The Svart Hona (Swedish Black Hen) Thread!

[campingshaws]

This is a neat breed. It's easy to find glowing reports about them, but I'd like to hear the downside of the breed. Anyone willing to step up to the plate?
Thank you.

Wild and flappy, but that’s about it. They’re not mean, they just are really annoyed at being handled. I honestly can’t think of anything else. Very smart and self-sufficient, very tough but not aggressive. Good family instincts in hens and roos both, in my experience.

 

[annagoodspeed]

I ordered ten last year as day old chicks, but only ended up with two. The first batch arrived with four dead, and the replacements I think did not fare well being raised with a heating pad with larger breeds,. They had much more trouble than the other two breeds from the same shipment. If you were to order chicks, I would order them when it is good and warm, and raise them while tiny without larger breeds maybe. Or hatch out eggs?
So, one cockerel and one pullet...hard to say only the bad, because there is so much good! She laid early and well, but the eggs are medium at best. She has been a successful mother, so definitely broody. Great fertility, and all her brood, plus others incubated and then adopted by other broodies, have been really healthy so far. Her personality is calm and friendly. High hatch rate in the incubator.

The cockerel is selectively aggressive. He is totally fine with me in with the flock by myself, never ambushes me, but whenever I go in with someone else, he has to challenge, which I intercept, pick him up while he is trying to flog me, then carry him around for a while. I handled them a lot as chicks, maybe that helped create some of this? He is great with the chicks, and that selectivity with his aggression indicates to me more intelligence in general. He is gorgeous and so graceful. Hard to decide about him, he is so good as a protector, but I have been thinking about posting here to get more outside blood and hopefully a less aggressive cockbird.
So a lot of these negatives are positives, if you want a free range self sustaining savvy flock.

 

[pginsber]

This is a neat breed. It's easy to find glowing reports about them, but I'd like to hear the downside of the breed. Anyone willing to step up to the plate?
Thank you.

Can’t say these are negatives, just characteristics: small birds, small eggs, flighty birds.
We have to keep all if these traits in mind when considering Svarts for our flock.
Our girl is incredibly loud when singing the egg song.
She’s broody right now and she pecks HARD when I’m checking the eggs under her.

 

[Valhalla Acres]

I was strolling through threads and I was so happy to see this. We breed Svart Honas! The previous owner said they were worth about $350 on average. My sister then did a little digging and told me $200-$400 per chicken. Don't know if that's true or not but the previous owner knew my mom so well that she gave us 8 Svart Honas for free!

 

[howesmr]

If in AZ. I have a couple starter flocks. Trying to down size a bit. A Rooster and a hand full of hens. PM me if interested. One group experienced layers. The other two group about to start laying. We have wonderful hatch rates and no leakage.

 

[RainForestBird]

Hi,

I see you are all the way up north near Phoenix. I have one Svart Hona hen that I hatched from shipped eggs. I ordered 3 batches of shipped eggs only one hatched. So she does not get along with other chickens, specifically the smaller gentler ones like bantam cochins. she's a good specimen, all black I can see no white anywhere. Her feathers have a beetle green sheen. Hatched about 5 months ago. I'd either be interested in getting one of your cockerels so I can breed her and start a new flock, or selling her to someone who isn't too far from here. I can see shipping her when the weather is cooler. How are yours doing in the heat by the way? I just sold all my Wyandottes and Black Javas because it was too hard to keep them cool.

If in AZ. I have a couple starter flocks. Trying to down size a bit. A Rooster and a hand full of hens. PM me if interested. One group experienced layers. The other two group about to start laying. We have wonderful hatch rates and no leakage.

 

[howesmr]

I dont think we have lost any due to heat. But i have misters. They are really friendly. Especially when they get lots of attention like my daughters do.

In my pure bred run one of the hens kerps going broody so we have a constant trickle of new chicks.

I have 4 cockreals about 5-6 months old. 2 especially good looking. And a bunch of hens just starting to lay. Are you in AZ? Is Tucson closer? We can easily relay them through Tucson. Our daughter goes back and forth a lot.

 

[RainForestBird]

Yes, I'm down near Bisbee. But I'd prefer to wait till Monsoon is over with like end of September. I'm not driving much of anywhere or leaving the birds while its hot.

 

[howesmr]

Ok. No worries. We have trips to Tucson regularly to visit daughter so reach out when you are ready. We will see what we have.

I started with a flock of one rooster and 7 hens. Still have that rooster and 4 of then hens. And then a lot more younger ones. The old ones have been through two summers.

 

[RainForestBird]

thank you I will. I have room for a roo in a coop with 5 hens.

Ok. No worries. We have trips to Tucson regularly to visit daughter so reach out when you are ready. We will see what we have.

I started with a flock of one rooster and 7 hens. Still have that rooster and 4 of then hens. And then a lot more younger ones. The old ones have been through two summers.