Calling All Orpington Gurus!!

[SBFChickenGirl]

Not black or lavenders. They should have slate legs and feet. Sometimes when they hatch, they tiny feet will have pink in the toes, or just a few toes, but as they mature the black fills in.

Silvers feet are white or pink. Shouldnt be yellow although there are some that do have that gene, they shouldnt be bred.

Ah, thanks for the explanation

Everyone has such beautiful orps!

and some very, very cute bantam cochins

 

[MysteryChicken]

I have Buff Orpingtons, but need to get updated pictures of them.

 

[Faraday40]

She is a precious little thing her eyes are stunning as well as her feathers! I love that tealy blue sheen that the feathers shine! Weird question and TOTALLY off topic but I’ve noticed that one of my blue hens has the exact same eye color as Cookie but all my other blues have dark brown or even almost totally black look to the whole eye! I’ve always wondered if there is a standard to eye color when breeding them or if the darker eyes are more/less wanted in them? I’ve asked several people I know about eye coloring and haven’t found a reasoning! I’m sure it’s mostly due to genetics and the breeding background but I didn’t know if one was ranked higher or lower in the quality of breeding scale lol if that makes ANY sense at all lol! Do you have an idea?

Thanks. I can't take credit for Cookie's beauty. I got her as an "extra" egg when I bought some lav orp hatching eggs. Her eyes look green which I really don't see in any of my other adult orps. Most have orange or dark brown.

Sadly the breeder had some problems with predators and no longer has any bantam orps.

 

[ColtHandorf]

Recommend checking out the English Orpington thread. Also will tag @faraday and @ColtHandorf

@ColtHandorf has some lav laced.....

She beat me to it. He has a quite pretty little gal.

I've been summoned? lol

A lavender laced Orpington will look cool.

I do have a pair of Lavender-laced Orpingtons. I'm very fond of the pullet. I'm hoping the cockerel looks as handsome as his dad when he grows up some more and molts into his big boy plumage.

I’ve always wondered if there is a standard to eye color when breeding them or if the darker eyes are more/less wanted in them?

The UK Standard for English Orpingtons says black or very dark brown eyes are preferred.

For the record, I have Bantam Lemon Blue Cochins and Large Fowl, English Orpingtons in Blue, Black, Splash, Mauve, Silver-laced, Recessive White, Chocolate, and Lavender Silver-laced. I am working on some project Blue Silver-laced birds and my first F1 pullet is laying eggs. I also have a couple of American-type Lavender Orpingtons. I'd love to get some Lavender English-type though. And of course I'm still sweet talking @Faraday40 and @homeschoolin momma into letting me hatch some of their Blue Silver-laced eggs next spring... The bantam Cochins are adorable, but the English Orpingtons have my heart. Here are a few pictures of mine.

Recessive White Orpingtons; Derek, Anne, Odette, Elizabeth, Diana, and Eleanor

Blue, Black, Splash, and Mauve Orpingtons; Suede II, Agatha, Agnes, Maud

Black Orpington; Dahlia with a few Silver-laced girls and her brother Suede I.

Silver-laced Orpingtons; Hollywood, Mel, and Sue; not pictured are Duchess, Victoria, Charlotte, Mary, Martha, and Matilda

It always seems like they are in a terrible molt anytime I want to get pictures of them for anything.

If you follow the website linked to this profile, I'm fairly certain it will take you to my Facebook business page where I have many more pictures of them. The Imported English Orpington thread on here is full of our trials and tribulations and some nice photos as well.

To the original question of pretty colors:

I have to be careful or I'll have every color and nowhere to put them. lol I already need to build several more breeding pens but my eventual goal is to have two pens of Silver-laced, one Blue Silver-laced, one Lavender Silver-laced, a Blue/Black/Splash pen, the Recessive White pen, and the Chocolate pen. If I can ever find some quality English Lavender birds I might be convinced to build another pen. Of course I love Partridge and the Red Orpingtons. There are several gorgeous variations of them out there. There are a couple of really good Orpington groups on Facebook with some knowledgeable people on there as well. If you have a pretty base understanding of genetics then you know how BBS and Lavender work. The same principle applies to me with the Blue and Lavender Silver-laced as the original SL are based on black. Mine do carry recessive White which is where that flock came from. The mottled gene that you have can be put over nearly any solid color with minimal effort. Mixing it with other patterns can get cool or messy and @The Moonshiner or @nicalandia are some of the best poultry genetics folks that come to mind nd can help you with that venture.

 

[homeschoolin momma]

And of course I'm still sweet talking @Faraday40 and @homeschoolin momma into letting me hatch some of their Blue Silver-laced eggs next spring

You're going to have to talk with Faraday on that one. While i have Blizzard and her daughter Winter, i currently dont have a slo roo. Taji died back in September. I have one cockerel right now, but do NOT like his or his sisters comb at all. Im thinking of selling them both and hopefully sweet talking Faraday out of her puppy. Hes the sweetest thing ever. I held him for a spell a couple weeks ago and he just melded into my arms.❤

 

[ColtHandorf]

You're going to have to talk with Faraday on that one. While i have Blizzard and her daughter Winter, i currently dont have a slo roo. Taji died back in September. I have one cockerel right now, but do NOT like his or his sisters comb at all. Im thinking of selling them both and hopefully sweet talking Faraday out of her puppy. Hes the sweetest thing ever. I held him for a spell a couple weeks ago and he just melded into my arms.❤

That's right, I remembered Taji passed away. I thought you'd gotten another cockerel. I'd ship you some of my eggs, but that would be ages before they get old enough. Really the three of us should do a swap to get some new blood in. Perhaps you can borrow the puppy/cockerel. Anything to get me some unrelated Blue Silver-laced. Although thinking about it now, My F1 pullet isn't related to any of the males I have because she was out of Caspian. And the F2 pullet is out of Sterling II. So Hollywood over the two of them will produce some pretty heavily unrelated birds.

 

[CrazyClucks]

View attachment 2406083

I've been summoned? lol



I do have a pair of Lavender-laced Orpingtons. I'm very fond of the pullet. I'm hoping the cockerel looks as handsome as his dad when he grows up some more and molts into his big boy plumage.

View attachment 2406092
View attachment 2406099
View attachment 2406100



The UK Standard for English Orpingtons says black or very dark brown eyes are preferred.

For the record, I have Bantam Lemon Blue Cochins and Large Fowl, English Orpingtons in Blue, Black, Splash, Mauve, Silver-laced, Recessive White, Chocolate, and Lavender Silver-laced. I am working on some project Blue Silver-laced birds and my first F1 pullet is laying eggs. I also have a couple of American-type Lavender Orpingtons. I'd love to get some Lavender English-type though. And of course I'm still sweet talking @Faraday40 and @homeschoolin momma into letting me hatch some of their Blue Silver-laced eggs next spring... The bantam Cochins are adorable, but the English Orpingtons have my heart. Here are a few pictures of mine.

Recessive White Orpingtons; Derek, Anne, Odette, Elizabeth, Diana, and Eleanor

View attachment 2406114View attachment 2406117

Blue, Black, Splash, and Mauve Orpingtons; Suede II, Agatha, Agnes, Maud

View attachment 2406115View attachment 2406116

Black Orpington; Dahlia with a few Silver-laced girls and her brother Suede I.

View attachment 2406118

Silver-laced Orpingtons; Hollywood, Mel, and Sue; not pictured are Duchess, Victoria, Charlotte, Mary, Martha, and Matilda

It always seems like they are in a terrible molt anytime I want to get pictures of them for anything.

View attachment 2406119

If you follow the website linked to this profile, I'm fairly certain it will take you to my Facebook business page where I have many more pictures of them. The Imported English Orpington thread on here is full of our trials and tribulations and some nice photos as well.

To the original question of pretty colors:

I have to be careful or I'll have every color and nowhere to put them. lol I already need to build several more breeding pens but my eventual goal is to have two pens of Silver-laced, one Blue Silver-laced, one Lavender Silver-laced, a Blue/Black/Splash pen, the Recessive White pen, and the Chocolate pen. If I can ever find some quality English Lavender birds I might be convinced to build another pen. Of course I love Partridge and the Red Orpingtons. There are several gorgeous variations of them out there. There are a couple of really good Orpington groups on Facebook with some knowledgeable people on there as well. If you have a pretty base understanding of genetics then you know how BBS and Lavender work. The same principle applies to me with the Blue and Lavender Silver-laced as the original SL are based on black. Mine do carry recessive White which is where that flock came from. The mottled gene that you have can be put over nearly any solid color with minimal effort. Mixing it with other patterns can get cool or messy and @The Moonshiner or @nicalandia are some of the best poultry genetics folks that come to mind nd can help you with that venture.

Thank you for all the AMAZING pictures of your very very pretty orps!! They’re awesome!! And thank you for the info on the eye coloring! I didn’t know if there was certain specifications on them but now I know what to look for!! I think I’m going to need a “How to Breed Quality English Orps for Dummies” book would anybody be willing to share the cliff notes on what characteristics I should be judging when determining the quality of an orp? I’ve only been doing this on my own for about a year or so and still learning something new EVERY day. I just don’t want to disgrace the English Orp title with anything sub par! For instance I was speaking to a local breeder and she was telling me about one of her chocolates having “leakage” and I didn’t know if that is a good characteristic or bad ohhh also PLEASE explain or tell me what to look for or at in tail feathers!!! I have some Blues who’s tails are more erect and have a hard defined line of an actual tail feather but I have some that have a curled tail feathered back end almost like a Cochin! Which one is supposed to be better in an English Orpington? I just want to make sure I don’t put the “wrong” characteristic bird in and muttle the English standard!

 

[ILoveDaffy]

Orps are the best! maybe get a lavender orp rooster.

 

[CrazyClucks]

Orps are the best! maybe get a lavender orp rooster.

I have one already luckily! Pictures of him are in the first original post

 

[ColtHandorf]

Thank you for all the AMAZING pictures of your very very pretty orps!! They’re awesome!! And thank you for the info on the eye coloring! I didn’t know if there was certain specifications on them but now I know what to look for!! I think I’m going to need a “How to Breed Quality English Orps for Dummies” book

Thank you! I've actually only had them for about two years, so I'm still learning too. There's a lot of good information in the Imported Orps thread. Facebook groups I'm a member of include Working Orpington Breeders: Breeding for Quality not Quantity as well as a few others.

would anybody be willing to share the cliff notes on what characteristics I should be judging when determining the quality of an orp?

Here is a pretty cool thread on BYC. I had to do some digging to find the Orpingtons. I literally just searched that thread for Orpington and linked the first notable mention...

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/csu-chicken-state-university-large-fowl-sop.732985/page-90

And a page I often reference online...

http://www.theorpingtonclub.org.uk/pages/breed-standards.php

For instance I was speaking to a local breeder and she was telling me about one of her chocolates having “leakage” and I didn’t know if that is a good characteristic or bad

Leakage is not good. Generally speaking a bird doesn't have enough melanizers to cover all the color. Pretend you're painting a dark colored wall white. It's going to take several coats of paint for the white to not show any other color (leakage) bleeding through. In chickens dark birds (blue, black, splash, chocolate, etc.) often have red leakage. White birds may have black, or red leakage. It's usually expressed in males in their sex-specific feathering (hackles and sometimes saddles).

PLEASE explain or tell me what to look for or at in tail feathers!!! I have some Blues who’s tails are more erect and have a hard defined line of an actual tail feather but I have some that have a curled tail feathered back end almost like a Cochin! Which one is supposed to be better in an English Orpington? I just want to make sure I don’t put the “wrong” characteristic bird in and muttle the English standard!

See the links above. There can be some confusion about what is ideal and what is not. Dahlia my Black hen almost has too much cushion which can lead to terms like roachback being used.