Swedish Flower Hen Thread

[TxFlowers]

I need advice. I thought this one was a cockerel but it didn't get much of a comb so then thought it was a girl. Now I can't tell if I am seeing pointy feathers or not. My eyes are deceiving me. Can someone see if it is a boy or girl. Oh and don't tell hubby I put it on the kitchen table when he ran into town



My guess is cockerel. Coloring does suggest male and comb is bigger than I would expect to see on a pullet of that age although I have had boys with bigger combs by now. Still say a male.

 

[KYTinpusher]

I need advice. I thought this one was a cockerel but it didn't get much of a comb so then thought it was a girl. Now I can't tell if I am seeing pointy feathers or not. My eyes are deceiving me. Can someone see if it is a boy or girl. Oh and don't tell hubby I put it on the kitchen table when he ran into town

Coloring does suggest cockerel, but at 14 weeks, his comb and wattles should be much larger. Check underneath the saddle feathers to see if the pointy feathers are coming in.

 

[Alpine Chicken]

I need advice. I thought this one was a cockerel but it didn't get much of a comb so then thought it was a girl. Now I can't tell if I am seeing pointy feathers or not. My eyes are deceiving me. Can someone see if it is a boy or girl. Oh and don't tell hubby I put it on the kitchen table when he ran into town

I´m gonna add my vote to the cockerel-count. But I´m with KYT- try checking under the feathers in the saddle area- there might already be pointy saddle feathers coming in, or mahogany-colored feathers (also a sign of a cockerel).

 

[Bulldogma]

I guess I should be more clear that I'd choose a broody if I had one...

LOL - of course... but I would like to know more about the hot plate thing.

I need advice. I thought this one was a cockerel but it didn't get much of a comb so then thought it was a girl. Now I can't tell if I am seeing pointy feathers or not. My eyes are deceiving me. Can someone see if it is a boy or girl. Oh and don't tell hubby I put it on the kitchen table when he ran into town

This is a slow developing cockerel or possibly a gynandromorph, but it is not a pullet.

I had a gynandromorph SFH last year. Super friendly and a total lovebug. It finally had a series of strokes and died - gynandromorphism can cause issues like this - but not always. I actually did a couple blog posts about this condition as I found it so fascinating.

Chances are it's a cockerel with some sort of development issue, but you never know.

In the below image you can actually see a divide in the coloration where the genetics of both a male and female are involved. How cool is that? Italy was a mosaic gynandromorph as opposed to a lateral gynandromorph - those are really cool to see!

 

[TheGeekySheep]

@Loriemarler I'm going to say cockerel as well. I have a 10-week-old cockerel who's starting to look just like that. He just started getting the red in his shoulders.

Well Saturday I went on an awesome egg-collecting road trip through the mountains to North Carolina and back. I met Saskia of @bluehousefarm and had a great time chatting about chickens. I returned with 10 of her SFH (middle two full rows and the two on the very right) and I'm excited to take another crack at this with my new incubator. I'm hoping for lots of chicks and especially lots of pullets.

 

[Leahs Mom]

@Bulldogma
Is that a genetic problem? What causes it and is it something that parent stock should not be bred?

@TheGeekySheep
What kind of incubator is that? Is the first time you've use it? Can you give us a review after you've used it enough to have an opinion?

 

[TheGeekySheep]

What kind of incubator is that? Is the first time you've use it? Can you give us a review after you've used it enough to have an opinion?

It's an IncuView from Incubator Warehouse and this is my first hatch with it. I was ready to graduate from my LG styro bator and I was trying to decide between the Brinsea Octagon 20 Eco and this one. The Brinsea was of course the trusted name in incubators, but the IncuView had a better price, bigger viewing window (hence the name) and digital controls with tons of settings you can control so I ultimately chose that one. There are only limited reviews out there but overall they've been good so I decided to risk it. I'm eager to see how it performs and I'll definitely report back.

There's a thread for it here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/852619/incuview-incubator

 

[Bulldogma]

@Bulldogma
Is that a genetic problem? What causes it and is it something that parent stock should not be bred?

Nope - not a genetic problem. Just a fluke of nature. Happens in about 1 of every 10K chickens... so really not even that rare.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Quote:
And...do you feel "special" because you got one of the one in 10K?

ETA... I'll probably never know another person that gets one!

I'm thinking a lottery ticket is in order for you.

 

[KYTinpusher]

Quote:
And...do you feel "special" because you got one of the one in 10K?

ETA... I'll probably never know another person that gets one!

I'm thinking a lottery ticket is in order for you.
Think again!

I think I have a Bresse with the same problem. It is almost 16 weeks old and I am still not positive if it is a pullet or a cockerel. Its comb and wattles size are in between the cockerel and the pullets that it hatched with, redder than the pullets, but not as red as the cockerels. I am thinking I will get a capon without the surgery on this one.