Swedish Flower Hen Thread

[Perris]

Thanks for the advice; I have my suspicions about them too.

 

[knoturavggrl]

I'm new to SFH. I got some chicks from a local breeder and let my Cochin raise them. They are doing so well and very self-sufficient! No problems at all; although a hawk did manage to get one. They are 9 weeks and I think the light-colored one is a cockerel, although I have seen no male behavior thus far. But it did get a comb and wattles at week 3 and seems to be a bit brighter than the others; although the comb and wattles have not gotten bigger since then. Fingers crossed, maybe just the diversity of the breed? I had one that had long tail feathers at day 3 and I thought for sure that meant something but now she looks like all the rest.

Congrats, they are stunning

All of the chickens pictured here are most likely Roosters (minus the mama and baby photos of course). SFH boys tend to pop combs early and since I am seeing pink already in all of these combs, I believe they are almost certainly cockerels. Though a hidden Roo can happen from time to time, those that pop color early like this @ 9wks are almost certainly boys.

For reference: My pullets didn’t show the slightest hint of pink till 13
weeks and they still all have very small
combs.

This is a pullet about 9-10 weeks of age. Notice not a hint of any pink.

Now at 14 weeks same pullet. You can see it’s definitely getting some pink flush but it’s still super small.

Then you have this guys, pic taken the same day at 9-10 weeks of age as pullet photo.

14 weeks also taken on the same day as the pullet photo.

 

[mtgirl2]

Congrats, they are stunning

All of the chickens pictured here are most likely Roosters (minus the mama and baby photos of course). SFH boys tend to pop combs early and since I am seeing pink already in all of these combs, I believe they are almost certainly cockerels. Though a hidden Roo can happen from time to time, those that pop color early like this @ 9wks are almost certainly boys.

For reference: My pullets didn’t show the slightest hint of pink till 13
weeks and they still all have very small
combs.

This is a pullet about 9-10 weeks of age. Notice not a hint of any pink.

WHAT?! Now that was not what I wanted to hear! I guess 6 roosters and 3 hens is not good chicken math!

 

[mtgirl2]

Looking back on this thread, it looks like the pictures of hens are very diverse, some have no combs and wattles at all and some have quite prominent ones. Is this just the diversity of the breed? One of my chicks had very long tail feathers at day 3 and now they are all the same size except one who has no tail at all. Obviously time will tell roo or hen, but I'm still holding out hope that I might have a girl in there!

 

[Perris]

I finally have a SFH broody - after 8 years of waiting!

 

[Perris]

Looking back on this thread, it looks like the pictures of hens are very diverse, some have no combs and wattles at all and some have quite prominent ones. Is this just the diversity of the breed? One of my chicks had very long tail feathers at day 3 and now they are all the same size except one who has no tail at all. Obviously time will tell roo or hen, but I'm still holding out hope that I might have a girl in there!

I think this is the only pullet among my 4, 13 weeks now

 

[JAMarlow]

A few SFH pics of 17 week olds (wow, has that much time gone by already? They were cute little fluffballs not that long ago!). Out of 9 hatched I have 5 roosters. ACK! I am rehoming two that I call "the Brothers" to a good home that has a bunch of hens but that just got rid of a mean rooster who was mean not only to the two young girls who take care of the flock, but also terrorized all the hens. All my boys are pretty chill, so they should do well there.

Which leaves me with 3 roosters. Still deciding if I will rehome one more, or even two? No rush. They all get along well, and it won't hurt to see how they fill out and how their personalities develop.

This is Clover, the second to hatch. First of the roosters to crow and develop. First to start growing fancy feathers. Acting just like a good rooster should. I'm so very happy with his personality. He's the head rooster, and so far I haven't found any reason for him not to stay right where he is as the top rooster of the breeding pen.


Billie Tulio, the first to hatch. I love the crest. Like the other SFHs, they love back pets. They scoot away as if they don't like it, and then turn around and come back for more. It's so funny.

You will see other breeds in the background. In about 4 months they will be integrated into my mixed-breed egg laying flock.

Agave, the third to hatch. A lot like Billie Tulio, but with fewer flowers. At least so far. It will be interesting to see how they change at their first adult big molt. (In this picture she is inspecting my work refilling a water reservoir)


Lady Jane. I'm not sure in which order she hatched. Very regal, calm, and chill. Wonderful personality. I just love her coloring and the mottled flowers.



And the last of my SFH pullets from this spring's hatch. Marshmallow. Who LURVS to fly up onto my back the moment I bend over to do anything. Does she fly off when I start straightening up? Nope! She starts walking up my back until she is perched on my shoulder or arm. Very curious, very friendly, allows me to pick her up. Doesn't mind pets at all. And what a character.

I'm just loving this breed. I plan to hatch out a few more from a breeder next spring. Hopefully I can improve the hen-to-rooster ratio.