How do you build YOU build a great ORPINGTON flock?

[lildinkem]

Hi folks, I have owned chickens for under a year. My first birds were some super nice Milkey's Black Orpingtons. I paid the huge amount of $3 each. Little did I know how nice it is to have such great birds.
I am new here, and read alot of people encouraging other people to buy from certain breeders. And whe I GOOGLE these breeders, most often I get nothing.
Their not in Poultry Press, their not winning shows. How do I know their reputable? It costs just as much to feed a production quality bird as an exhibition bird. I learned this with my Black Orps that will give me well over 200 eggs each, a year, and still are an exhibition quality bird to play with for 4H. As matter of fact, these 4 pullets laid 48 eggs combined in 2 weeks.
The old man, who I refer as " That little ole Silver hair man with the grand daughter', who is my chicken mentor, told me to ONLY buy from the breeders who are winning and in POULTRY PRESS.
What do you folks think? I have one nice line of Orps. Which would you want to add to these birds? The ones I can not find one the internet that everyone here says are great, or the ones who win in Poultry Press?
That is how the Old man raised his live stock over the past 40 years. Only the best, then you will never have any troubles.

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

In essence, you cannot only rely one one publication. You must do your research on several different breeders.

You must find birds that YOU find beautiful that will fit YOUR purposes.

I believe in the saying "It costs the same to feed a good bird as it does a junk bird." So I can see where he's coming from. Perhaps he was trying to give you beginner's advice?

When you don't know what you're looking for at first, it's best to go with what is available. Beginner's tend to not know what to look for when beginning in exhibition. When you start recognizing good birds that are not seen in the poultry press, then you're onto something. When you recognize the birds well enough to see which birds are a good example of the breed overall, then you've found gold.

In essence, you have to choose what is right for you. What are YOU looking for? What are YOUR specific goals? What lines will best represent what YOUR version of the standard should be. For example, a man on here named big medicine has a line of silver laced Brahmas. They are not recognized in the APA but OMG. They are some FINE birds that I would not mind oggling over every day.

A good bird is a good bird. A good bird may or may not be in the Poultry Press. Does this make the bird a bad bird? No.

 

[lildinkem]

Hi Mr Rodriguez
I agree with finding gold in the hills. I have a line of Buffs from a lady in SW Indiana. Who is the type that does not advertise, no websites, non showing Buff orps that people down there say are very nice. A word of mouth type of breeder. You have to fall into her yard to know what she is about.
Okay I found one breeder like that. LOL Now I need another.
I am looking for preserving the very best quality of Orps I can lay my hands on. I am patient and will wait to get what I like. My standard, is the breeds standard. I see so many people breeding these birds and disregard the standards. Or worse inbreed these breeds to the point they are not fertile. So I am hoping to ad another line which is of equal or better then I have.
I like what I have, and just want to keep it that way.

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

Ms. Rodriguez, but you don't know me well!

Exactly, that's another point I was going to make. The Poultry Press doesn't show every single bird that is considered good. They only show the photos of birds that people pay to put into the paper.

Indianapolis eh? Do you ever go to the Ohio Nationals? That would be an excellent opportunity to get into contact with some top notch Orpington breeders.

Are you only interested in buffs or are you interested in blacks and blues as well?

I have a friend in Austria. He breeds for his own standards. In my opinion, his own Brahmas are 10x better than the standard could hope to be. However, they are not recognized by color. The type on those birds though...I would KILL for some of his Brahmas. He is so close to Mille Fleur I can see it in one of my favorite birds of his!

 

[Jeff9118]

Thats easy. You buy them from Julie (bamachicken). She has the best I have seen here in the US. There is others that have good ones but if you want them to look like what they do in the UK then Julie is the way to go. I think everyone will agree that you cant compete with her on quality and typyness. Very nice and easy to work with too. Pm me if you have trouble looking her up.

 

[lildinkem]

LOL Sorry, I mean Ms Rodriguez

I do plan on going to the Ohio Nationals. It is hard to pry me away from the house.
I like and have Blue and Black chicks that are 3 weeks old. 3 blues 3 blacks. I have a flock of Buffs (10). Some Black Giants, small flock of RIR's, Ameraucana's ( Blk, Bl, Silver), 3 punny Yokohama Red Shouldered chicks. I am hatching out a whole slew of Orp eggs. And am patiently waiting to buy chicks.
My only Brahmas, are a Buff brahma/Buff Orp mix I bought when I bought my $3 Black Orp chciks a year ago from my friend Russ Milkey. These are my only mix breed birds. And it is exactly what you are talking about. Their gorgeous. And huge. I call them Brawndo's. LOL I have 22 of their eggs in my incubator, and I candled last nite ALL are fertile and developing. And some of these eggs are laid by my lonely Black Orp girl. And her chick is cool. Jet black with feathered legs. Very cute.

 

[lildinkem]

Hey Jeff, I have heard of Julie. The ministers wife as I remember. She does have awesome quality.
I do have her contact info available from one of my friends. Thank you, definittely a great refference for anyone who likes ultra high quality Orps. Right on!!

 

[halo]

There is a huge problem with relying on what is winning in a show or what is advertised in Poultry Press. You may well be looking at birds that are not standard, or you may be looking at a blue ribbon winner that is the best of a bad group. The ONLY way to get correct typy birds is to learn what correct typy birds look like. Then go look for them. Its the same with looking for a breed of dog or a breed of horse. Show winners are simply one judge's opinion; he may or may not know what the exact standard of a bird is. As far as only going with advertisers in the Poultry Press, thats laughable. All that shows you is who has the money to advertise. Many poultry breeders of high quality birds have never even heard of Poultry Press.

Do your home work, learn what you like, learn the standard, and look at as many birds as you can. There is no substitution for learning for yourself what the standard is, and what you like.

I agree with checking Julie's birds. She has a young blue roo that looks like he came straight from the UK. But there are many other breeders, some right here at BYC, that are breeding beautiful typy orps. Theres gold in many backyards, you just have to dig for it.

 

[McSpin]

You seem to consider egg laying an important trait. The poultry shows do not judge for this that I'm aware of. You could easily get a great looking line, that is a very poor producer. I think you have to talk to a lot of breeders and be very specific about what you want to find out who has birds that most likely meet them. It may not be a winning show line.

 

[lildinkem]

I agree with HALO about who has the money advertises.
I think it is important to also look who is judging. What are they judging for? I also agree that most exhibition breeder do not breed for egg production. That is why my Black Orp are like gold to me. They lay virtually everyday. And they look good enough to show. In this line you can have the best of both worlds. There are many good breeders on BYC. And there are those who think their good.
The ultimate test is how is the bird compared to the standard. And IF you like only egg production, the standard means nothing. Then I should be happy with my mix birds. Unfortunately, many production breeders ONLY care about the buck too. They'll say anything, and breed anything to make a buck. Not caring about standards.
And why do I care? Cause for someone who cares, it is reflected thru to their birds. Alot of my back yard chicken friends, like my birds. And they have nice birds. But, they like mine cause I care what I breed. I just don't get one big name breeders cockerel and throw him at every Buff under the sun. I TRY to get several lines of birds from breeders, who in some cases are judges as well. And right now what they say is the standard. And IF their winning, and you want to be as close to the CURRENT standard, it is a good idea to find out who and where these winning breeders are. Thus, Poultry Press gives great info in this area. And by no means am I belittling BYC.
I just see a few selected folks pushing certain breeders lines, and WHY? Are they getting paid? These breeders they say are great, are okay, but not great by anyones standards. And I think that if a bird is healthy, lays alot of eggs, and is an exhibition quality that is a good thing for the breed.
I breed for ALL of those traits. Egg production, and color of the egg in a few breeds I have, and for conformation.
And IF anyone here ONLY wants a top meat bird that is a great egg producer, then ask me for my Buff brahma/ Buff Orp mix. Their huge and everyday layers.
But, you don't see anyone beating my door down for a great bird that happens to be a mix. Thus, I encourage to stick with the judges opinion of the standards.
Only one problem about those super quality backyard breeders that don't show, is you have to fall into their yard to know them. I don't fly. Neither does my chickens lololol