At this point I'm just gonna let nature take it's course, see what happens. I like both, but I have to say I'm partial to the crested

DH said he mostly only saw the crested when he still lived in Sweden, except for the ones in mixed barnyard flocks... Right now I'm just fascinated in watching them change each day. More colors & speckles are added, beautiful!

 

[jbarrett]

i might suggest you add some non-crested to your lot, or you're likely to get some REALLY foofy chicks out of them... not quite as bad as the polish, but still. LOL

i'd like a 50/50 mix myself. we'll see what hatches down the road.

i like the 50/50 as well! I have 2 crested and 2 non crested roos and just asking here but do you guys think I should put a crested and a non crested roo in with my girls 2 separate pens when i go to breed them and let em go at it?

 

[ki4got]

Quote: depends... personally i'd probably just toss em all together and see what you get. you can always break them up into smaller pairs/trios/whatever down the road. 8)

 

[Bulldogma]

dont hurt that boy just teach him a lesson

he sure is pretty and Im going to need some new blood lines this summer so I might be looking to you!

Oh heavens... I wouldn't hurt that roo for anything! Just want him to know his place. He's a good boy - just trying to do what he believes is his job and protect his little flock.

Hi everyone, just learned about this thread. I've been reading some of your posts & thought I would join in. I have 10 SFH, mine about about 7 wks old now. Very colorful, I love this breed. I 1st became interested in them while looking for something from Sweden for my DH for Christmas. I came across SFH, I just had to have some! I got my babies strait run, but I think I've lucked out b/c it looks like I've got 1 boy, 9 girls. None have split wing that I can tell so far, and all of my birds are crested. I need to take some new pics, but I'll post a few of the ones I took the day after they arrived @ 3 & 4 wks old.





This last pic is of my little roo "Vanno", his comb was red even at this young age. I've named all my birds after my DH's family since they are all Swedes

Very pretty chicks!!!

I believe what ki4got is eluding to is the chance of getting chicks with vaulted skulls from crossing crested to crested. Vaulted skulls can cause death just before hatch or shortly after. If you breed crested to uncrested, you will not get this deformity, but you will still get about 50% crested birds.

The other possible drawback to homozygous crested birds is that the crest is then so large that the bird's vision is compromised and it is easier for them to be picked off by predators. (They don't free range well... and these birds LOVE to free range!!)

I'd love to hear everything your husband remembers about Swedish Flower Hens in Sweden! There is little information on them here in the US.

 

[jbarrett]

Oh heavens... I wouldn't hurt that roo for anything! Just want him to know his place. He's a good boy - just trying to do what he believes is his job and protect his little flock.


Very pretty chicks!!!

I believe what ki4got is eluding to is the chance of getting chicks with vaulted skulls from crossing crested to crested. Vaulted skulls can cause death just before hatch or shortly after. If you breed crested to uncrested, you will not get this deformity, but you will still get about 50% crested birds.

The other possible drawback to homozygous crested birds is that the crest is then so large that the bird's vision is compromised and it is easier for them to be picked off by predators. (They don't free range well... and these birds LOVE to free range!!)

I'd love to hear everything your husband remembers about Swedish Flower Hens in Sweden! There is little information on them here in the US.

ok I was just making sure! Some people get aggrivated and send them to freezer camp as people call it!

 

[Bulldogma]

ok I was just making sure! Some people get aggrivated and send them to freezer camp as people call it!

Nah - not this boy. He has wonderful coloring and I adore him. He's just testing me to see where he stands - LOL. I'll hold him like a baby all day if that's what it takes. Love me some rooster snuggles!

 

[jbarrett]

Nah - not this boy. He has wonderful coloring and I adore him. He's just testing me to see where he stands - LOL. I'll hold him like a baby all day if that's what it takes. Love me some rooster snuggles!

 

[PugBug]

Oh heavens... I wouldn't hurt that roo for anything! Just want him to know his place. He's a good boy - just trying to do what he believes is his job and protect his little flock.


Very pretty chicks!!!

I believe what ki4got is eluding to is the chance of getting chicks with vaulted skulls from crossing crested to crested. Vaulted skulls can cause death just before hatch or shortly after. If you breed crested to uncrested, you will not get this deformity, but you will still get about 50% crested birds.

The other possible drawback to homozygous crested birds is that the crest is then so large that the bird's vision is compromised and it is easier for them to be picked off by predators. (They don't free range well... and these birds LOVE to free range!!)

I'd love to hear everything your husband remembers about Swedish Flower Hens in Sweden! There is little information on them here in the US.

If it ends up being a health issue, I can always add some non crested- DH had some of them in Sweden, but back then they didn't think of them as anything special. As he said, they were just 'farm chickens'. However this breed was better than more solid colored birds @ natural cammo free ranging, they just blended in with the surroundings. My MIL has friends with a dairy in North Sweden that have mostly what she believes is the SFH, she said they look the same. From what they tell me they are a good breed b/c they are pretty much low maintenance- again these birds are completely free ranged. That's about all I've been told really.