Lavender Orpington Thread

[ChickenS41T]

I'm not the best judge, and from a single pic, its hard, but I like his coloring, his tail is lovely. Legs are nice color. His back looks a little short and his chest needs to fill out a little more, but I assume he is still young? I'm guessing 6-9 months?

I appreciate your words, I know that one picture is not a whole story. I'm new to chickens, only about six months. So I'm learning a lot here and it's nice to just get people's views.

 

[ChickenS41T]

We are not allowed roosters by ordinance here, so one the complaint was made it was too late. I've also heard some not too great things about the collars. We are lucky to have a dear friend keep him on her farm. Since she is also my daughter's 4H leader, my daughter can even still show him at the fair.

Worth mentioning that a week or two after he left, our coop was attacked and we sustained two losses.

He was doing his job very well it seems.

 

[Faraday40]

Here's my English lav orp roo (named Moose). He's also got some filling out to do. Hatched May 13, 2016.


Moose was a very tall, awkward-looking, leggy adolescent, but we are hoping he'll fill out nicely like his dad.

Moose in Oct/Nov

Late summer






Taken a few days ago: Moose & his blk/lav split father.

 

[WVduckchick]

Yes, he hatched June 1 or 2, 2016.

I guessed pretty good lol. He's very pretty boy.

Faraday, I love Moose! And that black/split is very handsome too!

 

[Faraday40]

I guessed pretty good lol. He's very pretty boy.

Faraday, I love Moose! And that black/split is very handsome too!

Thanks. His Daddy is built like a tank. A very big, muscular, heavy roo! (Often visitors ask if he's really a chicken or if he's a turkey. LOL) He's the best roo in the world. A perfect gentleman to the hens & great around visitors & children. We were so surprised that his son was so tall & skinny. Moose used to be a little skittish when younger, but he's finally not running away when we bend down to pick him up. Like most cockerels, he still needs to work on his manners. He's starting to dance for the females (A LOT of dancing!), but he'll grab at any opportunity as well. When I hand him a piece of bread, he makes the treat call call...... as he's gobbling it down.

We are keeping Moose's daddy so he can maintain the peace and keep the younger boys in line.

 

[walkerman78]

Just wanted to share what the chicks look like now at 2 weeks old today.

 

[walkerman78]

The life of a chick, if they are not hoovering around the feeder or the waterer they are sleeping.

 

[Merrymouse]

Quote:
So cute! Thanks for sharing! 23 more days til hatch day for me...

 

[Faraday40]

Well I learned a little more about chicken/rooster behaviors today.

For the past week, our blk/lav split (father, named Mr Dummy) & our lav (his son, named Moose) have been fighting. The dad had always been flock leader for over 2.5 years but his larger son wanted to take over. Strange how they were fine for 8+ months previously. Needless to say Dummy did not want to give up his prominent role, so the poor guy kept getting his butt kicked by his more athletic son. We truly love and want to keep both. After the 1st big fight, we had to bring the father inside for observation & TLC. His comb was bloodied & he looked awful. Moose also had some scrapes but looked OK. During the day we put the old roo inside a chicken tractor to prevent fighting. The two roos would flare hackles at each other through the wire. Yesterday (after the initial wounds had healed) I finally let them figure it out. At one point, I saw Moose land on top of Dummy like a football tackle & Dummy stayed still. The dad seemed a little in shock & made what my kid called "hen noises." I had never heard him make such a noise & was very concerned. We brought him inside for the night & returned him to the chicken tractor this morning. As soon as we let the chickens out, Moose, (the victor) ran up to the chicken tractor with hackles flared. Mr Dummy did not flare his hackles & started making the strange hen noises again. From what I can tell, it's his way of admitting defeat. When I opened up the tractor, Moose chased, & Dummy ran away. I am sorry to see Dummy lose his position. He was a gentle, fair peacekeeper. Young Moose is still a big bag of hormones, so when given the choice, the hens prefer to follow Dummy. Although I can't say that I'm happy about the change in command, I can say that I'm glad they have finally stopped trying to kill each other. My hope is that in time, they will go back to working together as a team.

 

[WVduckchick]

Pretty chicks, walkerman. Looks like nice color.

Wow Faraday, what an ordeal. How it all works out in the long run.