Lavender Orpington Thread

[Faraday40]

Yes, who can resist a pretty lav orp? Is one of those girls the gender? pullet you posted about earlier?

Out of out 8 lav chicks..... only ONE MALE - and he has some gold leakage. I'll have to breed blk/lav splits this year until I find a decent lav male.

Here's our only lav male: "Dinner"
(DD hates his name, but I'm trying to be realistic.)
Although I cannot use him for breeding, he really does look like an Isabel Orp. The gold is actually gold lacing around his lavender feathers. Isn't he a beautiful cull? I'm hoping I'll find someone around in need of a flock roo before he must live up to his name.

About 18 weeks: (the awkward stage)

His beauty and my curiosity are why he's still here.

 

[Faraday40]

BTW- I just saw a very funny sight outside. A big fat lav orp up in a tree.


She managed to get herself up there & seemed clueless about how to get down. I guess she must have followed another chicken up before realizing that Orps don't don't do trees.

 

[WVduckchick]

Yes, who can resist a pretty lav orp? Is one of those girls the gender? pullet you posted about earlier?

Out of out 8 lav chicks..... only ONE MALE - and he has some gold leakage. I'll have to breed blk/lav splits this year until I find a decent lav male.

Here's our only lav male: "Dinner"
(DD hates his name, but I'm trying to be realistic.)
Although I cannot use him for breeding, he really does look like an Isabel Orp. The gold is actually gold lacing around his lavender feathers. Isn't he a beautiful cull? I'm hoping I'll find someone around in need of a flock roo before he must live up to his name.

About 18 weeks: (the awkward stage)
View attachment 1251709
View attachment 1251713 View attachment 1251710

His beauty and my curiosity are why he's still here.

Such a shame. I suppose the leakage would be passed along, so maybe he will taste better.

No, the pullet isn't in that group yet. That male will be 2 in June. The girls are all older, what's left of my original breeding flock. I've sold off almost all of them. Was planning to get away from LOs but they are hard to let go of.

BTW- I just saw a very funny sight outside. A big fat lav orp up in a tree.


She managed to get herself up there & seemed clueless about how to get down. I guess she must have followed another chicken up before realizing that Orps don't don't do trees.

that's too funny. Tell me you got a pic?!?!

 

[Faraday40]

that's too funny. Tell me you got a pic?!?!

Sadly no. She saw the rest of flock begin to rush the gate when they saw me enter the backyard. She was panicked that she might miss out on some treats, so she jumped down before I could rescue her.

Orps are so funny. They really, really like their treats. My big blue orp is very heavy so she cannot run fast. I add to her frustration when I scatter a little scratch & then run about 300' away from the spot and call out "CHICKENS!" They of course all turn and wattle at top speed to reach me. We have a fast little Sebright that can gracefully fly up to me. My big blue orp is delusional. She flaps while running (trying to fly??) but her feet never leave the ground. She also loudly squawks like she's being chased by an invisible predator. I'm not sure if the noise is frustration for making her run or a proclamation that she will be stealing treats from any hen that gets there before she does.

 

[Faraday40]

Trying to figure out which male to keep - - for now. I can use one for breeding until I can find a more prefect candidate.
I have my old man blk/lav split roo, who will stay on as a pet. He's not really doing his job fertilizing the flock.



Here are the only two choices:

One of the great grandsons is the lav roo with the leakage. He's nice in many ways (impressive size, nice comb, good feather quality, decent shape, gentle temperament, quiet crow, and nearing maturity ...... but has a lot of gold. I seriously have never seen so much gold! He looks like an Isabel Orp. This guy is nicknamed: "Dinner"

OR
Another one of the great grandsons is a blk/lav split, who does not show any gold leakage. He's great in many of the same ways (except young. I don't know about the crow and it will be a while before mating), but his mama is a mauve. If I breed him to my lav hens, 50% would be lav. Also, it would likely improve feather quality. However a strike against him is that his beak has a splotch of white on the left side. Because he's 9 weeks, I believe it is there to stay. Also I'm not sure how much those mauve genes will muddy things up. This guy is nicknamed: "Hope."

 

[Newyorkrita]

Old thread but the Lavender Orpingtons have come a long way in these past years.

I was just looking at them offered at Chicken Scratch Poultry where they show them laying pink eggs.

 

[Faraday40]

Old thread but the Lavender Orpingtons have come a long way in these past years.

I was just looking at them offered at Chicken Scratch Poultry where they show them laying pink eggs.

Yes. My lav orps lay pinkish eggs. Basically a brown egg with a pink bloom. My silver laced orps lay more of a brown egg.

My fav lavender hen is Darling. I love her round body and quiet temperment.

My lav pullet is Calamity. (Her blk/lav split sister = Chaos) She's not as pretty but her funny curious personality is why I kept her. She's always in the middle of it all.

 

[Newyorkrita]

Yes. My lav orps lay pinkish eggs. Basically a brown egg with a pink bloom. My silver laced orps lay more of a brown egg.

My fav lavender hen is Darling. I love her round body and quiet temperment.
View attachment 2512951

My lav pullet is Calamity. (Her blk/lav split sister = Chaos) She's not as pretty but her funny curious personality is why I kept her. She's always in the middle of it all.
View attachment 2512960

They look really pretty to me.!!

 

[gootziecat]

Faraday, which rooster did you decide to use as a breeder.? I couldn't help but wonder if the lavender's leakage was due to the sun. I've had lavender roosters that looked terribly brassy and it appeared to be leakage, but wasn't.

 

[Faraday40]

Faraday, which rooster did you decide to use as a breeder.? I couldn't help but wonder if the lavender's leakage was due to the sun. I've had lavender roosters that looked terribly brassy and it appeared to be leakage, but wasn't.

I ended up keeping the black lav split. He gave us a very nice lavender rooster.

"Dinner" was a good boy and very pretty. He ended up being a laced Isabelle orp. (Each lavender feather had a golden laced edge.) It was not a breeding project I wanted to explore, so I found Dinner a good home. He ended up being a good breeder for his new owner.