Swedish Flower Hen Thread

[Bulldogma]

When my sister vacationed with us last summer, I sent her home with some eggs. I love the red/white girl she got! The red is darker than what I'd expect on a hen, but she's laying and everything, so a hen for sure. Perhaps her colors seem so vibrant because she doesn't have blue? (Don't mind the 2 EEs.)



My sis is a Natural Hoof Care Specialist - and her birds were helping her clean out her car.

 

[ki4got]

You guys are more tolerant then me. I can forgive biting from a protective mother but otherwise I don't allow it. Two strikes and they're gone when it comes to unprovoked aggressive behavior has always been the rule at my place.This applies to all species but especially in choosing breeders. It is as genetic as broodiness. I would be concerned it would pop up in future generations.

I agree. I don't tolerate biting from anything except a broody, and even then, I don't care for it and will work to get her used to me bothering her... but she's only been broody 2 days, so she's new to this, so a bit of leniency is considered. my dorkings that bite have learned the hard way that when they bite they are forcefully ejected from the nest.

 

[sfh11]

Personally, I don't like the idea of "mixing" breeds. Unfortunately I think that there are probably far more mixed breeds being sold as purebred birds than people imagine.(the "blue with gold hackles and absolutely no white pullet", recently referenced, IMO is probably an example) The Swedish Flower Hen breed is so new here in the states the numbers are still relatively low. I think as responsible breeders, we should work within the breed, and cull aggressively, anything that doesn't conform to what we "expect" in a Swedish Flower Hen. IF each breeder mixed in one or two hens, it wouldn't be long before the breed, in the US, was just a mish mash of mixed breeds. That's why I have an issue with the Landrace idea. If people think "its not a breed" they can do "whatever"....! I have seen SFH's described (on this thread) as "Mutts". I would hate to see that become a reality. That being said, I must confess that I have, in the past, crossed my SFH's with my Ameraucanas to produce olive egger EE's, but they reside in the EE pen as EE's and are very easy to differentiate by egg color. That would not be the case in another breed. Just my $.02 worth.

I would agree with what you have to say. It would seem Swedish Flowers have been plagued by mixed breed birds being sold as purebred birds. There's a couple auctions on ebay for Swedish Flowers with pics of birds obviously not pure. There are pics all throughout this thread of mixed breed birds being passed off as purebred. Nothing wrong with using other birds to bring a trait into your flock, but those birds should not be sold as pure until the offspring meet the standards of the original breed (In the SFH's case, unwriten standards). I'm not advocating it, but at some point a standard will need to be written to perserve the breed as it is. Perhaps without any reference to color other than flowers, they must have flowers.

Bottom line is buyers should asked questions before purchasing. Ask to look at pics of breeder birds, ask what they have culled for, ask if they have other breeds and if so do they let them run with other breeds.

 

[sfh11]

I don't really know where to post this, but I figure most of you are familiar with me by now. My BLRW is very broody, and very tame, and kind of the matriarch of my backyard. "Big Broody Judy". Should I allow her to enter the gene pool when I start incubating?

There are many inquiries regarding babies/eggs from my flock, and I'm not sure if that would ruin everything. But I think she has a lot to offer as far as cold hardiness and personality. My initial thought was to do a "test set" this year, including her eggs along with the pure blood SFH in my backyard, and then segregate her and also swap out my roosters.

The "test set" is to assure that my Brinsea's are working right, and they're being delivered tomorrow morning. Any resulting babies will be kept within my family. But going forward, should I just keep her genetics out of anything available to the public?

Comments, questions?

I kind of addressed this in my previous post, but I thought of something else, so I thought I would reply to this post. When breeding registered stock, such as cattle, you are allowed to use other breeds to bring in a certain trait that you want. But you had to register each cross and the offspring wasn't considered purebred until, if I remember correctly, it was either 7/8th or 15/16 pure. Nothing wrong with this, just don't market the birds as SFH until they are.

 

[Gonetothebirds]

I would agree with what you have to say.  It would seem Swedish Flowers have been plagued by mixed breed birds being sold as purebred birds.  There's a couple  auctions on ebay for Swedish Flowers with pics of birds obviously not pure.  There are pics all throughout this thread of mixed breed birds being passed off as purebred.  Nothing wrong with using other birds to bring a trait into your flock, but those birds should not be sold as pure until the offspring meet the standards of the original breed (In the SFH's case, unwriten standards).   I'm not advocating it, but at some point a standard will need to be written to perserve the breed as it is.  Perhaps without any reference to color other than flowers, they must have flowers.

Bottom line is buyers should asked questions before purchasing.  Ask to look at pics of breeder birds, ask what they have culled for, ask if they have other breeds and if so do they let them run with other breeds.

And where are you seeing a cross on this thread?

 

[sfh11]

And where are you seeing a cross on this thread?

Most of the instances on this thread have been receiving purebred eggs and hatching mixed breed chicks.

 

[SSletten]

Please anyone tell me where I can order day old or young Swedish flower hen chicks. Not eggs. And please don't say green fire farm or our fly babies. Our fly babies scammed me last year and free fire is way to expensive

 

[Bernie56]

Please anyone tell me where I can order day old or young Swedish flower hen chicks. Not eggs. And please don't say green fire farm or our fly babies. Our fly babies scammed me last year and free fire is way to expensive

Check out Jordan Farms / Pampered Poultry.
Richard is great to work with.

 

[Gonetothebirds]

I have my first chicks from trio!

 

[Bulldogma]

I have my first chicks from trio!

Congrats!!! That's awesome news!