Swedish Flower Hen Thread

[CackleJoy]

X 2 - its the dark red that gives the boys away. The last two look like girl red to me - not boy red. Their red is brown red or tan red - not bright red.

I am glad somebody else knows what the mystery ones are - packing peanut Legbars. I just knew they didn't look right for SFH.

Thank you everyone, I'm learning from you all. I didn't think the blue barred ones looked right but I didn't know what to look for as I've never had SFH before. Rather funny actually. I'll be paying close attention to the red tones from here on out as well!

 

[CackleJoy]

Its not the red, its the KIND of red that says "boy". The red in the males, generally on the shoulders, will be deep almost mahogany red and shiny. Not necessarily like a mature rooster shiny, but it just has that look. The "red" in females will generally be more tan or caramel color, and more matte looking. I would however, probably guess boy on the first two. "Finch" definitely looks like a pullet, and I would tend toward pullets on the last two as well.The two barred ones not SFH. Blue in a juvenile doesn't necessarily mean girl either. Young roos can be VERY blue, but usually turn mostly red at maturity. Don't put your trust in others guesses though. It difficult sometimes. Just observe until you see pointed ,shiny, saddle feathers coming in. Then you KNOW its a roo. With experience you'll learn to recognize that "look", until then make your guesses and observe. You'll begin to notice subtle changes that will help you in future gender IDs. Good luck!

I can tell this breed is going to be fun to learn! I enjoy each stage so much - thank you for the tips

 

[HaplessRunner]

Ok, two more shots of that roo and the pullet that looks like him. I pulled up GFF. Nothing fits. But I googled CLB pullet & got this (1st image)photo. What do you think? If you are sure they
don't look SFH, then I'll send photos on to GFF and ask them.









Thanks for the heads up.

This little guy is a crested cream legbar. He is not a SFH. The CCL cockerels combs always pop up and redden very fast. SFH cockerels can fool you for a long time before they make themselves definitively know.

The last picture does not look like any SFH that I have ever seen. So I cannot give you an opinion based on this picture.

 

[HaplessRunner]

Just wanted to share a picture of a surprise color that turned up in a batch of eggs a friend of mine hatched.
Meet Lafeyette...

...the hen in the pic is a half buff orpington, half SFH.

LOL - No surprise here. SFH roos rarely miss a single hen in the yard! They are also very diligent. They take the time to make sure that they succeeded by returning to each hen multiple times. If I had wanted to, I could have hatched a couple hundred SFH crosses from my layer flock.

Pretty hen. I bet she is faster than "true" buff orpingtons.

 

[DeltaBluezTess]

LOL - No surprise here. SFH roos rarely miss a single hen in the yard! They are also very diligent. They take the time to make sure that they succeeded by returning to each hen multiple times. If I had wanted to, I could have hatched a couple hundred SFH crosses from my layer flock.

Pretty hen. I bet she is faster than "true" buff orpingtons.

You sure have that right. My poor roo was working overtime to keep his ladies all happy. All of the eggs hatched! I gave him more hens and I think he is glad we have shorter days......the hens are laying machines
Diane

 

[Bernie56]

WOW Bernie56!!! That is one gorgeous roo!
I'm like you, I prefer the darker, more dramatic and splashy coloring and will be steering away from the red/white pattern.
I do have a friend, though, who has a red white roo that she loves, so we have put 3 black patterned hens with him and I am very curious to see what we get from them this spring.
Most of what I hatched are pale in coloration ( I have a red foundation roo) so I have 2 dark MF boys with those girls to hopefully darken the offspring.

I think the red/white coloring is beautiful, but in my flock it seemed pretty dominant. I don't want to do away with the white because it IS a naturally occurring color, and we want to maintain as much of the genetic diversity as possible, I just wanted to bring in more color to my personal flock. The red/white color will be reserved for hens only in my flock for now. It has taken me two years to get to where I'm at with my flock, but I feel pretty pleased with what I am working with now! I have been aggressively culling the red/white roosters, and only keeping the best of my red/white hens for the breeding pens. This guy was so different, as a chick, that I wanted to see how he progressed. I will only use him on a limited number of colored hens for now and see what he produces. I am hoping for a significant increase in mottling! These birds have become an obsession for me. "Chicken Math" works overtime in my coop! I love it!

 

[OHfarmerswife]

How many hens can a SFH rooster cover? I have one who is 5 months & in with 26 of my laying hens. Also at what age will he begin mating? He tries from time to time, but the girls shoot him down.

 

[wildhorseannie]

Tony, I was referring to the rooster behind the hen as the surprise color. I'd never seen a SFH like him before and was concerned that he was not an 'acceptable' coloration, but apparently he is.
I was just explaining the photo bombing hens' presence, she's no surprise, nor is the randyness of the SFH roos! LOL

 

[ki4got]

Quote:
IMO I think a lot of the red/white we're seeing are actually splash birds... from Leigh's Sorenson, all we've gotten so far are blue and splash from him as well. the trick would be to breed the red/whites to a bird with definite black (not blue) markings... if they're splash, all you'll get from that cross are blue-marked birds.

one reason I like my black-based roos, i'll get an assortment of blue and black from the girls regardless what colors they are. (splash x black = blue, blue x black = blue and black, and of course black x black = black)

 

[HaplessRunner]

Tony, I was referring to the rooster behind the hen as the surprise color. I'd never seen a SFH like him before and was concerned that he was not an 'acceptable' coloration, but apparently he is.
I was just explaining the photo bombing hens' presence, she's no surprise, nor is the randyness of the SFH roos! LOL

Marcia,

He is an attractive roo. I agree, I have not seen that pattern before but my experience is limited.