For my fellow Orloff fans...

[shelleyb1969]

here's some pics of my Cuckoo rooster.

He didn't have a tail (it had been picked out) when I first got him, but it's coming back nicely...just a slow process. He wasn't handled as a youngster, so this guy is quite the scaredy-chicken...

...every time I catch him he screams like a cat in a blender!!!

And because he's so skittish, I wasn't able to get too close for pics. So for the head shot, I actually had to catch him, lie him down on the table, and take the pic. I'm currently using him in a project for Crele Orloffs.

My first project hatch is due on Thursday!

And for all you cat lovers out there, please take no offense...I've never actually heard a cat in a blender.

I'm basing my analogy on my imagination.

 

[Long Horn Poultry Farm]

Quote:
Hi shelleyb1969

Is your Cuckoo rooster a Orloff x Delaware. I just hatched some eggs off for my brother and some of the eggs were Orloff x Delaware. They are two week old and look to have a barred feather pattern and all have the beard of the Orloff.



Long Horn Poultry Farm

 

[shelleyb1969]

Hi Long Horn!
I acquired my cuckoo roo from a breeder friend here in Michigan. We are working together to produce Crele Orloff...which my first chicks hatched yesterday.

My roo is not an Orloff/Delaware cross...he's pure Orloff. Without going off topic too much, I can say that Delawares have very dominant color genes. I've crossed Delaware to EEs and got chicks that look exactly like a Delaware, but have the muff, beards, and green legs like an EE. Crossed Dels to Rosecomb Rhode Island Reds, too, and got Rosecomb Delawares.

Here's pics of the Crele chicks that just hatched from this roo and one of my spangled hens:

 

[HaikuHeritageFarm]

Hey Shelley! Got any updated pics of the Crele babies?! I want to see!

 

[shelleyb1969]

The F1 Creles are pretty big now...but the color isn't there yet.

But I knew this project would take some time. They're very unique, but just don't have enough color. I'll be crossing these F1 chicks back to a spangled rooster this winter and see what happens. I'm also going to have a separate Crele project pen with a spangled rooster over cuckoo hens...just the opposite of what I have now. I'll take the best chicks from that crossing and mix/match until I get it right.

I'll try to get some pics of the F1 chicks tonight.