Swedish Flower Hen Thread

[RedRidge]

Quick question here...how do the SFH lay in comparison to Rhode Island Reds or Barred rocks ?

Can you clarify? Prod RIR or HRIR?
I can speak to the RIR and SFH, but not the Barred Rocks.
I have both Production RIR and Heritage RIR... big difference depending on what your goals are.
If you are just looking for egg production, go with the production reds. But if you're looking for a true dual purpose heritage bird, then HRIR are the way to go (they will lay about 100 eggs less a year but will live 3 times as long).
So... that's another consideration... eggs produced over their lifetime? HRIR will still be producing eggs when they are 8, 10 or even older. Or eggs produced each year with a shorter lifespan? Prod reds will peter out after 3-4 years but produce a lot during that time.

Once you determine which type of RIR you want, then you need to look at lines...
If you want eggs fast... production reds will do that better than any other breed I've had hands down (they have a little leghorn in them and will really produce)... but they will really drop off after the 3rd or 4th year.
With the HRIR, different lines have been bred for different traits and many of the HRIR do not produce many eggs. I chose the line I have for overall structure, longevity and egg production... egg production was important to me, but it is not to a lot of folks who have HRIR and show them.
There is a guy on the HRIR who is doing a bloodline comparison on his webpage... if you really want to get into the nitty gritty of HRIR, check out his webpage with all the various lines. Very informative.

That was more than you asked, but a quick explanation. The SFH is a totally different type bird than either the HRIR or the Prod Reds. Hard to compare. Their eggs are not as large as the RIR, they will not produce near what the Prod reds do, probably comparable to the HRIR although I have not done an exact comparison (Again, so much depends on the lines).
Hope that helps.

 

[Randy2010]

Figure that I would post now since I am finally getting chicks to hatch. I have bought 7 rounds of eggs with most being a dozen and had them shipped. First dozen I hatch 2 chicks about 4 weeks ago and both are going to be pullets then the second dozen I hatched only 2 chicks with one is a roo and the other is a crested pullet. then the 3rd and 4th and 5th dozen, I didn't hatch any out at all with eggs being bad from shipping I guess since no chicks tried to form in them. Then last week I hit it lucky on my 6th round and hatched 7 chicks. I have 9 eggs that are due to hatch tomorrow and so far they are looking good. So it finally looks like i'm on my way of raising some of these beautiful chickens.

Well I had 7 chicks out of my last batch of 9 shipped eggs to hatch, so I'm very happy with the results.

 

[rarebear]

I have a burning question. Do pullets or hens get waddles and combs? I have several that are eight weeks old but they are not dark red..more of a pinkish color. The males I have a very red and look thicker. ??????????

 

[minihorse927]

I have a burning question. Do pullets or hens get waddles and combs? I have several that are eight weeks old but they are not dark red..more of a pinkish color. The males I have a very red and look thicker. ??????????

yes, hens get combs and wattles but my 8 week old pulleys did not have any wattles. pictures would help we could probably tell you what they are.

 

[mtadkins5]

I understand there is no standard at this time but can someone tell me what is good to look for in SFH? I have 6 now and have 13 eggs in the bator (hope I get some lighter ones). I can't keep them all. I am not a breeder and I am just getting into chickens. I want to have a good backyard stock breeder or not

Thanks Tosha

P.S. All six I have now are crested. I am trying to deside witch roo to keep. One has a large crest the other is alot smaller so need help on witch to keep. I will try to post pic later.

 

[ki4got]

I have a burning question. Do pullets or hens get waddles and combs? I have several that are eight weeks old but they are not dark red..more of a pinkish color. The males I have a very red and look thicker. ??????????

hens' combs and wattles (waddle is what a duck does) don't usually develop until they're nearing egg laying age (4 months or so at the earliest) until then they are usually a yellow/grey/skin tone. (depending on mottling on/around the head)

 

[chickendeal]

Here are my SFH that I got from Bulldogma and Ki4got: The Boys: I wish you or I was close im in missouri and would love some of your babies to save from freezer camp I have some black autroiops(sp) if you want some freezer camp birds lol The girls: I'll probably only be keeping one of the darker boys and one in the last pic. the rest will need to go to other places or the freezer. I need to get some females that are darker like the two middle boys.

 

[gardengoats11]

Our Swedish Flower Hens, 2 pullets and a cockerel.

 

[KYTinpusher]

Our Swedish Flower Hens, 2 pullets and a cockerel.

Very nice! What part of N KY are you from?

Where did you get your SFH?

 

[SunnySkies]

I understand there is no standard at this time but can someone tell me what is good to look for in SFH? I have 6 now and have 13 eggs in the bator (hope I get some lighter ones). I can't keep them all. I am not a breeder and I am just getting into chickens. I want to have a good backyard stock breeder or not

Thanks Tosha P.S. All six I have now are crested. I am trying to deside witch roo to keep. One has a large crest the other is alot smaller so need help on witch to keep. I will try to post pic later.

IMHO, keep the nice one (s), as in disposition. Then keep any that really appeal to you as far and amoung of mottling, color, etc. Should have yellow legs, horn beak, etc. you should check for split wing and cull any with that (but you will end up hanging onto them for a while to sort that out). You can, if you have an excess, cull birds with comb sprigs. Otherwise, you are generally looking for an alert, active bird capable of free ranging with a good body size and depth, upright carriage of head and tail. Like they look like they can free range with no supervision (mine actually do this quite often).