IS ANYONE RAISING LAVENDER CUCKOO ORPINGTONS?

Just looking for anyone who may be raising lavender cuckoo orpingtons to share successes and failures with improving the barring, color, and feather quality.

Thanks in advance!

MsKay said:

Just looking for anyone who may be raising lavender cuckoo orpingtons to share successes and failures with improving the barring, color, and feather quality.

Thanks in advance!

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Sorry seen you already have them. Just keep breeding and cull heavy you will correct it.

Well I'm not necessarily having any problems with them. They are growing out beautifully; however, I've read that if you just keep breeding lavender to lavender that the feather quality and size will suffer. I know that breeding out to solid black improves the color. When you throw the "cuckoo" barring in there, that gets a little confusing. Do you outcross to cuckoo orpington, solid black, or both?

OK, I believe you can continue breeding Lavender to Lavender but most of the birds that are available are not acceptable to do such a program yet. You will not loose size if you properly breed your birds. The feather quality needs to be correct to do such and most birds are not there yet. The coronation sussex were properly bred and have not seen feather issues with them. Now most of the americans that got them(coronation sussex) already lost size in those imports. It is very easy to loose size in any color even blacks if improperly bred will loose size very quickly.
Breeding lavender to lavender will improve your lavender color but who posses birds of quality to even consider such a program.

I had LF lavender Ameraucanas that were large and properly feathered but lost them all to a fox and had to re-group and now have to improve a little on size. Feather quality looks good for now. I am not too worried because it can be done. Remember you only get 1 out of 10 to equal or better than the breeders you are using. Everyone gets culls just look how many wry tails are out there on the Imports.

Thank you for the info!

Some pics of my lavender cuckoo orpingtons at two months old

I am looking for some nice Lav Cuckoos or hatching eggs from Fancy Chicks stock. Thanks, Leslie

Latest pics from my English Lavender Cuckoos. I really love these.

MsKay- how are you doing with your lavender cuckoo Orps? I just had the opportunity to purchase some lovely Lav Cuckoo Orp chicks and have similar questions to your original post. Any tips you've learned along the way that can help me?
Thanks!!

A few of our beautiful chicks!