Swedish Flower Hen Thread

[kefiren]

i asked this question yesterday to the forum, but got no replies. thought i might get more info here.

my goal is to have a flock of speckled chickens that lay brown eggs. i have raised speckled sussex in the past and like their personality. i've also been really interested in the developments concerning the swedes.

well, i know i haven't much luck at hatching shipped eggs. i ordered a dozen of each. what i got was 3 sussex and one swede.

it has been interesting raising them right next to each other. don't know if anyone else has done this.

the swede had a bit of trouble at first with curled toes. that fixed itself within 24 hours. and then he began to grow fast, far outpacing the growth of the sussex. he also has a much wilder/active personality, compared to the laid-back sussex. at one point he was twice as big as the smallest of the sussex. he began to crow a few weeks ago, at 5 WEEKS OLD. he has no crest but looks like he might look like this:

http://cdn.backyardchickens.com/c/ce/ceb40f88_july2012022.jpeg

so, should i put the swede roo over my sussex hens? do these breeds have anything to offer each other? what will happen color-wise? do their speckled genes "line up" so that the babies will be speckled? will the variable colors of the swede get overidden?

thanks for any opinions, info, and guesses--educated and otherwise!

 

[ki4got]

i asked this question yesterday to the forum, but got no replies. thought i might get more info here.

my goal is to have a flock of speckled chickens that lay brown eggs. i have raised speckled sussex in the past and like their personality. i've also been really interested in the developments concerning the swedes.

well, i know i haven't much luck at hatching shipped eggs. i ordered a dozen of each. what i got was 3 sussex and one swede.

it has been interesting raising them right next to each other. don't know if anyone else has done this.

the swede had a bit of trouble at first with curled toes. that fixed itself within 24 hours. and then he began to grow fast, far outpacing the growth of the sussex. he also has a much wilder/active personality, compared to the laid-back sussex. at one point he was twice as big as the smallest of the sussex. he began to crow a few weeks ago, at 5 WEEKS OLD. he has no crest but looks like he might look like this:

http://cdn.backyardchickens.com/c/ce/ceb40f88_july2012022.jpeg

so, should i put the swede roo over my sussex hens? do these breeds have anything to offer each other? what will happen color-wise? do their speckled genes "line up" so that the babies will be speckled? will the variable colors of the swede get overidden?

thanks for any opinions, info, and guesses--educated and otherwise!

cross breeding is fine if you have a spefic goal, but predicting the outcome of these birds is a bit iffy, personally, since i have no experience with sussex.

the goal of most SFH breeders is to keep the breed diverse but pure without crossing to other breeds, IMO. it's rare enough as it is...

I might suggest you opt for purchasing chicks or grown birds to put with him, rather than planning on mutts which won't be usable to sussex breeders or sfh, and might only be colorful egg layers and freezer birds. but if all you want are colorful mutts, then go for it.

i don't mean that to sound rude, but that's what a cross-bred bird is. some people do specific crosses with a single goal in mind, but if you're just breeding them because that's all you've got, that's not really a goal at all.

 

[kefiren]

yes, that is me. back yard flock and no lofty goals.

i have sort of spent my wad trying to get swedes here to no avail. to others i would say: ship chicks. you know what they say about hindsight and 20/20. i'm done.

so wondering if anyone knows if together a speckled sussex and a swede would def have a speckled baby. ie, is it the same speckled gene?

 

[15littlem]

i asked this question yesterday to the forum, but got no replies. thought i might get more info here.

my goal is to have a flock of speckled chickens that lay brown eggs. i have raised speckled sussex in the past and like their personality. i've also been really interested in the developments concerning the swedes.

well, i know i haven't much luck at hatching shipped eggs. i ordered a dozen of each. what i got was 3 sussex and one swede.

it has been interesting raising them right next to each other. don't know if anyone else has done this.

the swede had a bit of trouble at first with curled toes. that fixed itself within 24 hours. and then he began to grow fast, far outpacing the growth of the sussex. he also has a much wilder/active personality, compared to the laid-back sussex. at one point he was twice as big as the smallest of the sussex. he began to crow a few weeks ago, at 5 WEEKS OLD. he has no crest but looks like he might look like this:

http://cdn.backyardchickens.com/c/ce/ceb40f88_july2012022.jpeg

so, should i put the swede roo over my sussex hens? do these breeds have anything to offer each other? what will happen color-wise? do their speckled genes "line up" so that the babies will be speckled? will the variable colors of the swede get overidden?

thanks for any opinions, info, and guesses--educated and otherwise!

Check out Aloha Chickens, it's an amazing project!

 

[kefiren]

yes, i've read that thread. perhaps they can answer my question.

 

[ChickNmamma]

yes, i've read that thread. perhaps they can answer my question.

I would try there, I think they might be able to answer your question. I am unsure what causes the speckles in either breed or if they are compatible or if they would wipe each other out. It looks like they have much more experience in that area while building their Aloha birds. Since they are now crossing to the SFH they can probably tell you which speckled bird worked.

 

[ki4got]

Quote: in a mille fleur pattern, it's mottling and columbian pattern that give the markings. beyond that, all i can say for sure is mottled is involved with the swedes.

pretty sure mottling is in the speckled sussex too, but i think they achieve their markings slightly differently.

 

[CrazyCatNChickenLady]

yes, that is me.  back yard flock and no lofty goals. 

i have sort of spent my wad trying to get swedes here to no avail.  to others i would say:  ship chicks.  you know what they say about hindsight and 20/20.   i'm done.

so wondering if anyone knows if together a speckled sussex and a swede would def have a speckled baby.  ie, is it the same speckled gene?

 

I think they will definitely keep the pattern. I have some crosses in the brooder right now. 4 are 50% swede, 25% araucana, 25% Egyptian fayoumis. They're getting white feathers in just like the pure babies I have them in with. Not as many, but its looking like at least 2 will be pretty colorful. I also have a 50% swede, 25% tolbunt polish, 25% olive egger baby. He's black with brown and has lots of white just like the swedes. I'm all for crossing as long as you don't sell them as pure. If you ever sell extras locally to non-chicken-savvy people I'd sell them as speckled Sussex crosses. Just my opinion. Some of the coolest chickens I've seen have been mixes!

 

[SunnySkies]

I had four eggs hatch in one batch. All roos. All the same color. It happens. Hate when it does. Current bunch is too young to tell. 4 weeks. Getting close.

Yep. Every hatch I have done here has been 80% rooster. I was hoping for better results...like closer to 50:50.... when I bought chicks, lol. At $19 each plus shipping and feed, those are gonna be some expensive dinners! LOL

I hope, hope, hope we hatch a chick tomorrow. Fingers crossed!

 

[chiques chicks]

My broody orpington hatched one of my SFH eggs yesterday. Won't let me upload a pic.