Lavender orpingtons! Too much cute!!

Well yesterday we have added 3 10 day old lavender orpington chicks to our flock family. They are SO cute and fluffy! I got one to fall asleep in my hand... They look so much alike that I had to zip tie band their legs. We got them straight run but I'm hoping for pullets obviously... Anyone know anything about guessing by their feathers? They all have little tufts of tailfeathers sticking up and their wings have halfway feathered out.

I get bad vibes when I hear """"" straight run """" I just think its a way of pushing the less desirable of the 2. cockerels. JMO. Out of three, hope for 1 pullet. It is obvious that the experienced sellers are able to sex them. They will throw in a few pullets to make it fair. JMO. I like roosters equally to hens, They are better looking, ( unfairly ) But there are problems associated with them. I call it BAGGAGE. LOL LOL. And above all, I am not allowed to keep roosters for those reasons.
WISHING YOU BEST

Oh, they are darling

I have a few lav Orp eggs in my incubator and I'm REALLY hoping they hatch!
As for their gender, you'll have to wait on that. Feather sexing isn't a reliable method on Orps because they aren't bred for that trait. I could usually pick out the cockerels around 5-6 weeks with my buffs, their little combs and wattles would be bigger and start pinking up.

Good luck with them

howfunkyisurchicken said:

Oh, they are darling

I have a few lav Orp eggs in my incubator and I'm REALLY hoping they hatch!
As for their gender, you'll have to wait on that. Feather sexing isn't a reliable method on Orps because they aren't bred for that trait. I could usually pick out the cockerels around 5-6 weeks with my buffs, their little combs and wattles would be bigger and start pinking up.

Good luck with them

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Any ideas on how the PROs do it at the hatcheries.??? I have no experience in determining gender in small chicks. Of course when they get older, It speaks for itself.

Thanks yall.. We aren't allowed to have roosters here so that is why I'm hoping for pullets.. Although I won't lie, if we do have 1 roo I'll probably try to keep him anyway just because! I wish I could have gotten these sexed but the only option was "unsexed" from the breeder. And at $7 each who would pass up these sweet chicks! If we get 1 pullet I'll be a happy camper.. 3 would be pure plumb luck!

cavemanrich- the pros at hatcheries vent sex their chicks. If you aren't an experienced vent sexer, you can potentially kill the chicks. They pick up each chick, squeeze it so it expels any poo inside and then squeeze it again to look at the bits inside the vent. You can look it up on YouTube to see how they do it

HenHouse10C said:

Thanks yall.. We aren't allowed to have roosters here so that is why I'm hoping for pullets.. Although I won't lie, if we do have 1 roo I'll probably try to keep him anyway just because! I wish I could have gotten these sexed but the only option was "unsexed" from the breeder. And at $7 each who would pass up these sweet chicks! If we get 1 pullet I'll be a happy camper.. 3 would be pure plumb luck!

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Those are gorgeous. There is a local farm that has some, but I just can't build another coop right now. My first chickens ever were buff Orpingtons, and those were the sweetest chickens I ever had. That lavender is a beautiful color on those birds. I would call every one of them "she" until I was proven wrong

So adorable! Want some of those someday.

HenHouse10C said:

Well yesterday we have added 3 10 day old lavender orpington chicks to our flock family. They are SO cute and fluffy! I got one to fall asleep in my hand... They look so much alike that I had to zip tie band their legs. We got them straight run but I'm hoping for pullets obviously... Anyone know anything about guessing by their feathers? They all have little tufts of tailfeathers sticking up and their wings have halfway feathered out.

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Where did you find that breed?

In milton, FL. A breeder about an hour away from where I live. She has these, favorelles, bielefeders, and a few other "specialty" breeds.