Swedish Flower Hen Thread

[TxFlowers]

I don't have enough hens

to be that picky right now. I'm hoping next year I can choose which eggs to hatch. One of my hens lays a really ovoid egg, it's big but a strange shape. I'd like to not hatch those. I kind of think I need a solid dozen hens so that I can be choosy. We have plans to make a duplex this fall. The duplex will have a side for a crested cockerel over uncrested hens and the other side will be opposite. At that point I can keep 12-18 hens.

And 3 or 4 roosters. Really, I love these roosters. They are total eye candy for the yard!
I havn't tracked for an entire year because the birds are young (10 months now). I hope to track starting in January.
I have a broody

(crazy bird - doesn't she know she isn't a broody breed?). When all four are laying I get an average of 3 eggs per day with the odd 2 or 4 egg day. We plan to use solar lights in the hen house so we can get a few more through the winter. Our winters are mild and the hens tend to reduce laying but don't totally quit. I hope to keep them laying all winter so I can hatch more chicks for ME. I've had a hard time keeping them on the farm this summer.

One of my hens that lays my largest eggs started laying in January. Once she had been laying about a month or so and her egg size got larger, her egg was more round than "egg shaped". Just this month her egg shape has changed. Now it's more normal egg shaped while still being lg. The shape that I won't hatch are those ugly torpedo shaped eggs as I don't want more hens laying that shape egg but I did have one of the GFF girls begin laying torpedo shaped eggs however after several months they changed to a more typical

 

[gootziecat]

TxFlowers, Is the hen laying the large egg from GFF 2013 flock? If not, what size/weight is she? Thanks.

 

[TxFlowers]

Yes. The hen that laid the rounder eggs was from the Gff chicks i got late last summer. Her eggs have been close to 70 grams

 

[CackleJoy]

He looks nice. I got about 40 SFH chicks directly from GFF last year and in those I noticed some that were getting much larger than the others. I asked Jenny about it and she said they had one line of SF that got particular large. She said they didn't breed those as a group but bred all the lines together. I know that among my birds from all sources, I have gotten birds that were very light in bone/size and others that were much larger. I have been concentrating on keeping the larger birds but also trying to keep enough genetic diversity to prevent issues from inbreeding.

I don't want to cause trouble with putting too many siblings back together but I plan to be as selective as possible in choosing the heavier birds as well. I absolutely love it when I get the monster sized chunky babies!

One of my hens that lays my largest eggs started laying in January. Once she had been laying about a month or so and her egg size got larger, her egg was more round than "egg shaped". Just this month her egg shape has changed. Now it's more normal egg shaped while still being lg. The shape that I won't hatch are those ugly torpedo shaped eggs as I don't want more hens laying that shape egg but I did have one of the GFF girls begin laying torpedo shaped eggs however after several months they changed to a more typical

That is true - I probably shouldn't hatch those torpedos It's very VERY hard to eat a SFH egg.

Oh...and probiotics can still help strengthen the immune system and make the digestive tract less susceptible to parasites as well. The only pro-biotic I recommend is Avi-Culture II. It's the only avian probiotic on the market that is not grown on GMO substrate. Not expensive and goes a LONG WAY. Their website leaves a lot to be desired but the product is good. Can last up to 5 years if refrigerated properly.

The small container goes a long way.
http://www.avi-culture.com/shop.html

I like Conklin's probiotic. It is Organic so hopefully not grown on a GMO substrate. It is called Fastrack. I havn't lost a chicken to the heat yet and both the last summers were terrible hot. One week was 105+ last summer and people around me had chickens keeling over. I didn't and it wasn't because they were spoiled. Just the probiotic. I'm a believer! This summer we've had a series of weeks over 100 degrees where the nights didn't get much below 90. Still, didn't lose a single chicken. I'm kind of proud of that

fermented feed also provides lots of probiotics.
Do you think the acidity of it would affect the cocci? Make it an inhospitable environment?

Fermented feed can be dangerous in the heat. According to some sources, the fermentation process can raise the acid levels in the chicken, therefore raising the internal temperature. So I quit fermenting during the summer and I've never fermented chick crumble, just the layer food.

@Melabella
I have used it several ways.

If I am feeding dry, I just top dress it or stir it into their regular feed. It can be put in water but I always feel like I'm wasting a lot of it when I do that as it won't all be drunk. I guess I could just not fill the waterer as full and wait for it to be gone.

I am still fermenting so I have used it as a "booster" culture in my ferment container from time to time. I've also stirred it directly into the wet feed in their bowl. Another option is to soak a serving of feed overnight stir it into the wet feed just before feeding so that it sticks a bit better.

The photo insert is not working tonight on BYC...I was going to post the instruction sheet so you could see it. I will try posting it later or you can pm me w/your email address and I can send you a .pdf of the instruction sheet to look at.

I'm interested in your thoughts on lacto-fermentation. I use ACV to start the process. Am I doing it wrong?

 

[Leahs Mom]

I'm interested in your thoughts on lacto-fermentation. I use ACV to start the process. Am I doing it wrong?

Sent a pm. I do feed it year-round with no problem, but I do use lacto-fermentation.

 

[Tippylou]

Can you also send me a PM on Lacto-fermentation? Thanks!

 

[TheGeekySheep]

Day 21, one of my 3 SFH eggs is zipping! Nothing from the other two yet but they were alive at lockdown. Oh please don't let me end up with just one chick again.

 

[Bulldogma]

Day 21, one of my 3 SFH eggs is zipping! Nothing from the other two yet but they were alive at lockdown. Oh please don't let me end up with just one chick again.

for your hatch!

 

[Bulldogma]

Who wants to see the coop I built just for my Swedish Flower Hens?

Here's the link: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/pepparkakor-h-nshus-gingerbread-henhouse

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[TxFlowers]

Who wants to see the coop I built just for my Swedish Flower Hens?

Here's the link: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/pepparkakor-h-nshus-gingerbread-henhouse

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oooh, cute!