Swedish Flower Hen Thread

[DaisyMay1983]

Beautiful! I'd love to have some of these!

 

[ki4got]

To rarebear...
on 7/31 you wrote:

OK, all of you well informed Flower Hen experts. I am really needing to know what I have here as they are suppose to go to new home this weekend. I cannot have roo's. The problem I have is that I see Flower Hen females do have red waddles and red combs. I am at a loss. These first two I hatched on the same day. As you can see one has a much redder and thicker comb. Do females ever have combs like this? The second one has a much lighter comb...more pinkish-red-yellow and slightly smaller waddles. They are almost 9 weeks old. I appreciate your help!

I hate to say it, but I think they are both roos. Though chicken 2 has a smaller comb and waddles, the dark mahogany feathering on the wing area is an indicator of a boy.
Sorry!!!

Then I replied:

as for the question on roos/hens, as I said before, if they are under 3-4 months old, if it's got a red comb and wattles (not waddles btw, that's how a duck walks) then it's a roo... my pullets combs started getting red somewhere close to 4 months old I think but some may start earlier. but NEVER at 9 weeks old like those boys. hens only start to redden up when their body gets ready to start laying eggs...

so yes you have seen hens with red comb and wattles, but those are mature hens who are laying eggs already. when they start out depends on the breed/variety many times. swedes seem to develop slower than some other breeds I have. at least as far as how fast roos develop comb and wattles... the hens will rarely have any comb growth/redness until about a month before they lay.

on 8/2 you wrote:

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.

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)

and today you posted:

I bought 7 Swedish Flower Hens about 7-8 weeks ago. Sadly it looks as though they are all males. They all have combs this pinkish/yellow color. I incubated four of my own in March. Three had small yellow combs and waddles with the one male having a bright red and thick comb. From looking at some photos it seems that some females do have pinkish combs and waddles. Do they or is it my wishful thinking? As well the four white ones have dark mahogany spots which someone told me is on males only. Here are three photos.<photos removed>

and I'm sorry to say, no matter how many times you ask, or how many ways you phrase the questions, the answers are still the same.

the pictures you've posted are all roos. pullets don't develop pink comb/wattles until usually 4 months of age.

these are pictures of pullets, not much older than yours are now. taken from other recent posts...
kanna's pullets

Bulldogma's pullets

and my own (these girls were 3 months old at the time of the pic)

notice there is NO wattle development at all, and the combs are very small.

 

[ki4got]

Beautiful! I'd love to have some of these!

not only are they beautiful, they are wonderful birds personality-wise...

I used to think nothing could be friendlier or more outgoing than my dorkings and cochins... then I got some SFH and they blew me away!

 

[Raven1]

I have 7 newly hatched chicks from Bernie56 eggs! All are light in color YEAH! WHOOT! I did not have the camera at home so tomorrow for pictures. Thank you Bernie56 for the swap this will for sure add the divercity to my flock that I was looking for. I promise pic tomorrow so do not fuss at me LOL!

 

[rarebear]

Thank you again. I was hoping there was a chance these were girls. I appreciate your explanation about how the pullets get redder after 4 months. Sorry for being a dweeb. I wasn't understanding why some of the flower hens looked as though they could be girls as I was looking at older ones. Anyone want 7 Swedish Flower Hen roosters. Also thanks for the waddle versus wattle. I am going to go bury my head in my pillow and cry.

To rarebear...
on 7/31 you wrote:
Then I replied:
on 8/2 you wrote:
and today you posted:
and I'm sorry to say, no matter how many times you ask, or how many ways you phrase the questions, the answers are still the same.

the pictures you've posted are all roos. pullets don't develop pink comb/wattles until usually 4 months of age.

these are pictures of pullets, not much older than yours are now. taken from other recent posts...
kanna's pullets

Bulldogma's pullets

and my own (these girls were 3 months old at the time of the pic)

notice there is NO wattle development at all, and the combs are very small.

 

[KYTinpusher]

Thank you again. I was hoping there was a chance these were girls. I appreciate your explanation about how the pullets get redder after 4 months. Sorry for being a dweeb. I wasn't understanding why some of the flower hens looked as though they could be girls as I was looking at older ones. Anyone want 7 Swedish Flower Hen roosters. Also thanks for the waddle versus wattle. I am going to go bury my head in my pillow and cry.

So sorry about all the roosters, but don't give up on the SFH. They are wonderful to own. I love the coop in your avatar! Is that yours?

 

[HaplessRunner]

Thank you again. I was hoping there was a chance these were girls. I appreciate your explanation about how the pullets get redder after 4 months. Sorry for being a dweeb. I wasn't understanding why some of the flower hens looked as though they could be girls as I was looking at older ones. Anyone want 7 Swedish Flower Hen roosters. Also thanks for the waddle versus wattle. I am going to go bury my head in my pillow and cry.

Do not cry - we were all there at one time.

 

[gardengoats11]

SunnySkies it sounds like APA wants varieties such as black flowers, blue flowers, buff flowers, etc. Then a descroption of the pattern would be difficult as the pictures I'v seen have varying degrees of flowers. Sounds like it might be a nightmare to have variety descriptons.

 

[gardengoats11]

"deleted double post"

 

[PugBug]

Last night after coming in the house to check on the 13 SFH eggs that were left to hatch I found my incubator UNPLUGGED! And the 3 chicks that had hatched were put in the brooder box (I had left them in the bator with the eggs as I didn't want to open it & compromise the eggs!) and the brooder was also UNPLUGGED with the 3 chicks just crying! I was LIVID- turns out my 90 yr old mother in law who is here visiting from Sweden decided to interfere- she took the chicks out & stuck them in the brooder box, not knowing it needed to be plugged in & just unplugged the bator leaving the eggs in it! Words can not even begin to express the HUGE argument that happened over this or how disgusted I am over this!!! She's been asked at least a million times to leave my animals alone, she has no idea what she is doing & she is NOT supposed to be in our bedroom at all which is where I keep the bator & brooder- for the purpose of making her leave it alone! She's done stuff like this before, but mostly caused no damage- this time she killed 13 perfectly formed SFH chicks! These were special to me because it's the first eggs from my flock- I am lucky to have the 1 SFH chick that hatched yesterday morning, & lucky she didn't kill it & the other 2 chicks by not plugging the brooder in! I opened all the eggs on the chance that some might have still been alive- all dead- just made me sick

Now all I can hope is the 7 eggs Johanna is sitting on will hatch