Blue Orpington

[fatcatx]

Didn't realize they were all young-ins. Keep us posted when your new ones arrive. Are you getting them as chicks?

 

[Sonia]

Ordered 12 hatching eggs and two chicks. (Fingers crossed)i

 

[suzie1]

I have a blue, a black, and a buff cross and the blue and the black lay bigger and more often then my buff. It could be because she's a cross.
About the chicks I have hatched I have a dark blue rooster and I cross him with a light blue hen and a black hen. So I should get 50% blue and 25% each of black and splash from the blue hen and 50% blue and 50% black from the black hen. So far we haven't seen any splash babies and that is out of 24 chicks.

 

[fatcatx]

I have a blue, a black, and a buff cross and the blue and the black lay bigger and more often then my buff. It could be because she's a cross.
About the chicks I have hatched I have a dark blue rooster and I cross him with a light blue hen and a black hen. So I should get 50% blue and 25% each of black and splash from the blue hen and 50% blue and 50% black from the black hen. So far we haven't seen any splash babies and that is out of 24 chicks.

Bummer you didn't get a splash. I think they are quite pretty and hope to get one in the future. Let us know what % of black to blue you end up with when the coloring is clear. Always curious how the percentages play out in real life. Also curious how the light blue vs. dark blue shows up in the offspring.

I'm already worried my potential blue is a roo. HUGE feet at three weeks. Hoping it is just a very gangly girl!

 

[wildboutchicken]

How did the show go? Any good pix to share?

Sorry it has taken me a long time to get back here. We have had a death in the family and some crazy days. My girls did really well. The splash orpington hen got 1st place and Reserve Best in Show Hen. Our big, blue orpington cockrel got 2nd. He is getting bigger and is looking great. They are a beautiful bunch. We had to sell the blue hen we got with this pair because she had yellow on the bottom of her feet. That is the incorrect color for a blue hen. She would have passed it on to her offspring and we definitely don't want that. The black orpington pullet that I hatched out is gorgeous too. We only have the trio so I am excited to hatch out some biddies this fall and see if the fertility rate is good and what the babies look like. We have 1 splash pullet, 1 black pullet, and the 1 blue cockrel.

Here is a few photos of my girls at the show.

This is my youngest daughter and Ace, the splash orpington hen that won 1st place and Reserve Best in Show Hen. She is easy to handle and sets up all by herself.







This is my youngest walking away with her Reserve BIS trophy. She was so proud.


It's hard to see him but General is a real nice blue orpington cockrel.





Here is the hen we had to get rid of because of the yellow on her feet. The judge said that if she had not had the yellow, she would have gotten 1st in the age division she was shown in. She ended up with 3rd place.

 

[fatcatx]

Well done! She looks like quite the chicken wrangler! The splash looks like a pretty little bird. Too bad about the blue.

I am bummed because our hopeful blue is instead a black. Still unsure of sex. Still has the gi-normous feet but almost no comb so we may end up with a hen yet. Very wide and fluffy through the back and almost ridiculously meaty. This is the one we hatched ourselves. We will have to try for a blue/splash another spring.

 

[wildboutchicken]

I hatched 10 out of 12 eggs for my BBS orpingtons and I ended up with 1 blue and 8 black. One of the chicks was a different breed (sent for fun). I had to get rid of the blue because her lacing wasn't good and her comb was black, not red. She barely had any wattles, that were a gray color. I have Lucky. She is the black orpington hen I hatched out of the egg. She was the best out of all of my hatches and I had to help her. I kept her, the splash hen and the roo. I can't wait to get some babies. Hopefully you will get a blue or splash. You could always try this fall. You could get hatching eggs and try again. I don't hatch when it's hot like it is here now, but in the fall is a good time. Here in NC it stays warm until Oct. My next adventure is to get bearded silver laced polish bantams. I really want some. Hopefully I can get some soon.

 

[alibra]

Im in love with my splash roo. He's handsome, Big, perfect shape, face, fluffiness, temperament, etc. but he has a few brown "splashes" and some yellow, which think the yellow is mostly from the sun and dirt. I hear that brown is a "no no" when breeding. I just got some exhibition quality black orp hens. Will his "flawed" color be bred out easily? If I get a blue hen and cross him with her, will the splash chicks have brown? Is it a bad idea?

 

[Framac]

Would I be able to get some assistance with a matter to help a neighbor.

She had a nice big Blue orp rooster, and 3 days ago it got killed by a neighbors dog. For court they are looking for replacement cost. If anyone would be willing to send a quote on an adult blue Orpington with shipment costs include?

It could be e-mailed, then printed.

Regards,

Framac

 

[wildboutchicken]

Im in love with my splash roo. He's handsome, Big, perfect shape, face, fluffiness, temperament, etc. but he has a few brown "splashes" and some yellow, which think the yellow is mostly from the sun and dirt. I hear that brown is a "no no" when breeding. I just got some exhibition quality black orp hens. Will his "flawed" color be bred out easily? If I get a blue hen and cross him with her, will the splash chicks have brown? Is it a bad idea?

.

I would not breed him. That brown will pass onto the chicks. You don't want that. I'm not sure how easy it is to breed out. Your talking about many generations of breeding and it may show up in a later generation. Also any blues you get may have a brown tint lacing instead of the pretty dark blue. I would look for a nice roo to replace him with. If you could find a nice blue roo and a splash hen you may be able to get another nice splash roo later.