Swedish Flower Hen Thread

[Gonetothebirds]

just a comment... I've noticed a LOT of pictures recently of sfh with LARGE white earlobes... (not here, but on some auctions I've seen...) I would personally be wary of those, as I think there are some breeders out there mixing mille fleur leghorns with the sfh. leghorns typically have large white earlobes, while most sfh I've seen have more red or pink (red with a faint wash of white on it), which is more correct for the lightly tinted eggs we normally see. they also have a much larger comb and the hens tend to flop over (as seen in the second pic). these pics are just an example (from feathersite) of the mille fleur leghorns to contrast this, these are a few of my own SFH, showing the difference from the large white earlobe to one that's more red or pink...

I'm seeing a lot of mixes being sold as pure. People stealing pictures (including of my rooster). People claiming to have a imported line other then Greenfire...

 

[puglady]

Announcing the very first pip of a SFH egg at our house!!!

 

[ki4got]

 

[ki4got]

Having owned MFL from The Omelet Ranch I can see your point. However, my stock is direct from GFF, late 2013 chicks. The main cockerel couldn't be farther from MFL in type - but he doesn't have red ears. I no longer own MFL breeding stock and 100% prefer the SFH. I wouldn't want a mix for any reason! The temperament is worlds apart!

Main cockerel = white ears. He is easily 2x the size of a MFL. I would be very offended if someone accused me of mixing my stock. (I know you are not so don't worry - just pointing out that white ears DO happen). One should definitely be cautious, I see a potential for someone to add in Speckled Sussex and think that is okay too. It is probably best to know your source or at least ask for referrals from a known source. Ebay is scary - although even I have used it in the past to sell excess eggs.


The younger cockerel = pink ears.


Even though the lead cockerel has those leghorn scary ears - he is absolutely magnificent and significantly outsizes the younger one (they are a week apart). I much prefer his type so we will be using him as a breeder. I guess GFF must have white ears somewhere in their lines. If it's good enough for them it ought to be good enough for me.

Edited to clarify that I would NOT think it would be okay to cross with SS. I was saying other less scrupulous people might think it was okay. I hope that is clear as I value these birds and believe that true breed preservation does NOT include introducing other breeds!

do you have any pics of your white-eared roo from a distance, like the mfl were shown? I dare say his ears don't look nearly as pure white or as large as theirs... but I HAVE seen some sfh from a person that has both, that have that leghorn type and earlobe, claiming they're pure. and I will not buy eggs from him for that reason.

 

[CackleJoy]

do you have any pics of your white-eared roo from a distance, like the mfl were shown? I dare say his ears don't look nearly as pure white or as large as theirs... but I HAVE seen some sfh from a person that has both, that have that leghorn type and earlobe, claiming they're pure. and I will not buy eggs from him for that reason.

Keep in mind all my stock is direct from GFF - no middle man so there should be no chances of crossing. Hopefully I am correct in thinking that with their reputation they would not allow such a thing to happen and then sell the stock. It is their reputation that makes people trust them. Now that I have these as a base I am starting to buy in eggs and will raise up other bloodlines to introduce. We have 2 pips that I'm wildly excited about but they were shipped eggs and have huge saddle shaped air cells that make me nervous!





For reference, here is my puny MFL cockerel. No watermark because anyone is welcome to steal photos of this specimen. I believe he is recovering from a molt.




I don't have any of the two together for size reference but I would never mistake the SFH for a leghorn. He is HUGE. He stands almost as tall as our Dark Brahma did. My daughter saw this and said "ALMOST?" "He (the SFH) is taller! He's and amazing bird."

 

[OldChurchEggery1]

I've got one SFH with red earlobes on the outside but a small whitish patch toward the center. I guess what I'd look out for would be what is called "positive enamel white" which is usually a defect or DQ in birds that are supposed to have red earlobes. I think that's how it's termed in the Ameraucana breed description. There's some strong correlation between white earlobes and white eggshells as well if I recall correctly.

I have the APA SOP book at home but was able to come up with this on a google search:
http://books.google.com/books?id=Iq...e&q=positive enamel white in earlobes&f=false

 

[CackleJoy]

I've got one SFH with red earlobes on the outside but a small whitish patch toward the center. I guess what I'd look out for would be what is called "positive enamel white" which is usually a defect or DQ in birds that are supposed to have red earlobes. I think that's how it's termed in the Ameraucana breed description. There's some strong correlation between white earlobes and white eggshells as well if I recall correctly.

I have the APA SOP book at home but was able to come up with this on a google search:
http://books.google.com/books?id=Iq...e&q=positive enamel white in earlobes&f=false

Are you trying to nicely say that we shouldn't use the big cockerel ?

I appreciated the reference very much regarding ear lobes because I am just learning to REALLY pay attention to these things. We hope to start showing (other) birds soon.

If I were to raise up one with his physique that did not have the white ears, I might trade him out. That would be hard though because this big guy has a really sweet disposition.

Pardon my ignorance. Does anyone know what standards the SFH are supposed to have? I know the obvious ones like yellow legs and no split wing. Perhaps we should find out if more of the SFH are showing up with white in the ears. Our big guy has pink tips to his ears, like they were dipped in paint. Otherwise, they're startling white. I went and checked and all the girls have pink ears. So the offspring shouldn't throw too many whites - correct?

 

[Bulldogma]

Folks, after going through this horrendous experience, I have now have really good news to report. VDACS tested all of my chicks on Saturday and the results are in. All chicks were negative (clean!) for MG/MS.

**************************************************************************

Mr. Markley,
I just received the attached test results. All the samples that were collected on Saturday are negative. If you have any further questions, please let me know.

Kymberly

Kymberly Hammer Coffman
Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
261 Mount Clinton Pike
Harrisonburg, VA 22802
Phone: 540-209-9120
Fax: 540-432-1357
[email protected]

*************************************************************************

So I can finally move ahead. Many thanks to the folks who supported me and expressed concern, it was gratifying and very much appreciated.

Tony

Tony - I'm SO thrilled to hear your news!

Having owned MFL from The Omelet Ranch I can see your point. However, my stock is direct from GFF, late 2013 chicks. The main cockerel couldn't be farther from MFL in type - but he doesn't have red ears. I no longer own MFL breeding stock and 100% prefer the SFH. I wouldn't want a mix for any reason! The temperament is worlds apart!

Main cockerel = white ears. He is easily 2x the size of a MFL. I would be very offended if someone accused me of mixing my stock. (I know you are not so don't worry - just pointing out that white ears DO happen). One should definitely be cautious, I see a potential for someone to add in Speckled Sussex and think that is okay too. It is probably best to know your source or at least ask for referrals from a known source. Ebay is scary - although even I have used it in the past to sell excess eggs.

The younger cockerel = pink ears.

Even though the lead cockerel has those leghorn scary ears - he is absolutely magnificent and significantly outsizes the younger one (they are a week apart). I much prefer his type so we will be using him as a breeder. I guess GFF must have white ears somewhere in their lines. If it's good enough for them it ought to be good enough for me.

Edited to clarify that I would NOT think it would be okay to cross with SS. I was saying other less scrupulous people might think it was okay. I hope that is clear as I value these birds and believe that true breed preservation does NOT include introducing other breeds!

I have a couple with whitish on the earlobes - Alma included. They are not pure white, but have red around the edges and whitish-tan coloring in the center.

Announcing the very first pip of a SFH egg at our house!!!

Are you trying to nicely say that we shouldn't use the big cockerel ?

I appreciated the reference very much regarding ear lobes because I am just learning to REALLY pay attention to these things. We hope to start showing (other) birds soon.

If I were to raise up one with his physique that did not have the white ears, I might trade him out. That would be hard though because this big guy has a really sweet disposition.

Pardon my ignorance. Does anyone know what standards the SFH are supposed to have? I know the obvious ones like yellow legs and no split wing. Perhaps we should find out if more of the SFH are showing up with white in the ears. Our big guy has pink tips to his ears, like they were dipped in paint. Otherwise, they're startling white. I went and checked and all the girls have pink ears. So the offspring shouldn't throw too many whites - correct?

I think your cockerel is stunning. He definitely has the SFH build. I wouldn't worry too terribly much about the earlobes as long as the type and flowering is correct. Just my $0.02

 

[puglady]

Folks, after going through this horrendous experience, I have now have really good news to report. VDACS tested all of my chicks on Saturday and the results are in. All chicks were negative (clean!) for MG/MS.

**************************************************************************

Mr. Markley,
I just received the attached test results. All the samples that were collected on Saturday are negative. If you have any further questions, please let me know.

Kymberly

Kymberly Hammer Coffman
Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
261 Mount Clinton Pike
Harrisonburg, VA 22802
Phone: 540-209-9120
Fax: 540-432-1357
[email protected]

*************************************************************************

So I can finally move ahead. Many thanks to the folks who supported me and expressed concern, it was gratifying and very much appreciated.

Tony

So very happy to hear that!

 

[ki4got]

looking at the pic of the roo with white ears, he's a far cry from the leghorn white ears IMO...

there is no true 'standard' for the sfh, but more of a general set of guidelines. I was just warning to be careful when looking at egg auctions and sales, and pay close attention to the birds pictured. sfh typically have red earlobes that might have some white on them, but typically the huge blaringly white ears are not a sfh trait.

one thing the mille fleur leghorns will not have, that the sfh do, is blue, splash or crests.

personally though, when choosing sfh for my own flock, I will probably tend to avoid the overly white earlobes since the majority seem to trend more to the red/pink side.