Swedish Flower Hens - both female? One of each?

[srslychickning]

Thanks to all for the help identifying Frank N Chicken earlier in the week. I've also got two Swedish Flower Hen chicks that are just over 5 weeks old. I am starting to suspect that one might be a boy - his comb is bigger and he is just a bit bigger in general. I'd love to know what you think.

First two are the one I think is a girl. Second two are the one I'm not so sure about.

 

[hdowden]

looks like you are right but i havent seen any of those before to be sure but heres the feathersite page for them

http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGP/Swede/BRKSwedeSpot.html

 

[srslychickning]

The more I look at the difference in their combs, the surer I become. Looks like he is getting a nice crest.

 

[ScaredOfShadows]

Looks like a pair

 

[srslychickning]

Stupid question: if they came from the same place and were hatched together, can they mate or are the genetics too close? From what I understand, there are 3 roos and a number of hens in the coop where they were laid. Not sure I could even keep the rooster to breed them, but just curious how far away in relation they need to be for a good pairing.

 

[ChickenWisperer]

Quote:
Unless they are SUPERIOR birds - very hardy, great foragers, intelligent, GREAT temperaments, adhere completely to the SOP - then no. I would never inbreed unless they are, as I said, completely superior/top quality birds.

Inbreeding can be a tool for getting the results you want/need, but it's not to be used as a first choice or just to produce chicks.

And I agree, I think it's a pair

 

[Mahonri]

I can't see the bottom one's legs. At this point from what I can see, I'm guessing they are both female

 

[srslychickning]

ANOTHER QUESTION (and my apologies if this should go in another forum - I can move it) These two are just over 6 weeks old now. I'm still not sure on the sex of the brown one. But I'm wondering when they can go outside. I live in central North Carolina. It's supposed to be in the 50's and 60's all week, with lows overnight dropping into the 30's. There are two of them, so I'm hoping they will not get picked on too much, but it's all part of being added to the flock, I guess.

First question: are they too young to go out now? My "5 degrees per week" formula says they need to wait another 2-3 weeks, but they are really getting big.

Second question: if one is a rooster and I already have a very large dominique/ee cross rooster do I need to worry about the little guy being bullied or anything? This will be my first time moving out a male chick with a roo already in the coop - I sold all of my other roosters except the big one I have now, and now this little guy.

Any advice would be appreciated!

 

[ChickenWisperer]

Quote:
Are you going to integrate them into a full grown flock?! NO! Huge no-no! Unless you want dead chicks... you cannot integrate birds until they are the same size! This means no integration until they're at least 6 months old. They will be bullied, feather picked, terrorized, and not allowed to walk around or eat. There's a 70% chance they'll probably killed... I know, because I learned the hard way. I lost two chicks to my ignorance and trying to integrate them early (a month older than yours). The other 8 were terrorized - backed into a corner and attacked. They never left that corner unless momma came to the rescue and literally kicked the other hens out of the house so they could eat and drink. The last thing you want to walk out to is a precious chick laying dead, half eaten by the adult birds or one still walking around with its bones picked clean or worse...

I would not let them go outside yet, unless you have a completely enclosed coop for them to stay in that's draft free and has a source of heat/light in it.

See my above comments... he will be bullied anyway but if you integrate with a full grown flock, they'll end up dead.

 

[srslychickning]

Quote:
Are you going to integrate them into a full grown flock?! NO! Huge no-no! Unless you want dead chicks... you cannot integrate birds until they are the same size! This means no integration until they're at least 6 months old. They will be bullied, feather picked, terrorized, and not allowed to walk around or eat. There's a 70% chance they'll probably killed... I know, because I learned the hard way. I lost two chicks to my ignorance and trying to integrate them early (a month older than yours). The other 8 were terrorized - backed into a corner and attacked. They never left that corner unless momma came to the rescue and literally kicked the other hens out of the house so they could eat and drink. The last thing you want to walk out to is a precious chick laying dead, half eaten by the adult birds or one still walking around with its bones picked clean or worse...

I would not let them go outside yet, unless you have a completely enclosed coop for them to stay in that's draft free and has a source of heat/light in it.

See my above comments... he will be bullied anyway but if you integrate with a full grown flock, they'll end up dead.

They will eventually be integrated into the flock, but I have a separate place they can live until then. It is not rigged with heat at the moment, though. From what I've heard, the basic rule of thumb is that they can tolerate a 5 degree drop every week older they get (so, 95 for the first week, 90 for the second week, 85 for the third week, etc). Do they need to follow this program all the way until their age meets the requirement? These are Swedish Flower Hens, so much hardier than other birds, and I don't really want to treat them with kid gloves. I don't want them to be beaten up and left mangled on the floor either, so I definitely won't put them all together right now. But just temperature-wise, does any one have any recommendations as to about what age they should be okay to go out? (It's 70 degrees F here today, but it won't stay this warm for long).

And ChickenWhisperer, thank you for your comments and advice. I appreciate it!