Blue Orpington

[AuntNomi]

Last summer, we purchased our first BBS Orps from Papa's Poultry. Of the 6 chicks we received we have, for sure, 2 blue pullets, 1 black pullet, 1 splash pullet and 1 blue cockrel. They are as beautiful as they are sweet and we are totally in love. Since this is our first foray into the world of BBS Orps, I need your expert opinions on our sweet girl Miss Duncan, is she a Blue or a Black? She falls somewhere in between and I would appreciate some expert in put. Thanks!!!

I am no expert either, but I do believe she is a blue as well. She is beautiful!

 

[Peanutsmomma]

I am no expert either, but I do believe she is a blue as well. She is beautiful!

Thank you!! She is just the sweetest chicken! She is on the verge of laying and is currently standing on the window sill of our bedroom window singing the egg song.

 

[Our Roost]

What does BBS stand for? BO is the term used for the blue orpington strain of orpingtons I think. I'm confused. I have stated many times on here about the different shades of silver gray and black that can emerge. The black and splash are much easier to distinguish and don't vary. The neck hackles on your hen specifically will turn black but its body feathering will be of the darker silver gray. The silver grayish blue shade always bring question but will develop as they age. Beautiful bird!

 

[Peanutsmomma]

What does BBS stand for? BO is the term used for the blue orpington strain of orpingtons I think. I'm confused. I have stated many times on here about the different shades of silver gray and black that can emerge. The black and splash are much easier to distinguish and don't vary. The neck hackles on your hen specifically will turn black but its body feathering will be of the darker silver gray. The silver grayish blue shade always bring question but will develop as they age. Beautiful bird!

Thank you! BBS stands for Blue, Black, Splash. We ordered 6 BBS Orps and received an assortment. Thank you so much for your input and I am looking forward to seeing how her color develops as she ages. I will go back and look at your posts concerning the shading of the Blues.

 

[AuntNomi]

What does BBS stand for? BO is the term used for the blue orpington strain of orpingtons I think. I'm confused. I have stated many times on here about the different shades of silver gray and black that can emerge. The black and splash are much easier to distinguish and don't vary. The neck hackles on your hen specifically will turn black but its body feathering will be of the darker silver gray. The silver grayish blue shade always bring question but will develop as they age. Beautiful bird!

I thought BO was for Buff Orpingtons?? And the blues fell under the BBS. I get all the abbreviations confused, it is so hard to keep up with them.

 

[Peanutsmomma]

Just took this pic of Miss Duncan and Cookie our black pullet. Can y'all see why I have been going back and forth on what color she is? I said earlier that she does not have the green sheen that a black orp has but in the sunlight she does. Even her lacing has a bit of that iridescent sheen. Maybe I should try to breed a "Blue Smoke" Orpington variety.

Thanks again for the opinons!

 

[Our Roost]

Oh boy! What I previously have said will be confusing in some ways. Blue orpingtons are anything but blue is what I commented on. 3 basic colors of silver, black, and splash is what hatcheries offer and wont guarantee colors at time of purchase. I love the splash but have nly hatched out one which dies just recently. Drat! I planned to breed her this spring.
Spread your birds wing feathers out and look at the pin bones. You will notice they are indigo-blue black looking. Hence the name Blue Orpington! I cant for the life of me find out what breed was crossed with the orpingtons to arrive at this fantastic bird. If you notice, they are bigger than the standard buff color. Hate to say it but they make great table birds as well as egg layers.

 

[Peanutsmomma]

Oh boy! What I previously have said will be confusing in some ways. Blue orpingtons are anything but blue is what I commented on. 3 basic colors of silver, black, and splash is what hatcheries offer and wont guarantee colors at time of purchase. I love the splash but have nly hatched out one which dies just recently. Drat! I planned to breed her this spring.
Spread your birds wing feathers out and look at the pin bones. You will notice they are indigo-blue black looking. Hence the name Blue Orpington! I cant for the life of me find out what breed was crossed with the orpingtons to arrive at this fantastic bird. If you notice, they are bigger than the standard buff color. Hate to say it but they make great table birds as well as egg layers.

Thanks! I will definitely look at her pin bones. I have signed up with our local BYC club to participate in our annual breed showcase and I was thinking of taking Miss Duncan so I better get busy and do some research on how the Blues came about since I will have to give a presentation on her. You are right about them being large birds. Our Buff hens are only 5.5-6.0 lbs and our 7 month old BBS pullets are 6.0-7.0 lbs already. They look like giants next to our Buffs! Our 7 month old Blue Cockrel is 9.5 lbs already! I am guessing he will top out at around 14lbs. He is a hunky chunky sweet thing. Here is a pic I took this morning of he and two of his favorite girls dust bathing. He really is amazing, perfectly behaved with his ladies and humans and beautiful to boot.

 

[Our Roost]

Don't know what it is about blue orp roosters but the 3 that I have owned are very human friendly and real gentlemen with the ladies. My current rooster is the last one to eat before the ladies do. Good luck on the history.

 

[Peanutsmomma]

Thanks, Our Roost.