Swedish Flower Hen Thread

[Contrastphoto]

Here are the SFH babies are 5 weeks now and I am still having trouble figuring out the gender. So all you experts out there please help!
I am thinking girl:

Both girls:

Girl:

BOY:

Girl:

Not sure but think boy?:

Here they are all together drinking:

Also I have been meaning to ask, I have noticed a the combs on a few of the chicks lean to the side or are wavy. Will they straighten out as they get older? I also have a older male with a slightly crooked toe. I am not planning on using him for breeding but am wondering if it is a problem others are having.

 

[BHep]

Here are some pictures.... I had a real hard time with the lighting. I will get better pictures another time.

 

[anniesmom]

Quote:
Cute!!!!
I think the one with the crest in the second photo may be a boy. The comb looks pinker than the other one in the photo. My little boys are 11 weeks now and they all had kind of funky combs early on. They are straightening out as they puff up.
Yes, I got one with crooked toes, too, more than slightly. Both feet are the same.

Luckily it's one of the boys (unfortunately, it's one with a crest). I will not be using him for breeding either. I have noticed a picture on the internet of another SFH with crooked toes like mine. We need to be careful.

 

[gootziecat]

I'd like to know some first hand information on the utility qualities of this breed. Can anyone tell me what size the mature eggs are? What's the rate of lay? And do the birds grow out fast and how quickly do they flesh out to make good meat birds for culls? Since there have been a couple of people comment about their roos being aggressive, it will be interesting to see how many more turn up. Greenfire says they haven't had any aggressive roos. Also, is there any problems housing several roos together, as well as with pullets? Wonder if they get along with other breeds ok?

Appreciate any information. Thanks.

 

[Knock Kneed Hen]

@ Contrasphoto, I agree with anniesmom, I think that's a roo in the second pic.
Such a wonderful variety. You got quite a few crested birds too. Thanks for sharing.

@ BHep, That little chick in the first pic on the right looks like it already has a huge crest. I see crooked toes on the grey bird in the second pic.
For those who have experienced this already, has taping them helped at all? I too wouldn't breed birds with crooked toes, but for their sake I'd want to try
to fix them. Wonder if anyone has been successful.

 

[BHep]

Ya know... I was wondering about the crooked toe thing. These are my first SFH, so I don't have a lot of info on them. If it is hereditary or just a birth defect. I have however....hatched 100s of chicks and I do come across a crooked toe here or there, especially in Silkies. I always make a little shoe form cardboard and band aid it to their foot for a day or 2 and have straighten many a toe.

I thought it had something to do with being squished in their shell.

Or in the shell too long. ANYWAY.... I have eggs in the bator, I will keep an eye on the toes and try to fix any that need it.

 

[anniesmom]

Quote:
KKH - My guy's toes did not look that bad at first (so it couldn't have had anything to do with the egg). They were just a tiny bit curved and have gotten worse as he grew. It's almost like the tendons or muscles are too tight and they didn't grow as he did. He gets around and perches just fine so I'm not worried about anything except his passing it on. He'll get to be eye candy in the eating egg flock.

It will be interesting to see if any of the rest of them produce chicks with crooked toes. I'm putting them in pairs in the spring to see who does what.

 

[Phage]

The crooked toe theme is a bit worrying

Also I was recently told that when you have a crest, it anatomically makes it tricky to have a perfectly straight comb.

This is potentially a big problem for the cream legbars as the SOP requires a straight comb in the roos, and a crest.

 

[daisyjack]

I have read crooked toes is a vitamin deficiently. And you should supplement with infant vitamins forget the name. My Rooster has not become aggressive yet. But I have noticed that most of my roosters every breed I have at juvenile breeding age has tested me to see who is dominant.

 

[anniesmom]

Quote:
There are apparently several things that can cause crooked and curled toes (two different things). Found this very interesting info on several other websites. Since we have all gotten them from other people, time will have to tell if our SFH issue is environmental or hereditary.

"Chicks usually get crooked toes when the humidity during incubation is too low but they can also get them if the floor of the rearing area / brooder is too cold and they can also inherit them from their parents. There has been some research that has linked crooked toes to rearing chicks on wire floors."

"Curled Toe Paralysis is when the toes are curled and the chick walks on the tops of his curled toes, rather than the sides of the toes as with crooked toes. It is painful for the chick so he will usually spend most of the time sat on his hocks resting or walking around on his hocks. Often chicks will die at about 3 or 4 weeks old. Curled toes are caused by a deficiency in Riboflavin. If hens have not had the correct diet (layers pellets for example without access to other foods like greens) this can sometimes occur but can also happen if the chicks starter crumbs contain insufficient Riboflavin. In the latter case, the chicks usually get curled toes after a week or two."

"1. What is the cause of crooked toes in chickens?
Most crooked toe conditions are either management or nutrition related. A lack of the vitamin riboflavin results in an inward curling of the toes and is called curled toe paralysis. Improper incubation temperatures will increase the incidence of crooked toes as will inbreeding. A few chickens with crooked toes (3-5 per 100) are not unusual. High yield meat-type birds will have more of a problem with crooked toes but this generally does not hurt the birds."

"There are many types of leg problems with chicks but the most common potential causes of leg problems are usually primarily down to one of four possibilities :
1. Incorrect settings at the incubation stage (or an unreliable incubator)
2. Slippery floor surface in the brooder once hatched
3. Nutritional deficiency when growing.
4. Hereditary

Two of the most common chick leg problems with newly hatched chicks are splayed legs and crooked toes. In both cases the issue may have been caused at the incubation stage. Chicks that hatched with splayed legs may have had insufficient moisture when incubating or too high an incubation temperature. Crooked toes can be hereditary but often is due to the incubation temperature and/or humidity being too low."