Swedish Flower Hen Thread

[Knock Kneed Hen]

I've been giving "Hyland's Hypericum 30" tablets in one T of distilled water. I tried a medicine dropper but she didn't seem to be ingesting much so I tried encouraging her to drink it- and she does. Seems to like the taste. The above-mentioned thread does say the medicine should touch her nasal passages- will her just drinking it make it ineffective? And how long should I wait to try a higher dose? It has only been four days now. She is bright and chipper but no difference in her ability to walk or stand.

Also, I've read that the Marek's disease virus attacks the myelin sheath, which means nerve damage and therefore paralysis. Humans with similar nerve damage are encouraged to ingest a lot of Omega 3 fatty acids. I wonder if flax seed and extra greens are in order here.

I am super scared for the rest of my SFH flock. Nobody else has any symptoms but that doesn't mean anything. I do know that these birds were all vaccinated for Marek's at Greenfire.

Sorry folks will take future discussions to the thread that deals with injury and disease. I sure hope none of your SFHs get this! And of course it will always attack one of the prettiest hens- never the rooster with curled toes!

Of course it can't be the rooster with the curled toes, that one will outlive all the rest! It said that it would take a while, not to expect immediate response so I'd give it some time to take effect. If the above thread said it need to touch her nasal passages then go ahead and put a small drop upon her nares and blow gently on her face. Her natural response will be to inhale. I'm sure you only need a tiny amount to coat the nasal passages. None of my birds are vaccinated against anything. I wonder how such a small chick picks up such an awful disease. Hopefully she'll pull through. She's not getting worse, which is a good sign.

 

[KYTinpusher]

Icatty, sorry you are going through this. I have lost chicks, too, and after reading more, it may have been Marek's, but I don't know for sure. I lost one chick in each of two hatches; none of their hatchmates became ill. However, you can give the rest of your birds that may have been exposed a dose of the Hypericum 30C. If they have it, but haven't displayed symptoms yet, it will help. If they don't have it, it won't hurt. Only give it once. More is not better when it comes to homeopathy. I don't know enough about chicken anatomy to say it doesn't have to touch the nasal passages. It does need to touch soft tissues where it can be absorbed. In humans, the pellets are placed under the tongue and allowed to disolve for best results. When given in water, it is usually held in the mouth for 30 seconds or so before swallowing. With our pets, I just toss some pellets in their mouth and they swallow them - it still works.

If you are seeing improvement, do not give any more. Only re-dose if the improvement stops or if after giving it some time to work, she starts getting worse. You do not need to jump to 200C if you do not have it on hand. To slightly increase the potency of the 30C, put 1-2 pellets in 8oz. of chemical-free water in a clean bottle. I use a 16 oz. bottle of water and pour out half. Let sit for 15 minutes to let the pellet dissolve. Then succuss the bottle by firmly hitting against your hand or other firm surface 10 times (make sure the cap is on!) Give her a dose. Each time you need to give her a dose, succuss the bottle 10x before you give it. Again, do not give her a dose if you are seeing improvemnt - just give it time to work.

If you do decide to get the 200C, be cautious about re-dosing as you are more likely to cause an aggravation with the higher potencies. You may want to do some reading on using homeopathic remedies if you have not used them before. Homeopathy: An A to Z Home Handbook by Alan Schmukler is a good book. It is available for Kindle, which can be downloaded to your computer (as can the Kindle for PC app to read it, which is free). There are others, but this is a pretty easy read and I like his attitude.

I know this all sounds crazy, but it does work if you have the correct remedy. I am not an expert, but I do use homeopathy regularly at home with my family and our pets. PM me if you have questions and I will do my best to answer them.

I hope this helps and good luck!

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[BHep]

I have 2 roosters for sure out of 13. I need to get better pictures, if only they would cooperate.

 

[KYTinpusher]

Beautiful!

I believe I see 2 roosters in the top pic, and one in the bottom. How old are they?

I have 2 roosters for sure out of 13. I need to get better pictures, if only they would cooperate.

 

[Knock Kneed Hen]

Nice BHep! Aren't they funny though. I can only see the legs clearly of cockerel on the last picture and they are so scrawny!! I've got a couple of cockerels with big beefy legs and others with these little twigs. They really don't follow the rules!

 

[hipeatall]

I looked over all posts since this one (quoted below) and didn't seen an answer.
I would be very interested in this information as well if someone with SFH's has answers to this.
Thank you so much!

To those who have full-grown sfh... what size egg do they lay? At what age (relatively) do they start laying, and then how long do they lay pullet eggs? Farther back on the thread, I think someone said they lay sort of late-ish and lay pullet-sized eggs for an extended time. Is that true? So, are they supposed to lay for a long time in return? Or is it because they are growing meaty bodies? or both? Just trying to get a grip on the sort of bird they are. As we know, all dual purpose birds have a little different target usage. Perhaps someone could make it all clear by saying: oh, they are like a...<name typical breed here> because they develop slowly yadda yadda...

 

[KYTinpusher]

Most of us that frequent this thread who have SFH are still waiting to find out those answers as ours are still young. I can let you know in probably a month or two.

I looked over all posts since this one (quoted below) and didn't seen an answer.
I would be very interested in this information as well if someone with SFH's has answers to this.
Thank you so much!

Quote:

 

[hipeatall]

Thank you so much for your super speedy reply - yes, I would love to hear your thoughts when yours start laying.
I am still hoping that maybe some of the peeps that have grown birds will be able to answer some of the questions. I am mostly interested in the size of the eggs and how often they lay.
I spent a few hours today reading all 87 pages and looking at all the gorgeous birds! I especially loved reading how personable they are... now I really I can't wait to get some!
Thanks again!!!

Most of us that frequent this thread who have SFH are still waiting to find out those answers as ours are still young. I can let you know in probably a month or two.

 

[anniesmom]

Thank you so much for your super speedy reply - yes, I would love to hear your thoughts when yours start laying.
I am still hoping that maybe some of the peeps that have grown birds will be able to answer some of the questions. I am mostly interested in the size of the eggs and how often they lay.
I spent a few hours today reading all 87 pages and looking at all the gorgeous birds! I especially loved reading how personable they are... now I really I can't wait to get some!
Thanks again!!!

Yes, most of us are still waiting. I have gotten just one egg from 5 girls so far. That was last Wed. The egg was bigger than those laid by the lavender orpingtons (sold them all last weekend) but smaller than the Wellie, Black Australorp or Marans eggs. It's a nice at least medium sized light brown egg.

 

[daisyjack]

my birds are 8 months old, they lay extra large cream color eggs. i get an egg a day from all of my pullets. mine started laying at 5 months.