Swedish Flower Hen Thread

[SierraSfhFamily]

I had a roo from Swedish lines and he was a perfect gentleman.

I had 3 from German lines and they were devils. Terrible temperament. They had to be removed.

From our original flock we ended up with 3 roosters. Two were great and one was very very aggressive.

 

[2MorrowsDream]

Hi - been a while since I have been on the boards as well. A question to everyone: where did your swedish flower hens come from?? We live in NV (near the CA border) and received chicks by mail a couple years ago. That breeder is no longer breeding. Wondering where everyone’s chicks or eggs came from. It would be awesome to find someone within driving distance with Swedish flower hens!

I purchase eggs from a lady in MI. The eggs are of great quality, and great hatch rate.

 

[chickenmeadow]

What a beautiful breed. When reading about Swedish Flower chickens, I was most impressed with how their breeding was by natural "chicken" selection to suit the environment & not by people who were wanting a certain look. I hope that they are never breed to be just one color & stop color surprising with every hatch; I could except that just fine. Very tempted to have these in my flock. Am not an expert on this breed & hope that I read all of the online info right.

If there was no color type required for this breed, would they still be able to be an officially recognized breed some day in America (I don't know the rules)? Besides their great laying traits, temperament with people, hardiness, etc., **are they friendly to other breeds when mixed into a flock of dociles?** I have Ameraucanas & Australorps mainly. Best wishes.

 

[jbarrett]

What a beautiful breed. When reading about Swedish Flower chickens, I was most impressed with how their breeding was by natural "chicken" selection to suit the environment & not by people who were wanting a certain look. I hope that they are never breed to be just one color & stop color surprising with every hatch; I could except that just fine. Very tempted to have these in my flock. Am not an expert on this breed & hope that I read all of the online info right.

If there was no color type required for this breed, would they still be able to be an officially recognized breed some day in America (I don't know the rules)? Besides their great laying traits, temperament with people, hardiness, etc., **are they friendly to other breeds when mixed into a flock of dociles?** I have Ameraucanas & Australorps mainly. Best wishes.

I personally worked on getting them approved by the APA (American Poultry Association) and LBC (Livestock Breeds Conservancy) back in 2012 with a few other folks. They wanted us to pick one color to breed true to. We did not like this idea so we dropped the whole thing and just enjoyed them. I have shown them, that is how i got my start in them, showing them for 4H in a rare breed show. As far as mixing with other birds, they should do just fine if you mix them when they are old enough.

 

[Life is Good!]

Swedish flower incubator help please....

Have 11 Swedish flower chicks in the 'bator set to hatch 4/8. Following others advice from here, I've not added humidity until now 3 days before hatch (Brinsea incubator).

Candling has revealed that 2 of the eggs have a really, really wonky air sac - it's on the side instead of an end. My Java's have never exhibited this trait. Since the Swedish flower hen eggs are ones my own flock has produced, these eggs were not shipped, were collected and gathered together on my counter pointy-end down....all the 'usual' treatments for eggs.

Are there any considerations I should be taking for these two eggs? Suggestions welcomed! And yes, photos of cute chicks will be happily provided!

Thank you!

 

[cree57i]

I would lay them on their side aircell pointed up. You might try to determine who laid those eggs and not use her next time. I had a leghorn that always laid eggs with a lateral air cell. Makes me think it is genetic.

 

[Life is Good!]

You might try to determine who laid those eggs and not use her next time.

This is the wierdest part..I only have one pair of Swedish flower hen birds! So 6 of her eggs are just fine, 2 are not?! (The other 3 eggs in the bator are likely a Swedish/Java mix who will be grown for the table - he's a busy, busy boy!) Perhaps the wacky air cells are older eggs? She does lay daily at this point, so these might not be the 'freshest' of the bunch?

Thank you for the input! I'm getting excited to meet these little ones. Now the long wait, as her eggs have super thick membranes on them.

 

[cree57i]

Some chicks that hatched yesterday. The majority are SFHs. There are a few silver AMs, Frisian and silverudd’s in the group. These have the most variety of colors I have had.

 

[Life is Good!]

Beautiful!

Out of 11 eggs, we now have 5 in the brooder , 6 in the 'bator with 2 pipped, but not zipped...other 4 nothing yet. Can't wait to 'meet' them all!

No picture today, as they're a wet mess - not yet fluffed out or cute...just REALLY big feet! LOL.
The long wait continues...

 

[BreezyBre]

I just got my first little swedish chick & I must say I am disappointed didn't get a few more but hey I will because chicken math lol
She is a few weeks old now and she is really quite a beautiful bird I can't wait to see her all grown up . Not shy but cautious warms up pretty quick and is really sweet . Very happy