Swedish Flower Hen Thread

[SunnySkies]

I agree totally on culling. Just never heard anyone mention they had seen this so
was curious.

It is very odd. Any chance something with genetics for that could have gotten into his bloodline?

Just had a little war break out among a couple roosters in my flock.  Harley, my mille fleur SFH cockerel, got into a showdown with one of my euskal oiloa (EO) cockerels.  Harley has been the lead rooster since earlier this summer.  This show down has been coming for some time.  The EO cockerel apparently decided that he was not going to back down and let Harley chase him any more.

I did not intervene figuring that it might be a short skirmish and be over.  It did not end quickly.  Eventually, the EO cockerel bested Harley.  Both were breathing hard, were exhausted and had some blood running from the EO's comb.  The EO is dual purpose chicken and his build had grown larger than Harley.  They seem to have gone into separate corners but take after each other as soon as they get close.  It will be interesting to see how they coop together tonight.

For those with more experience with chickens than me, I wonder how this will affect the flock ongoing.  I can see where this will cause some additional instability until things sort out again.

I have a bantam Cochin and an EE that will do that. They fought to bloody messes any time they crossed paths. I ended up deciding the bantams have to stay in a tractor to keep the roosters from trying to kill each other. Hopefully your boys work it out. I do have a couple others who will fight if provoked by the other, to the point of drawing blood, but 5 minutes later, they're eating together.

Some of us are just real busy and don't post much, but read when we can. 

I have SFH from all 3 importations.  Lots of diversity! 8 breeding pens, will be increasing that number this spring.  Getting lots of fun colorations from breeding the different groups together. Too much fun! 

Doc

That is great!

I had a hen drop dead after acting sort of off for about 10 days.  We had her in the house and had been feeding her scrambled eggs and layer crumbles and she seemed to be on the mend and then just dropped dead.  I had a necropsy done on her and the findings were basically that she had heart failure.  I just wondered if this is common in the breed or if anyone else has had any troubles with it in the SFH.  She was about 9 months old.

I have had a couple die at about that age, but necropsy was nonspecific findings. So, no, no heart failure here.

 

[ki4got]

Quote: my sfh roo and one of my bantam cochins, neighbors for months, decided as soon as they were both turned free range, to do daily battle for over a week... every time i looked out there they were at it again. then one day i got home late and as i'm locking up everyone and doing a head count, i found the sfh roo AND the cochin roo roosting side by side, in the cochin's house... LOL since then they've been buddies. they just had to work out their differences. every night i find my sfh and cochins in either their own or the other house, with no rhyme or reasoning. and its never the same birds either. LOL just a total of 4 sfh (3 girls and 1 roo) and 5 bantam cochins (4 girls and 1 roo). 2 nights ago, they were ALL in the cochin's house. the day before, all but 2 were in the sfh house...


the cochins are on the near end pen, the sfh the one next to it... (crossing fingers to finish the other 2 this weekend and start on the next group that will share the back wall of this group.)

 

[Bulldogma]

Sorenson and Mace spar daily, but it seems to be mostly play. They have really never made physical contact that I've seen, and I've never seen any blood. Hopefully your boys will settle down soon, Hapless.

 

[Jeansrie]

I hope this is not a stupid question. My SFH chicks are about 1.5 months old, are there any clues in their feather pattern as to if they might be male or female? Most of the pictures of roosters I have seen are red in the shoulders, so I thought I'd ask.

 

[ki4got]

I hope this is not a stupid question. My SFH chicks are about 1.5 months old, are there any clues in their feather pattern as to if they might be male or female? Most of the pictures of roosters I have seen are red in the shoulders, so I thought I'd ask.

you can guess at this point, but until about 10-13 weeks, it's still a guessing game... they have a habit of changing their minds I think.

 

[Bernie56]

I hope this is not a stupid question. My SFH chicks are about 1.5 months old, are there any clues in their feather pattern as to if they might be male or female? Most of the pictures of roosters I have seen are red in the shoulders, so I thought I'd ask.

It is certainly not a stupid question, but it would be difficult to give you a definitive answer. Its true that most adult SFH roos have "red in the shoulders", but they will change dramatically from chick, to juvenile, to adult. They should start developing their adult coloring by about 4 months. That said, if the chicks start getting random deep red feathers on the shoulders earlier, there is a good likelihood that it is a rooster, in a pullet the red will be more of a tan/caramel color. The combs will develop more quickly, and turn red much earlier in a roo than in a pullet as well.

 

[Jeansrie]

It is  certainly not a stupid question, but it would be difficult to give you a definitive answer. Its true that most adult SFH roos have "red in the shoulders", but they will change dramatically from chick, to juvenile, to adult. They should start developing their adult coloring by about  4 months. That said, if the chicks start getting random deep red feathers on the shoulders earlier, there is a good likelihood that it is a rooster, in a pullet the red will be more of a tan/caramel color. The combs will develop more quickly, and turn red much earlier in a roo than in a pullet as well.

Here is a picture of a chick I'm questioning - these red feathers are new over the past week or two. I have two that look like just like this, they have always seemed to have bigger combs than the others but no real difference in comb color yet. I will keep them a while longer and see what happens.

 

[DCchicken]

Here is a picture of a chick I'm questioning - these red feathers are new over the past week or two. I have two that look like just like this, they have always seemed to have bigger combs than the others but no real difference in comb color yet. I will keep them a while longer and see what happens.

I would vote roo on this one. Look at the pink in the comb and wattle. But then again SFH are really difficult to sex.

 

[ki4got]

Quote: yup. those deep red feathers on the wings scream boy... sorry. and that's about the age they start growing some in. some of my boys don't have that, but then again the're more faded pastel-type colors (pale blue, lighter reds, etc)

 

[ki4got]

my oldest 2 groups are graduating to the 'big house' large hoop coop (if they can't walk thru the wire that is LOL) and the next group is taking over their pen tomorrow. hope to finish the 2 breeding pens, then i'll have some place to lock up my BLRW pair (LF), the bantam mille cochins, the sfh and the 3 red cochins (with sq buff roo, since I lost the red roo...)

the oldest baby sfh are also going to be kept company by the 3 silver laced cochin girls, bantam blrw youngsters and possibly my bantam blrw roo too, to teach the young boys manners.

still haven't really decided who's going where, since the blrw pair would also do well in one of the 'baby' pens too... they're mellow enough confinement doesn't seem to stress them. I might use the new pen for a trio of sg dorkings. they do NOT do well in the smaller pens. but I know at least one of the girls is laying in the new pen nest boxes I've got up... so