Lavender Orpington Thread

[WVduckchick]

Thank you for your help. I hope he turns out friendly. I have children and don't wont them getting hurt. He'll be our only Roo.

I agree, he looks to be male, and all of my boys have never been people aggressive either. Never ever a single step out of order.

But i would also point out that these boys can get very large, so caution is always advised around children.
I have always kept in the back of my mind, a member here (maybe even somewhere prior on this thread) said one of her boys turned in an instant and became super aggressive. I've still not experienced it, but i won't forget it.

 

[Faraday40]

I had a lav orp roo (from a diff line than I currently own) that was OK up until 6 mo. He randomly would attack the pooper scooper about 2xs per month. I never really understood why he disliked it, but it was just one of his things. When he turned 9 mo, he became more unpredictable. Nothing bad but when a big roo attacks something you're holding it can be scary. My kids were afraid of him & the pooper scooper attacks were unpredictable but increasing in frequency as we got into spring. Perhaps i could have worked with him, but life was crazy. I needed the kids to be able to take over all the chicken chores while my mom was dying in the hospital. Also, there are so many great roos out there, so why breed those genetics? He went to freezer camp and his line never reproduced. My current boys are WONDERFUL! I have no problems with them or any of their offspring.

When a cock starts crowing, we make them sleep in the garage. They get used to being picked up every night & carried into their garage cage. Reverse trip every morning. They can crow all they like, but no neighbors will hear them until after 8am when I let them out. I also think the daily handling makes them more gentle. We don't cuddle & baby them like our lap-chicken hens, but they're not afraid or challenging us in any way. We simply bend down & pick them up.

 

[Flaisure]

Maui- 18 weeks old. He just started crowing last week. He's so beautiful.

 

[Flaisure]

Maui

 

[Faraday40]

Maui's looking like a nice, big, confident protector - even with his crow collar on. Nice comb too.

How is his crow? My lavs have a nice soothing, low -pitched crow. With the collars, I don't really hear them unless I'm out back with them. (That's what I want so that people on the sidewalk out front can keep on walking.)

 

[Flaisure]

Maui's looking like a nice, big, confident protector - even with his crow collar on. Nice comb too.

How is his crow? My lavs have a nice soothing, low -pitched crow. With the collars, I don't really hear them unless I'm out back with them. (That's what I want so that people on the sidewalk out front can keep on walking.)

He is absolutely beautiful!! He sounds a little like a horn. Lol. Not bad. He a lot quieter with the crow collar. His spurs are starting to come in, hope he doesn't try to use them on me. He is a little baby though scares of everything. Runs from my older hens lol.

 

[Faraday40]

Here's my spring hatched boy: Mini Moose. (Daddy is named "Moose," but I have a feeling this boy is going to be slightly bigger.

You can see the orig Moose in the background below. I like the appearance of the son better, but Moose has the best low-pitched, quiet crow. He's also mature so he's no longer as hormonal as a young cock. It's going to be a tough decision.

What wasn't a hard decision is to keep this silver laced orp boy below. No name yet, but I'm leaning toward some Greek gods.
Hatched June 17th, so he's got some growing to do.

 

[Faraday40]

@Flaisure
BTW- Mini Moose also runs away from the hens. If he tries to mate them, the hen stands her ground & pecks him for his attempt. He really needs to learn some technique if he wants to be taken seriously.

 

[Faraday40]

Sadly, Mini Moose died during a period of extreme heat.
I really miss my beautiful boy. I still have the orig Moose (father) but would have preferred keeping the son.

I happened to have a last batch of chicks & decided to grow out a few roos.


So, Anyone want to play guess that gender!?!
These chicks are 5 weeks old. All are purebred orps. I color coded them with head spots, so I can keep track of them. It also makes it fun when people come to buy chicks. More than once, people made comments about how they never knew that chickens came in such pretty colors.



These 2 are my best bets for males, but I'm not 100% sure. Normally, their combs would be this size by 2 weeks & doubled by 5 weeks.
BLUE

LIGHT BLUE

Pic below shows blue on back left & light blue right/front



My best guesses for females:
WHITE (NO MARK)
*This is Jewel's baby = a possible blue orp sport or lav orp. Chick looked white at hatch but is looking lavender now. Pretty sure it's female, though.

PINK


GREEN


Completely confused on the genders of these last two:
Part of it could be because they were hyper when photographed so they look flushed.

PURPLE


BLACK




Some random group shots:

 

[robinwhiskers]

Their coloration is like silver fog. I love it.