Gold Laced Orpington- For Learning and Sharing

[Hurlburt Farms]

Thank you Dee for the warm welcome!! Like I said I'm just learning, just realized you don't know my name as it wasn't in my profile...is now

Both of our hens are GL Blue & Gordon is GL Black I believe. Had to go look at hens eyes looks like there is brown around the black? If the sun ever shines again I'll take a closer look. Thanks for bringing it to my attention, never noticed, they do look different than Gordon's though. What color should they be?

 

[Renie'sPeeps]

LOL I am out of pecans.. but I can make a nice fresh pound cake ")

 

[BamaChicken]

Dee I am not an expert on the blacks but I do believe that the Sheen is in the gene. I think if you get to much blue you will get purple sheen which in not good. I Keep a black pen and breed black to black. If i get a good black out of my blue breedings I will add them to my black pen. My blacks out of my blues always have a good green sheen. I am just telling you from experience. I am not a genetics guru so I can't dicuss all the eb Eb stuff. I just know if I need the blackest eyes I need to use birds with the darkest to acheive that. If I want good wing carriage the same. My personel opinion is there are some good sheened birds that get bred to some that dont have a good sheen introducing the lack there of.
My biggest problem starting out was listening to people who sounded like they knew everything and I ended up getting rid of some birds I wish now I had kept. I think everyone needs to trial and error a few things before they discard something they might could use. I am not talking about obvious faults. One thing I have learned is to work on type and then color. If birds have poor wings carriage , pinch tails , cut away breast, pathetic combs, and so forth your color will not fix that.
Lacing is always a challenge to work with and not for the faint of heart. I am doing my first trial with Black over Splash = Blue chicks. I have kept five of the first group of 8 I hatched. There lacing and color is so far really awesome. Still I want to see how they turn out type wise and then when I breed them to blue what will they produce. It really is like being a scientist . Don't know if this helped anyone but just MHO.

 

[deek]

Thank you Dee for the warm welcome!! Like I said I'm just learning, just realized you don't know my name as it wasn't in my profile...is now

Both of our hens are GL Blue & Gordon is GL Black I believe. Had to go look at hens eyes looks like there is brown around the black? If the sun ever shines again I'll take a closer look. Thanks for bringing it to my attention, never noticed, they do look different than Gordon's though. What color should they be?

It's hard to tell from pictures, but the hens looked like GL Blue and the Cockerel GL Black. I've never shown. I've only studied the SOP and really you can only learn so much from reading. I need to get to a show. And I haven't yet. That is the only reason, I haven't been able to answer.

No, brown eyes are good! Black would not be. The pullets and cockerels are will be slightly different. That is how it is suppose to be. The Gold Laced aren't an accepted variety...yet. Once they are, they will write the standard by which they will be judged. I go by the standard that is written in other countries were they are an accepted variety. One has to start somewhere!

The pullet in the first picture has (IMO-remember I'm not the one that should be answering, but until someone helps, I'll give you my observation) a very pretty body type. In the last picture, I can't see her body, but the pullet has very nice neck lacing and a nicer comb. If you only have the trio, then, "breed what you have!". Then, when the chicks grow up, look for the ones with the neck lacing and comb of the second pullet and the body type of the first. If you get that all rolled up in one pullet...

Breed her to her father.

I think your trio is lovely. You have a very good start. If they were mine, I'd celebrate. I often read, "cull heavy".

For all of us starting out with this beautiful variety, we only have so many in our backyard. We have to work with what we have. In future generations, we can exhale, and take a more serious look. In the meantime, we have to make sure nothing happens to the few that we have, and get them to breeding age. When they are fertile, our whole outlook changes. Best of luck to you. Please keep posting updated pictures. That is how we all are going to promote this variety and learn.

 

[deek]

Dee I am not an expert on the blacks but I do believe that the Sheen is in the gene. I think if you get to much blue you will get purple sheen which in not good. I Keep a black pen and breed black to black. If i get a good black out of my blue breedings I will add them to my black pen. My blacks out of my blues always have a good green sheen. I am just telling you from experience. I am not a genetics guru so I can't dicuss all the eb Eb stuff. I just know if I need the blackest eyes I need to use birds with the darkest to acheive that. If I want good wing carriage the same. My personel opinion is there are some good sheened birds that get bred to some that dont have a good sheen introducing the lack there of.
My biggest problem starting out was listening to people who sounded like they knew everything and I ended up getting rid of some birds I wish now I had kept. I think everyone needs to trial and error a few things before they discard something they might could use. I am not talking about obvious faults. One thing I have learned is to work on type and then color. If birds have poor wings carriage , pinch tails , cut away breast, pathetic combs, and so forth your color will not fix that.
Lacing is always a challenge to work with and not for the faint of heart. I am doing my first trial with Black over Splash = Blue chicks. I have kept five of the first group of 8 I hatched. There lacing and color is so far really awesome. Still I want to see how they turn out type wise and then when I breed them to blue what will they produce. It really is like being a scientist . Don't know if this helped anyone but just MHO.

Thank you so very much Julie! We have all learned from your post. I have always understood blue (and buff for that matter) to be diluters. So it makes sense that if you have too much blue, the green sheen has been diluted (washed down) to purple. When you breed good green sheen (which is based in black) to poor green sheen (which is based in too much blue) you are adding the diluter and the pretty green is gone. That makes total sense. The way you have put it in simple non-genetic terms makes it easy for everyone.

I know that a friend in France looked at each of my pullets and cockerels. (body, saddle, tail, feet, neck) He could see which ones had too much black and which ones needed it. His suggestion was, breed the ones with too much black to buff and the ones with not enough to black. Which essentially is what you are doing, just with a different variety and you are using blue to dilute and not buff.

Girl! You're awesome! Thank you.

I need to remind myself, "Lacing is not for the faint of heart." It's the challenge that I so enjoy.

 

[BamaChicken]

LOL I am out of pecans.. but I can make a nice fresh pound cake ")

Yall are making me hungry for a pecan pie and i am trying to lose weight. Pound cake sounds good to with some coffee. I am having to give myself a pep talk on why I dont need the sugar and I have got to go cook a Choc and peanut butter cake for tomorrow nite. I cook supper for Wed nite Bible study.

 

[deek]

Renie, I live in the pecan capital of the world. I can help you out anytime. OOOh how about caramel cake. Is that a southern indulgence?

 

[Hurlburt Farms]

Thanks for your opinion Dee, just what I need to know as I'm learning as I go...Yes that one hen has a big comb for the longest time thought maybe she was a rooster

then she started lay eggs. We have some eggs from both hens in the incubator can hardly wait... I just love these English birds!! Hope to get better pictures soon also.

 

[aveca]

Dee I am not an expert on the blacks but I do believe that the Sheen is in the gene.  I think if you get to much blue you will get purple sheen which in not good.  I Keep a black pen and breed black to black. If i get a good black out of my blue breedings I will add them to my black pen. My blacks out of my blues always have a good green sheen. I am just telling you from experience. I am not a genetics guru so I can't dicuss all the eb Eb stuff.  I just know if I need the blackest eyes I need to use birds with the darkest to acheive that. If I want good wing carriage the same. My personel opinion is there are some good sheened birds that get bred to some that dont have a good sheen introducing the lack there of.
My biggest problem starting out was listening to people who sounded like they knew everything and I ended up getting rid of some birds I wish now I had kept.  I think everyone needs to trial and error a few things before they discard something they might could use. I am not talking about obvious faults.  One thing I have learned is to work on type and then color. If  birds have poor wings carriage , pinch tails , cut away breast, pathetic combs, and so forth your color will not fix that. 
Lacing is always a challenge to work with and not for the faint of heart.  I am doing my first trial with Black over Splash = Blue chicks.   I have kept five of the  first group of 8 I hatched.  There lacing and color is so far really awesome.  Still I want to see how they turn out type wise and then when I breed them to blue what will they produce.  It really is like being a scientist .   Don't know if this helped anyone but just MHO.

It was well said and helped me ..type,,then color..I also gave away 2 that I am now regretting.. , you Have been there
Done that...And your experience is valuable to so many..

 

[aveca]

Renie, I live in the pecan capital of the world. I can help you out anytime. OOOh how about caramel cake. Is that a southern indulgence?

 

Yum yum...nobody does it better than those southern ladies..