7th Annual BYC New Year's Day 2016 Hatch-A-Long

[darkbluespace]

Ok I'm jealous my lavender Orpington roo is either too young or infertile! He'll be 9 months 1-9-16. Not interested in his girls at all. None of his eggs started this time.

Aren't Orpingtons generally late to mature and lay? If he's not even trying yet I wouldn't worry about him being infertile. I love this time of year because after the solstice, as the days get longer, the young birds come into maturity and really start mating and laying.

 

[yellow duck]

sorry to say that at that age he is probably infertile. But I wouldn't be completely sure... I haven't had that yet... roosters develop at different ages

My rooster is a English black lavender cross orpington was born 1-12-15 and ive had fertile eggs for months hes with all my chickens and all my hens are fertile and i have 20 hens. 2 english black laveneder cross hens 4 full lavender hens. And 5 RIR 8 EE and 1 silver wyandotte. Im breeding my lavenders back to black for a better feather quality.

 

[cree57i]

A picture from todays egg collectionPullet SFH, BCM, pullet GCM, Isabelle Leghorn, pullet isbar. Thank goodness for the pullets! 21 eggs went into lockdown. Currently 16 have hatched and more are pipping. Today is day 21. I've got an incubator full of SFH and Isabelle leghorns!

 

[Pensmaster]

My rooster is a English black lavender cross orpington was born 1-12-15 and ive had fertile eggs for months hes with all my chickens and all my hens are fertile and i have 20 hens. 2 english black laveneder cross hens 4 full lavender hens. And 5 RIR 8 EE and 1 silver wyandotte. Im breeding my lavenders back to black for a better feather quality.

Ok so mine is three months younger. I'll keep him for awhile and see what develops. Are your Orpington hens laying well in the winter. Mine are the same age as the rooster and they are not. I thought they were suppose to be good egg layers in the winter. At 8 1/2 months should they be laying well now?

 

[Pensmaster]

A picture from todays egg collection Pullet SFH, BCM, pullet GCM, Isabelle Leghorn, pullet isbar. Thank goodness for the pullets! 21 eggs went into lockdown. Currently 16 have hatched and more are pipping. Today is day 21. I've got an incubator full of SFH and Isabelle leghorns!e

Nice egg color selection and awesome on the chicks.

 

[chattery41]

A picture from todays egg collectionPullet SFH, BCM, pullet GCM, Isabelle Leghorn, pullet isbar. Thank goodness for the pullets! 21 eggs went into lockdown. Currently 16 have hatched and more are pipping. Today is day 21. I've got an incubator full of SFH and Isabelle leghorns!

Wow ! Girl that brown egg on left is gorgeous ! Great color !

 

[WthrLady]

Lol. I've almost forgotten what a white egg looks like!

 

[yellow duck]

Ok so mine is three months younger. I'll keep him for awhile and see what develops. Are your Orpington hens laying well in the winter. Mine are the same age as the rooster and they are not. I thought they were suppose to be good egg layers in the winter. At 8 1/2 months should they be laying well now?

Mine just started laying a couple months ago october i think so it just depends once they really start laying then im expecting to get better eggs in the winter but for now im not getting much unless i have added light. So once i move the roo and my orpington breeders into the other coop this week then ill see how well there laying. I think some of my lavenders are laying a darker brown vs. The tan color eggs. Its hard to know when there all together. But i dont think all my lavenders are laying yet some were born in april. Think it all depends on the chicken

 

[Pensmaster]

Mine just started laying a couple months ago october i think so it just depends once they really start laying then im expecting to get better eggs in the winter but for now im not getting much unless i have added light. So once i move the roo and my orpington breeders into the other coop this week then ill see how well there laying. I think some of my lavenders are laying a darker brown vs. The tan color eggs. Its hard to know when there all together. But i dont think all my lavenders are laying yet some were born in april. Think it all depends on the chicken

Sounds like I have some hope. I'll give him and his girls till Spring. I also have 2 black mixed in with him. His dad was a English blue. Gorgeous till a two legged predator got him. Bad enough around here having to worry about four legged varmits.

 

[Saris]

Well I have an egg that drewdown while I was attempting to video it, fingers crossed for it as the bottom part of the egg never filled with chick or membrane it was a very large egg.

So I locked down early, fingers crossed.
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