Fairy Tail Farms English Orpingtons

[ColtHandorf]

I think I'm going to set the first set of LF eggs this weekend provided the eggs aren't a muddy mess from the rain.

 

[ColtHandorf]

I assume the color genetics are the same with BBS Orpingtons and BBS laced Wyandottes. I will link a really good article from one of the premier breeders and color stuff is in there. But here is his opinion: to keep a consistent blue, you need to breed blue on blue. But over generations the blue will lighten and you’ll need to bring in a black rooster to deepen the color some. I am just repeating what I’ve read. I don’t have first hand experience with it but I hope to try some this spring.here is the article


http://www.foleyswaterfowl.com/uploads/4/8/6/0/48608711/breedingblrw.pdf

Foley makes excellent points which is why I said the same thing.

Their color behaves like any other Andalusian Blue gene-based bird. You'll get Black, Blue, and Splash. For whatever reason, the Blacks are called Brown-Reds, which is DUMB. But I don't make the rules. The Splash females hardly show any Lemon at all.
View attachment 2863449

That is correct. Ideally, you do want the Brown-reds in the breeding program though to darken the Blue up and to add some of that "lemon" into the Splash.

Possibly both. Eggs are easier, but I have all the boxes to ship chicks with.

If you can find a decent Splash male. They are hard to pick out because they don't show the color as intensely. If I had the numbers I'd do a Brown-red male over Splash (possibly Blue hens) and a Blue male over Blue and Brown-red hens.

 

[5 Points Wingfeather]

Foley makes excellent points which is why I said the same thing.

I should read more carefully. Haha.

While I have you here and since you are educated in dealing with this type of blue, can you tel me if this blue on this pullet looks right to you? To My untrained eyes, she looks like the best and one I want to breed. I know since she’s a pullet some of that could change over the next 6 months

 

[ColtHandorf]

I should read more carefully. Haha.

While I have you here and since you are educated in dealing with this type of blue, can you tel me if this blue on this pullet looks right to you? To My untrained eyes, she looks like the best and one I want to breed. I know since she’s a pullet some of that could change over the next 6 months

View attachment 2864532

She looks decent to me. Of course, a lot can change by the time she's mature like her type. But the Blue looks nice. Not the best I've ever seen, but nice. I'd personally want to see a deeper, more mahogany red to the feathers. But she doesn't look to be Gold-laced. Here's some old pictures of my BLRW back when I was like 15-16. Pardon the quality. Digital cameras then were only one step up from a potato after all. These came from McKinney and Govero before they liquidated all of their stock. I believe Murray McMurray purchased all of the BLRW and that's how they started offfering them. These still needed a lot of work regarding type. This was back when six eggs would sell for $54 on eggbid.com easy.

Foley's line of BLRW have that deep mahogany red I'm talking about.

@Egghead_Jr actually breeds Blue-laced Red Wyandottes that are Foley bloodlines. They may be a better resource for help specfically with BLRW.

 

[5 Points Wingfeather]

She looks decent to me. Of course, a lot can change by the time she's mature like her type. But the Blue looks nice. Not the best I've ever seen, but nice. I'd personally want to see a deeper, more mahogany red to the feathers. But she doesn't look to be Gold-laced. Here's some old pictures of my BLRW back when I was like 15-16. Pardon the quality. Digital cameras then were only one step up from a potato after all. These came from McKinney and Govero before they liquidated all of their stock. I believe Murray McMurray purchased all of the BLRW and that's how they started offfering them. These still needed a lot of work regarding type. This was back when six eggs would sell for $54 on eggbid.com easy.
View attachment 2864546View attachment 2864544View attachment 2864543View attachment 2864545
Foley's line of BLRW have that deep mahogany red I'm talking about.
View attachment 2864547View attachment 2864548View attachment 2864549View attachment 2864550View attachment 2864551
@Egghead_Jr actually breeds Blue-laced Red Wyandottes that are Foley bloodlines. They may be a better resource for help specfically with BLRW.

Great looking birds!

 

[ColtHandorf]

Great looking birds!

They were alright, but nothing fantastic. The best-looking one was an imported cockerel from Europe but I don't have any pics of him. His colour was much closer to the Foley birds. Interestingly he was the only rooster that actually had a five-syllable crow, cock-a-doo-dle-doo. All of my other males had a four-syllable crow.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

They were alright, but nothing fantastic. The best-looking one was an imported cockerel from Europe but I don't have any pics of him. His colour was much closer to the Foley birds. Interestingly he was the only rooster that actually had a five-syllable crow, cock-a-doo-dle-doo. All of my other males had a four-syllable crow.

If I were to get a BLR male and breed him to a BLG, would I get decent ones of both? Or just holds and poor BLRs?

 

[ColtHandorf]

If I were to get a BLR male and breed him to a BLG, would I get decent ones of both? Or just holds and poor BLRs?

@The Moonshiner might be able to answer that better, but my understanding is that you lose the mahogany gene and all the birds would be Blue-laced Gold.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

@JacinLarkwell
The Mahogany gene is dominate. No telling if a bird expressing dark red is expressing a single copy of Mh until you breed them. I'd not intentionally breed a bird with Mh to a gold bird. Would take a long time to cull it out if you can. You'd be better off obtaining a breeding pair or two dozen hatching eggs from good stock.

My flock throws the brown blue laced red now and then. I sell those birds and don't breed them. With better record keeping and select matings I could eventually cull it. As with all patterned birds there are a multitude of things to watch for. Once you get a breeder that checks most of the boxes it's hard to replace.

Shafting of the red is a big problem with this variety. It has to be guarded against. Every lighter red bird I've seen has the gold shafting in feathers. Side sprigs on combs is another problem to watch for. By the time you are evaluating size and shape the hue of blue is the last thing on your mind. The lace pattern is far more important, must be complete and the shade of red should be even throughout. Breeding blue to blue is important but if you have excellent type in a black or splash don't ignore it due to the color. If you do use a splash ensure it has blue in the neck.

Honestly there is a lot going on when you get a bird worth breeding. Patterned varieties even more so. It's hard to find something better to replace them and closer to one in 20 is worth expanding your breeder stock. I'm getting rid of my Plymouth Rocks this fall to make room and put a lot more BLR #'s on the ground next spring. I find I'm only maintaining with few improvements. Need to focus on one breed again.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

@JacinLarkwell
The Mahogany gene is dominate. No telling if a bird expressing dark red is expressing a single copy of Mh until you breed them. I'd not intentionally breed a bird with Mh to a gold bird. Would take a long time to cull it out if you can. You'd be better off obtaining a breeding pair or two dozen hatching eggs from good stock.

My flock throws the brown blue laced red now and then. I sell those birds and don't breed them. With better record keeping and select matings I could eventually cull it. As with all patterned birds there are a multitude of things to watch for. Once you get a breeder that checks most of the boxes it's hard to replace.

Shafting of the red is a big problem with this variety. It has to be guarded against. Every lighter red bird I've seen has the gold shafting in feathers. Side sprigs on combs is another problem to watch for. By the time you are evaluating size and shape the hue of blue is the last thing on your mind. The lace pattern is far more important, must be complete and the shade of red should be even throughout. Breeding blue to blue is important but if you have excellent type in a black or splash don't ignore it due to the color. If you do use a splash ensure it has blue in the neck.

Honestly there is a lot going on when you get a bird worth breeding. Patterned varieties even more so. It's hard to find something better to replace them and closer to one in 20 is worth expanding your breeder stock. I'm getting rid of my Plymouth Rocks this fall to make room and put a lot more BLR #'s on the ground next spring. I find I'm only maintaining with few improvements. Need to focus on one breed again.

Hmm, okay. I think I'll just get more BLG next spring then instead. Rather just get those than just get BLRs from a pair of both