Lavender Orpington Thread

[Flaisure]

Mine tend to grow bigger than the other chicks because they're a bigger breed.  However, they are very slow to mature.  While many pullets may start laying in their 4th month, my LO's like to wait until they're over between 6-9 months.  Both sexes continue to fill our until they're well over a year.  In fact the roos don't look their best until they're 18-24 months.

This is Maui and she is almost 3 weeks old. So much smaller and hardly any feathers. The Naked Neck next to her is a wk old and a bantam and still so much bigger.

 

[Faraday40]

This is Maui and she is almost 3 weeks old. So much smaller and hardly any feathers. The Naked Neck next to her is a wk old and a bantam and still so much bigger.

Yes, she does look rather small. (About the size of a 1 week old.) The rest look just right for 3 wk olds.

I hope she's OK & not being prevented from eating. When my DD hatched a quail that seemed slower to mature, we took it out for individual feedings of soaked crumbles & high protein snacks, once a day for about 4 days. After that, it continued grow & caught up by 7- 8 weeks old. We never saw it being bullied and even saw it eat/drink with all the rest. Yet, we figured it was easier to give it a little extra nutrition than deal with guilt of doing nothing.

 

[Flaisure]

Yes, she does look rather small. (About the size of a 1 week old.) The rest look just right for 3 wk olds.

I hope she's OK & not being prevented from eating.  When my DD hatched a quail that seemed slower to mature, we took it out for individual feedings of soaked crumbles & high protein snacks, once a day for about 4 days.  After that, it continued grow & caught up by 7- 8 weeks old.  We never saw it being bullied and even saw it eat/drink with all the rest.  Yet, we figured it was easier to give it a little extra nutrition than deal with guilt of doing nothing.  

I'm going to watch her for the next week. She seems fine. I've seen her eat and drink. But up until this last week we had ducks in with them. I witnessed one of my ducks pick her up by the neck and shake her. So I separated them from the chickens. Almost all the baby chicks have missing feathers on their necks and backs. The ducks would trample them and pick on them. So I'm hoping now that they're separated they're not as stressed and they will start growing their feathers and better.

 

[equusaddictus]

I have two questions. I have a Lav Orp hatched around March 15, and two hatched around March 29th.

The first has a questionable roo comb already to me....

Secondly, the two I got Mar 29 were the same size when I got them. One is feathering out faster than the other and seems a tad bigger. Ive read on BYC the slow feather development could be because it's a cockrel. Here are pics...just looking for advice. I cant have roos in town

Mar 29 when i got the 2 little lavs(also have a blue slpash marans in there)

2 younger Lavs:

Questionable roo...

Thanks!!

 

[Faraday40]

It's too early to tell on any of them, but I'd be guessing you have one of each of the little guys. Sometimes the slower growing feathers is a male indicator. Since they both came from the same place and the feathering is different, it's very possible. (My orps all grow feathers at the same fast rate -both genders- so we're proof that rule is not always true.)

Your bigger one could go either way. If in another week or two that comb grows & looks more pink, you'll know. Usually the boys' wattles also drop. I can't see any wattles in the pics, so it's just not mature enough to tell or it's a female They all look female until they change.

 

[Faraday40]

Have to share this pic.

I went out to the garage last night & saw this:
How does she keep track of all 20 of them?
(Technically, she has 21, but one was in the house with me.)

 

[Flaisure]

Maui 4 1/2 weeks old. Very skittish. I pick her up and she goes backwards with her wings up. I hope she will grow out of that. She's beautiful.

 

[Faraday40]

Maui 4 1/2 weeks old. Very skittish. I pick her up and she goes backwards with her wings up. I hope she will grow out of that. She's beautiful.

Some cuddling always helps. (Followed by hand fed mealworms) She needs to see you as a bringer of treats & all things that are good. Even if you do nothing, they usually calm down significantly by the time they begin to lay.

 

[Flaisure]

Some cuddling always helps. (Followed by hand fed mealworms)  She needs to see you as a bringer of treats & all things that are good.  Even if you do nothing, they usually calm down significantly by the time they begin to lay.

Thank you. I try to hold them at least once a day now that my ducks are out of here.

hope it works!

 

[Aquaholic]