Swedish Flower Hen Thread

[ivyrash]

Can someone educate me on something? I have a blue SFH that we showed over the weekend at the county fair. She has yellow feet but blue coming down the legs. The judge commented that she should have blue legs and feet, but the breed does not have blue legs so how would that work or is there something wonky going on here. I can post pics later but am at work right now. We also showed a crested hen that he thought should have a bigger crest. Her crest is not huge by any means and I'm fine with that, at least she can still see. Overall he liked the two hens my daughter showed and she got two blue ribbons for them.

 

[minihorse927]

Can someone educate me on something?  I have a blue SFH that we showed over the weekend at the county fair.  She has yellow feet but blue coming down the legs.  The judge commented that she should have blue legs and feet, but the breed does not have blue legs so how would that work or is there something wonky going on here.  I can post pics later but am at work right now.  We also showed a crested hen that he thought should have a bigger crest.  Her crest is not huge by any means and I'm fine with that, at least she can still see.  Overall he liked the two hens my daughter showed and she got two blue ribbons for them.

I don't quite see how he can say that about the legs considering there is absolutely no breed standard for the SFH. I'll have to double check mine but I believe mine all have yellow legs or mostly yellow legs.

 

[ki4got]

Can someone educate me on something? I have a blue SFH that we showed over the weekend at the county fair. She has yellow feet but blue coming down the legs. The judge commented that she should have blue legs and feet, but the breed does not have blue legs so how would that work or is there something wonky going on here. I can post pics later but am at work right now. We also showed a crested hen that he thought should have a bigger crest. Her crest is not huge by any means and I'm fine with that, at least she can still see. Overall he liked the two hens my daughter showed and she got two blue ribbons for them.

he was probably thinking something along the lines of an easter egger, not sfh...

SFH SHOULD have yellow legs. with some darker bodied birds they may have slightly darker legs, but should have yellow on the bottoms of their feet at the very least.

again, the sfh should NOT have huge crests... larger crests impede their ability to see around them, making them more likely to become prey while free ranging, which is how this breed evolved...

sounds like the judge was totally clueless to what an SFH IS... and since it is not an APA approved breed, nor ever likely to be, it's quite possible that very few judges will ever really know about them, unless they have an interest in them to begin with.

 

[ivyrash]

he was probably thinking something along the lines of an easter egger, not sfh...

SFH SHOULD have yellow legs. with some darker bodied birds they may have slightly darker legs, but should have yellow on the bottoms of their feet at the very least.

again, the sfh should NOT have huge crests... larger crests impede their ability to see around them, making them more likely to become prey while free ranging, which is how this breed evolved...

sounds like the judge was totally clueless to what an SFH IS... and since it is not an APA approved breed, nor ever likely to be, it's quite possible that very few judges will ever really know about them, unless they have an interest in them to begin with.

When he started saying that about the legs I asked him if what breed he thought they were and he sort of paused and then I told him and then he was like yep, that's what she is. I'm guessing he didn't know for sure and then was trying to cover it up. I called the extension office a month ago and asked about it just to make sure it would be ok for her to bring them and they said go ahead. My daughter was happy so I guess that's all that matters. I realize we couldn't take them to state even if he had given them a better placing so no biggie. It's so hard to get info on them sometimes, I enjoy other peoples input. Just trying to figure out if I should breed against the colored legs or leave it alone or what.

 

[ki4got]

I don't quite see how he can say that about the legs considering there is absolutely no breed standard for the SFH. I'll have to double check mine but I believe mine all have yellow legs or mostly yellow legs.

there isn't an APA approved standard, but we are trying to develop a set of "guidelines" to help people learn what the SFH is and should be. (and shouldn't be...)

so essentially, they can be crested or not, but larger crests are usually detrimental to their foraging ability, so breeding crested to crested may not be a good idea (not to mention some possible genetic faults that can happen when breeding crested to crested).

they SHOULD have yellow legs. darker bodied birds may have dusky or mottled legs, but should at least have yellow on the bottoms of their feet.

eye color should be orange to red in adults. chick eye color may vary from gray to greenish but usually changes by the time the pullets start laying.

they MUST be mottled. any base color is acceptable but they should show definite signs of mottling.

as for stature, the rooster should appear 'proud' with a nice wide back and chest, while the hen would be less upright but still nice and wide thru the back and chest. tails that tend to stay horizontal or drooping are not preferred.

Leigh is helping with the visual standard for overall shape (when she has time) but so far this is what we've come up with...

if anyone else has input toward "what is a Swedish flower hen" please feel free to help us refine the details.

the Swedish Flower Hen Breeder's Club website is still a work in progress and needs people to help out, even if it's just to give your point of view on what this breed should or shouldn't be... the link is in my sig.

 

[PugBug]

Can someone educate me on something? I have a blue SFH that we showed over the weekend at the county fair. She has yellow feet but blue coming down the legs. The judge commented that she should have blue legs and feet, but the breed does not have blue legs so how would that work or is there something wonky going on here. I can post pics later but am at work right now. We also showed a crested hen that he thought should have a bigger crest. Her crest is not huge by any means and I'm fine with that, at least she can still see. Overall he liked the two hens my daughter showed and she got two blue ribbons for them.

I am by no means as expert BUT sounds like that judge needs to educate him/her self on the SFH breed before making comments like that.... And NO they don't have blue legs- I have a couple of my hens with blue feathers that when they were younger did have some darker streaks or lines on their yellow legs & feet, but as they matured you can no longer see it. As for crests, they are not supposed to be so big & poofy that the birds can't see!

 

[PugBug]

Congrats! I have SFH eggs from brkuk hatching today, too. 3 out, 2 to go.

Congrats to you too! We're hatch buddies

 

[ivyrash]

ki4got, I have seen people have white Swedish, is that not considered a standard color? I just noticed it wasn't included in your list.

 

[gardengoats11]

It might be a good idea to take a "standard" with you if they are going to be shown more. I wouldn't expect an APA judge to know any thing about SFH since it isn't an APA accepted breed. I would appreciate that he actually gave the time and effort to give comments.

Congratulations! And good job getting them out for others to see.

 

[ivyrash]

It might be a good idea to take a "standard" with you if they are going to be shown more. I wouldn't expect an APA judge to know any thing about SFH since it isn't an APA accepted breed. I would appreciate that he actually gave the time and effort to give comments.

Congratulations! And good job getting them out for others to see.

That was sort of why I called the extension office to make sure it would be ok. We also pre-register our animals and we tell them what breeds we are taking. When there is a good basic standard maybe we will print something up to post at the shows. It's something we would like to start doing with all the breeds represented at our local show. No one writes down the breeds so people just see a bunch of pretty poultry.