So I adopted a roo and hen from a farm down the road and was told that these guys are Blue Orpingtons. After looking online though, their coloring seems off to me, compared to photos of other people's Blue Orps. Keep in mind they are also molting right now and looking pretty scruffy at the moment. The roo has some brown in his hackles and saddle. I think they're beautiful either way, but would like to know if they look like pure Blue or a mix of some sort? Is there such a thing as a Blue/chocolate splash lol?
The brown cast is probably due more to sun bleaching and molt. Repost pics after they are done with their molt.
I second that - my chickens look awful just before their molt - the barred/cuckoo chickens look so browned out - the blue ones too! I have never had orpington but I suspect it is just old feather syndrome lol. Wait for their feathers to come back in - I bet they'll look great!
sun fading, it happens to my blues, you can even see the nice new blue feathers coming in on the hen in that picture
Most likely sun bleaching, but every now and then blue hatchery birds or backyard breeder birds will have either gold or brown in their neck. I have a couple mixed birds that turned out blue, but have some gold in the neck. I would wait until after molting though. If they still have brown in the neck, then it is most likely due to breeding. Also, a diet with a lot of corn can also turn feathers yellow or brown.
