Chocolate Orpingtons

[hoppy]

Quote:
Do you think that it would be wrong to distribute these as chocolate, as it doesn't carry the CHOC gene?


It's weird because in the reports of those who produced a Chocolate from a Buff and Blue Orp, the gene is also sex-linked.

these deep reds passed off as choc. if I knew they were not chocolate, then to look at them, you would be hard pressed to tell they were not chocolate. you could be convinced it was choc. (I wish I could post the picture from the book)
if anyone wanted to make their own choc orp, it can be done using the dun (khaki) gene. polish carry it as well as a few other breeds but mostly bantams. it would take some time to breed up in size but probaby 4 generations and you'd be there.

 

[lildinkem]

I don't see what the fuss is about. I see my Blacks Orps from one of my Indiana Orp breeder's lines change in and out of colors. Go from dark Brown to Black and one going from Black to Dark Brown.
This hen had been this Brown color all year long. Now she turned into a jet Black Mottled. Not jjust a solid color. BUT a MOTTLED! What next a Brown Mottled?

She looked Brown here this summer in June. Never gave it a second thought. Thought it was the sun or just a poor colored Black.

Now her full brother has done the opposite. He was Black and is now turning to the brown and even showing some oof the Mottled genetics in him. Makes me think there is just a funky Black gene playing around in this small closed flock.
He's gone from Black and molted into a Brown like she was. and still is partially for the moment. I know I am saving everyone of her feathers.
Here is the neck of her brother showing some hints of the same genetics. And he is now the same color she was. This is after his molt.

And then here is the pullet and from the hen and cock above. She has one lonely brown feather. I can't wait to see what she will molt into. All I know is I am keeping this small flock together.
And brother will go to sister

 

[knjinnm]

Hi All,
I'm no expert either but I believe working a mottled flock into a solid color would take a lot longer then some might expect.

When breeding Buffs to Black what colors are produced? Do red Orpingtons ever pop up?

Joe

 

[lildinkem]

Quote:
I did a Buff to a Black. The initial offspring are not solid. But the bird I have produces and acts genetically like a Black. I have showed a pullet or two from him and they looked and were judged as Black Orpingtons. My interest is now seeing IF the Mottled gene and the Brown (Choc) gene are commonly found together. I suspect there is a correlation between the two. I am from NYC and don't believe in coincidences. I think the diluted Black gene that is called Chocolate and the Mottled gene do the same thing. Except the Choc gene is an even distribution of the diluting color (WHITE). Mottled it is concentrated in specks. Again, I just raise only my birds. And look and see something happening to the same bird and it is showing traits of two different varieties.
Since I am going to continue to breed my birds together to pursue this farther. I don't sell anything. (NOTHING LEAVES ALIVE!) time is not a factor. My worse case scenario is I produce only purebred Black Orpingtons, which are where the parents of this pullet are or are supposed to be. Next worst is I produce just Mottles. I can deal with that. Easy to know who will go where in my pens. Best case is I produce a Brown bird that doesn't molt into a Black or Mottled and molts back as a Brown bird. I have no issues with any of those outcomes. I had initially bred this hen as a Black, to my best Black cock bird hoping for some nice type Black Orps. This is an avenue that just popped up. And I will go down till either my bird dies or till I die. I like the idea of both Mottles nd Chocs. And Blacks are what I am about. I like Orps

 

[knjinnm]

Quote:
I don't sell anything. (NOTHING LEAVES ALIVE!) time is not a factor.

Why is that?

 

[lildinkem]

Quote:
I don't sell anything. (NOTHING LEAVES ALIVE!) time is not a factor.

Why is that?

I don't need to make money off an incomplete project. I have never sold one of my Blacks either. I do give away for next to nothing some of my Buffs. However, these are lines I crossed, and no pure lines to any given breeder's stock I own. IF I make I can sell it. I hadn't finished my project. And like you said IT maybe years till I do.

 

[RioLindoAz]

Quote:
Definitely NOT chocolate. Thats a red orpington. The only way to get chocolate is if the father carried the CHOC gene or if the mother was chocolate. Read some of the earlier posts.

Is the gene sex-linked?

 

[lildinkem]

Quote:
Definitely NOT chocolate. Thats a red orpington. The only way to get chocolate is if the father carried the CHOC gene or if the mother was chocolate. Read some of the earlier posts.

Is the gene sex-linked?

Definitely a Mottled. Prolly not a Chocolate in the purist sense, but does have two separate colored feathers. One of those colors is brown. Not a sun bleached Black. Brown as seen on the Mottled pullet who is all Black with the Mottling and one half of one feather is Brown. So I am happy to call it a Brown Orp. Bred from all Black Orpingtons. Who I still have. So i have the original granny who has this recessive mottled trait
Far as the gene being sex linked, I do not know yet. I just recently had this Mottled pullet show her specks. And then just two days ago seen my Brown Orp hen molting into a Jet Black Mottled. Then I had to figure out why?
I can pull up more pics of another pullet who has the same Brown feaythering. She got eaten by a coon. But, at that time I hadn't a clue of whom she was from. Now I know. It is this molting into a mottled hen

 

[knjinnm]

Quote:
Why is that?

I don't need to make money off an incomplete project. I have never sold one of my Blacks either. I do give away for next to nothing some of my Buffs. However, these are lines I crossed, and no pure lines to any given breeder's stock I own. IF I make I can sell it. I hadn't finished my project. And like you said IT maybe years till I do.

Well for most of us this is a hobby, if we can put some birds in the freezer, sell hatching eggs or chicks the money offsets the cost of feed and other expenses. I have never met a hobbyist who has ever been able to "earn a living" selling their birds, dogs, cats, fish or whatever they were raising. If you are trying to achieve an objective it would be quicker if you would spread your genetics around and work with others to substantially cut development time.
Sooo ... did you kill or eat your German Shepard's too?

 

[lildinkem]

Quote:
I don't need to make money off an incomplete project. I have never sold one of my Blacks either. I do give away for next to nothing some of my Buffs. However, these are lines I crossed, and no pure lines to any given breeder's stock I own. IF I make I can sell it. I hadn't finished my project. And like you said IT maybe years till I do.

Well for most of us this is a hobby, if we can put some birds in the freezer, sell hatching eggs or chicks the money offsets the cost of feed and other expenses. I have never met a hobbyist who has ever been able to "earn a living" selling their birds, dogs, cats, fish or whatever they were raising. If you are trying to achieve an objective it would be quicker if you would spread your genetics around and work with others to substantially cut development time.
Sooo ... did you kill or eat your German Shepard's too?

No but we got the coon. It got eaten by the German Shepherd Coon hound mix.
For right now, I do have a small click of Diehard Orpington breeders. Who, IF they want, do have access to all my flock. Last year I gave 7 of these brothers and sisters of my Brown now Mottled hen to my breeder whose bird this gene came from. Many folks do not know of the Choc gene look. The farmer who sold his flock to Dr Clive Carefoot no doubt hadn't a clue what he has. For now I am tightly wound up over my Mottled Orp pullet, and cause of that I noticed this odd Brown off color in both the hen and the pullet. I have 5 of my original Black hens all together. So it is a priority to get the granny out and going back to these Black Orp cocks who are the full bro to the Brown hen now turning into a Mottled. Eventually I will be happy to share the Mottled Orps. I know 100% that I can make them happen fairly quickly. And build them to a very nice quality. Then share to those I know will be doing great things with my birds. For now, I do not let anything leave alive. And no eggs or chicks.