Culling

[akorte]

It is in the back of my mind, that perhaps the other two larger pullets are indeed cockerels. And boy wouldn't it stink if you got rid of these two pullets, and discovered that later. So, you may want to wait a few weeks, or a month or two (however long it takes for you to feel confident), and verify that there is no gender confusion. If what you are thinking now proves to be correct, you can get rid of the smaller pullets then.

That would be THE WORST!!!! haha. And really what is the difference with having 6 vs. 3 at this point anyway.

Oh, darn! I hate when a sprig or split comb ruins an otherwise good bird! I know Orpington chickens are a fad that are crazy expensive, so you might not be able to run out and get a few more. If so, we breeders do reach points were we have to work with... what we have.

Your pullets are probably related, so they are probably going to throw offspring with sprigs too. So next year, breed as many as you can and select breeders without springs. Sometimes the gene doesn't produce a fully sticking out spring so be sure to feel the next generations combs for little nubs. This is something I have worked with, after my first year of culling like a maniac for it, I did see results. Four years later, and a sprig was uncommon, but still cropped up on occasion.

That was my concern about the sprig, that breeding him with the related pullets would increase it in the offspring. But if you have had success that is promising. My kiddos really like him and have named him Apollo, and from the little I know, he has good confirmation. His color is gorgeous!

 

[RhodeRunner]

How wonderful! It's always great to see kids getting into the hobby.

 

[Sydney Acres]

Don't be so anxious to cull so early!!

I think sometimes new breeders read the posts of experienced breeders, and think everyone has to do chicken breeding a certain way. All those breeders who are culling chicks on day one for faults, or on week 2 or week 4 --- those are breeders who have years of experience, have developed judgement about their specific line, and are hatching out hundreds if not thousands of chicks every year just for the chance to develop 10 or 20 really spectacular specimens. Because they know their specific line so well, they can look at infants and know that birds with a specific growth rate, or head width, or down coloring, or tail angle or foot this or wing that will not make the cut, and therefore chose not to keep it. In other words, they hatch out so many chicks that they are looking for reasons to cull them, narrowing down the field more and more every week until they just have a limited number to critically judge, not hundreds or thousands. When you're hatching out that many, you have to cull early or you're overrun.

But you're not at that stage. Not even close. So there's no need to imitate such a culling program. Take the time to watch your birds grow up. Take pictures, keep weight records. Once you see the final outcome of each bird, look back and see what the characteristics of a good specimen vs a poor specimen are at each stage of life. Learn the normal growth curve of your breed, and your particular line. What applies to one breed, or even one breeding group, may not apply to another. Take the time to learn and develop judgement. Find a local mentor. Go to shows and talk to the breeders who have nice birds. See if they'll sell you some. Compare the winning birds to the ones you have. Learn how to reach your breeding goal before you start loping off heads.

I breed Red Dorkings. They are a slow growing breed, like your Orpingtons but even slower. Years ago a new breeder with only a few years of experience in Canada had some Silver Grey Dorkings for sale. All the 9-12 month old cockerels sold except one. His name was Elmo. He was a very sweet boy with a favored personality so the breeder kept him, even though he was the "runt" of the group. For the next year, Elmo continued to grow, even though his brothers that had been selected as breeding stock had long stopped growing. At 2 years old, Elmo became the pin-up boy of the International Dorking FB group, one of the most beautiful cocks that breeders from all over the world have ever seen. His chicks are highly sought after, and breeders in the US are doing backflips to figure out how to import them into the US from Canada.

 

[akorte]

Many great points @Sydney Acres ! One of the exciting things about starting something new is learning, and no doubt I would be guessing and making mistakes by choosing now, not too mention the birds aren't very developed. I will sit on my hands so as not to lop off any heads...