Buff Orpington Rant thread!

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

This is a fun thread I love English Orpingtons (my favorite breed in the whole world), but agree about the hatchery buff ones. I have a couple of these fluff balls:

View attachment 3124536

and it's a little annoying when people look at them and say "OMG your Buff Orpingtons are gorgeous!" or when I post a picture somewhere and somebody asks what breed that is, and before I have a chance to respond on my own post, somebody else jumps in thinking they know better, and says "it's a Light Buff Orpington"... um WHAT. It's not a buff, and since when are there light ones and dark ones?

Yeeeah, some people want to be helpful, but they just really don't know what they're talking about and probably should like back off... Light Buff Orpington makes me think of the White Buff Orpingtons from earlier in the thread, though.

I just saw a post on another site this morning where someone asked what breed their chicken was (a blue-colored mutt with mulberry skin on his face and either silver leakage or Birchen markings, I didn't look terribly closely) and someone else spouted out something about them being a dominant white mix with a lot of black leakage, so they must have been a first-generation cross. That's... That's not at all how those genes work...

I have issues with posting in a lot of places because of severe anxiety that I've been trying to work through, though, so I just wasn't feeling up to arguing how wrong that person was and didn't correct them.

I accidentally stopped getting notifications for this thread but it cracks me up to read. I will say though... I think I may have a new least favorite hatchery Orp... The lavenders bother me so much. They have the same awful body type as the buffs plus the shredder gene No thanks!!

I loved my Lavender Orpington from Meyer Hatchery, but she did have a tiny bit of shredding. Her personality was amazing and she was larger and shaped differently than most of the hatchery Orpingtons I've seen. She was from either their first or second year of having them, though, so it really wouldn't surprise me if they've bred them to the typical hatchery Orpington shape now.

I like the lavender gene in mixed varieties or when it's done properly without shredding like UK Wyandottes. Apparently they've been able to eliminate shredding completely. I have to say, lavender columbian is one of my favorite colors though!
View attachment 3125157

Yeah, I mostly agree with this. Lavender is a bit too plain for my liking on its own. It definitely needs an underlying pattern of some sort for me or it toes the line on being just blah like solid buff and white.

question!

What is the "shredding gene" I've seen mentioned? And how does it affect the bird's looks?

I'm a complete newb to chicken genetics, so please explain it to me like a 5 year old. Thank you in advance to whomever can enlighten me.

I'm not sure if it's a gene or multiple genes, but Lavender is strongly associated with shredding of the feathers, or in other words feathers that don't quite hold together like a normal feather would so they end up looking ratty or worn out. I don't have a great picture to show it, but here's one from google that shows it pretty well (despite being a small image, sorry about that, it was the best one I found) :

 

[MACCanadianCoop]

Yeeeah, some people want to be helpful, but they just really don't know what they're talking about and probably should like back off... Light Buff Orpington makes me think of the White Buff Orpingtons from earlier in the thread, though.

I just saw a post on another site this morning where someone asked what breed their chicken was (a blue-colored mutt with mulberry skin on his face and either silver leakage or Birchen markings, I didn't look terribly closely) and someone else spouted out something about them being a dominant white mix with a lot of black leakage, so they must have been a first-generation cross. That's... That's not at all how those genes work...

I have issues with posting in a lot of places because of severe anxiety that I've been trying to work through, though, so I just wasn't feeling up to arguing how wrong that person was and didn't correct them.





I loved my Lavender Orpington from Meyer Hatchery, but she did have a tiny bit of shredding. Her personality was amazing and she was larger and shaped differently than most of the hatchery Orpingtons I've seen. She was from either their first or second year of having them, though, so it really wouldn't surprise me if they've bred them to the typical hatchery Orpington shape now.




Yeah, I mostly agree with this. Lavender is a bit too plain for my liking on its own. It definitely needs an underlying pattern of some sort for me or it toes the line on being just blah like solid buff and white.




I'm not sure if it's a gene or multiple genes, but Lavender is strongly associated with shredding of the feathers, or in other words feathers that don't quite hold together like a normal feather would so they end up looking ratty or worn out. I don't have a great picture to show it, but here's one from google that shows it pretty well (despite being a small image, sorry about that, it was the best one I found) :

View attachment 3125634

thank you!

 

[EmmaRainboe]

question!

What is the "shredding gene" I've seen mentioned? And how does it affect the bird's looks?

I'm a complete newb to chicken genetics, so please explain it to me like a 5 year old. Thank you in advance to whomever can enlighten me.

I don’t think there is exactly a single gene for it, but shredding is closely linked to lavender birds. And is what causes those rough feathers that looks like you used your bird to scrub your patio.

 

[K0k0shka]

I didn't know about the shredding until I started reading this thread. Good to know and to keep in mind! Before I got my current clutch of Lavender Orp eggs, I went to a different breeder who only had Lavenders as an Orp option, and her birds looked pathetic! Definitely had the shredded look, plus missing a lot of feathers here and there and just generally looked unhealthy (plumage-wise). I thought they must just be in bad shape overall, but now I'm thinking maybe they just had the shredder issue? She sold me very poor quality eggs (low fertility, one came cracked, one side air cell etc.) and they didn't work out, so now I'm glad they didn't. I kept looking and found that other breeder who actually seems professional in how she handles her birds and her business. So now I have her babies scurrying around my coop, and hopefully they won't look shredded!

 

[Rhodebar Lover]

Yeeeah, some people want to be helpful, but they just really don't know what they're talking about and probably should like back off... Light Buff Orpington makes me think of the White Buff Orpingtons from earlier in the thread, though.

I just saw a post on another site this morning where someone asked what breed their chicken was (a blue-colored mutt with mulberry skin on his face and either silver leakage or Birchen markings, I didn't look terribly closely) and someone else spouted out something about them being a dominant white mix with a lot of black leakage, so they must have been a first-generation cross. That's... That's not at all how those genes work...

I have issues with posting in a lot of places because of severe anxiety that I've been trying to work through, though, so I just wasn't feeling up to arguing how wrong that person was and didn't correct them.





I loved my Lavender Orpington from Meyer Hatchery, but she did have a tiny bit of shredding. Her personality was amazing and she was larger and shaped differently than most of the hatchery Orpingtons I've seen. She was from either their first or second year of having them, though, so it really wouldn't surprise me if they've bred them to the typical hatchery Orpington shape now.




Yeah, I mostly agree with this. Lavender is a bit too plain for my liking on its own. It definitely needs an underlying pattern of some sort for me or it toes the line on being just blah like solid buff and white.




I'm not sure if it's a gene or multiple genes, but Lavender is strongly associated with shredding of the feathers, or in other words feathers that don't quite hold together like a normal feather would so they end up looking ratty or worn out. I don't have a great picture to show it, but here's one from google that shows it pretty well (despite being a small image, sorry about that, it was the best one I found) :

View attachment 3125634

I would imagine the first year lavenders would have been better! I feel like most breeds/varieties are somewhere near the standard up until they get obscenely popular. The contrast between hatchery silver pencilled and barred rocks never ceases to amaze me-the silver pencilled have such different type just because they weren't overbred! Besides my preference for heavy breeds, there isn't a well-bred bird that I wouldn't love and be happy to own, regardless of color. I feel like good type is what makes or breaks a bird!

 

[Rhodebar Lover]

Oh no, the red! I'm so sorry. My partridges had a 16% hatch rate, which is low even for shipped eggs. The other colors did great - better than average for shipped, in fact - even though they were shipped in the same box. A bit too much of a coincidence, so I don't think it was. They had a lot of malpositioned chicks, too. One died after hatch from severe wry neck. One hatched with an eye problem that never cleared up, was sickly and raggedy his whole life, and finally had to be euthanized at 1 year old because he was falling apart. One was a runt and developmentally delayed, and died suddenly at 7 month old. Another one was a runt too but seemed otherwise healthy, but dropped dead at 9 months old. Necropsy showed a faulty valve in her heart and multiple organ failure, as well as severe sexual immaturity for her age (internally as well as externally). Now I have 2 left, a little over a year old - one has a deformed tail permanently folded downwards and immobile, and the other one is the only healthy one out of 2 batches of chicks, and she's the one with the reversed colors So yeah, I think something's up with that gene pool...

Wow!! That is insanely unlucky. I'm so sorry-that has to be so tough. I can't imagine how hard that is and how helpless you feel especially when none of that was even preventable. I wonder if the breeder knows that they have these problems in their stock? Maybe that's why they're outcrossing and ending up with the odd colors just to try and combat the genetic issues? I would love to see updated pictures of your reverse-colored girl!

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

I feel like most breeds/varieties are somewhere near the standard up until they get obscenely popular.

That's for darn sure, and once a hatchery starts mass producing them then they go downhill so fast! My girl Rooska certainly wasn't the most ideal for type, but she wasn't a typical scrawny hatchery Orp for sure. I wish I had more pictures of her, I miss her a lot.

Makes me wonder about Meyer's 'heritage' Barred Plymouth Rocks that they got in a few years back, how they're looking at this point. The large fowl Cochins I've seen coming out of them in the past year are a far cry from the super fluffy girls I got from them 7 years ago or so.

I'm kinda the opposite of you for tastes, as I like tiny bantam breeds over heavy breeds and I'm not overly picky about type unless I'm actively trying to breed for the standard like with my silkied Cochins. For my mixed flock, if they're healthy and relatively pretty-looking, even if they aren't up to the standard, I'm fine with that. But, of course, there are some breeds that wouldn't be worth it to me to get from a hatchery because of appearance issues, like Spitzhaubens who, from hatcheries, can have rounder crests instead of the proper pointed crest, or Blue Andalusians who very rarely have lacing, let alone that beautiful, thick, dark lacing of the well-bred lines, if they're from a hatchery. Or Cochin bantams specifically from McMurray

 

[NagemTX]

This is an Orpington:

View attachment 2589067


Not whatever this is:

View attachment 2589068

LOL, but I like the bottom one better! ((runs away))

 

[EmmaRainboe]

LOL, but I like the bottom one better! ((runs away))

Ew.

 

[Rhodebar Lover]

LOL, but I like the bottom one better! ((runs away))

You like the squirrel tailed one over the fluffy basketball one??