Development of USA Lavender Orpington - Update PICs pg 8

Thinking back over the development of the USA lavender orpington, I thought I'd share some of the history from our farm, for those who are new to the project...  It would be great to hear how others are working to improve their lavender orpington project from our line and the progress they've made as well.  I have tons and tons of pics, but tried to stay with the primary birds who drove the project forward.  Some other crosses that we used did not fair well and were eventually culled from the project, but overall I think we made good progress and hope to see more folks doing the same.  Please feel free to share.

Remembering my baby boy:


And how fast he grew into a beautiful cockerel:


Eventually named Lester:


A few of those first split chicks (all black, carrying the lavender gene):




Some of the 1st  mottled chicks identified in the project from Big Bear's pen:


And baby lavenders along with splits:




Eventually full lavender:



And brooders overflowing (hundreds of chicks growing out in one growing season after another) - only a select few will make the cut to continue on here:






The beautiful girls started to take shape:










More lavender lushness:




Selected a few hens to recross back to black orps again to ensure proper conformation:




Elvis:


2 more generations later and Elvis's grandbabies (lavenders hatched with jubilees and blacks): 5th generation lavender orpington

Yup, I agree Cyn and it's been a long crazy road to get here.  Our first goal was to ensure productivity as well as hatchability of chicks.  My first though was what good is a line if you don't get eggs or aren't able to reproduce.  I think we accomplished this well and even later generations are excellent layers and strong thrifty chicks.    We also made sure to breed natural broodiness into the line which is an important orpington trait.  And as we progressed, we continuously selected for size, conformation, temperament and plumage color - hoping for an all around good orpington.

I have some really nice black orps growing out, but I have a couple cockerels promised back to a friend who shared their beautiful line with us.  If I have any extra, I can let you know though.  I'd love to see your birds.

Thanks Kathy!  The true enjoyment comes from those who are enjoying them with us.