Well, the thread has gotten really quiet... so I thought I would post a few pictures!
These are my BBS English Orpingtons that I received from Joy Adkins. Joy originally imported birds (as eggs) from the United Kingdom and has been building a flock of her own for the past several years. I was lucky enough to receive chicks from her this past August. My birds are 50% to 75% English in parentage, with their father (Joy's blue tank named Winston) being 100% full English and their mothers being 50% to 75% English/American type crosses.
I'll be offering hatching eggs and chicks from this flock too, probably in much higher numbers because I'm fortunate enough to have quite a few more pullets than I do in my Amerauana flock.
These birds are so, so sweet. The pullets are calm, inquisitive and "talkative" in nature, while my cockerels are literally like puppy dogs. They've never showed any signs of aggression towards me and they will follow me around the yard all day if I let them.
Mind you, these birds just turned 4 months old today. They are already just as big and bigger than my mature 2+ year old laying hens! The only birds that they aren't quite as big yet are my Heritage Delawares, but they aren't finished growing. They should have superb type when they reach their full maturity. They really are gentle giants!
This is my Splash cockerel, Edmund, he'll be my main breeder for the 2011 season. By using Edmund for breding, I will only produce chicks that are blue and splash.
Another shot of Edmund, he still has no tail, only fluff!
This is Alice, my lightest blue pullet, sorry about the blurry picture.
Alice again, the color looks a bit wierd in this shot because I took it with my phone, but look at how typey she is already! This picture shows her lacing much better.
A darker blue pullet.
Another blue pullet showing over her wonderful color and near perfect lacing.
These pictures were taken on a semi overcast day, in the sunlight my black pullets literally shine! Their green sheen is far better than I've ever seen on any black bird. I have Black Australorps too, the color difference is astounding, the Orps are so so much prettier.
My Buff Laced Polish pullet wanted to visit the flock, she's almost a year old, notice how much they tower over her!
Just for kicks, here's Claude, my BW Ameraucana rooster.
(Sorry about the blurry image on this one too, I took this shot from far away.)
I hope you all enjoyed my pictures, I get to love them everday in person.