LF Chocolate Orpingtons

[mediazeal]

I see LF choc orps advertized in the UK.
How long before they get over here do you think?

http://www.bid4poultry.co.uk/auction.asp?id=7066

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

too long, since I don't have any yet

 

[mediazeal]

Quote:
I completely agree.
Guess it will still be a few years. Darn it.
Anyone working on this?

 

[KyBlue]

Check this out...

http://greenfirefarms.com/new/

 

[lildinkem]

Quote:
Wonder IF their Bantams. I read that they give full creds to Clive for the gene, and no one ever talks about how Clive bought the flock of Choc gene birds from a farmer in Austrailia. That farmer thought he just had a flock of mutt chickens. Little did he know. lolololol

 

[mediazeal]

Quote:
Wonder IF their Bantams. I read that they give full creds to Clive for the gene, and no one ever talks about how Clive bought the flock of Choc gene birds from a farmer in Austrailia. That farmer thought he just had a flock of mutt chickens. Little did he know. lolololol

I'm pretty sure Greenfire imported the bantams
they might be working on a cross, probably are. whatever, they have, they aren't for sale yet.

 

[love_a_duck]

I liked how the ad said "condition: used" LOL

and 225 pounds! wow! that is a lot of money in any country!

fantastic birds though. so puffy, poofy and just beautiful.

 

[lildinkem]

Quote:
Wonder IF their Bantams. I read that they give full creds to Clive for the gene, and no one ever talks about how Clive bought the flock of Choc gene birds from a farmer in Austrailia. That farmer thought he just had a flock of mutt chickens. Little did he know. lolololol

I'm pretty sure Greenfire imported the bantams
they might be working on a cross, probably are. whatever, they have, they aren't for sale yet.

I didn't think anyone would be too far ahead on making them Large Fowl yet. Which means anyone can recreate the method of the original farmer, the man who made them, and sold them to Clive. I won't keep it a secret that I am hunting for that gene. With my BUSTOFF bird. And I only wanted to make a Black Orp and a Blue Orp from him. I hope to pull the choc gene out from BUS. It is just a guess in what I see in him. Originally I had no clue why some folks, who I know are expert Color breeders wanted my BUS. I sorta think I know now. Everyone else here who breeds for a color, BUYS the bird with that color and goes forward. With a Banty, as your starting bird for the gene, that can take up to 10 years to get a competitve LF bird. IF one can make the color from scratch with a LF you can make a choc bird viable for show in three to four years. Or sooner. It is a long process. You will have splits that MAY carry the gene (may not) and you not know. Sound familiar Lav fans? Cause everyone who were on the ground floor of that project jumped the gun and didn't finish the deal, within the last two or three years you can't swing a dead cat at a show without hitting someone who has a lav nowadays. IF I would ever hit the Choc Color gene lottery, that won't happen to me. NOTHING LEAVES ALIVE!

 

[lildinkem]

Thought I would ad this article I found somewhere.
The Chocolate Orpington is a relatively new colour of Orpington and currently to my knowledge only exists in bantam size although I'm sure it won't be long before they are crossed into large fowl. The choc gene responsible for the chocolate colour was discovered by the late Dr. Clive Carefoot around 1993-1994. It is a rare Sex-Linked Recessive gene that is basically a dilution of black pigment. This means that out of a pair of genes, the female will be chocolate with just one copy of the gene but the male requires two copies of the choc gene to look chocolate. This also means that black males can look black, but be carrying the chocolate gene.
Chocolate Orpingtons are slow to feather up. This is thought to be a direct result of the choc gene. Black Orpingtons are slow at feathering up but Chocolate Orps are even slower. They lay a slightly tinted egg.

Chocolate Orpingtons breed true - but there are some breeding combinations that are worth noting:

Chocolate Male X Chocolate Female = 100% Chocolate
Black Male X Chocolate Female = 50% Black Males carrying Chocolate, 50% Black Females
Chocolate Male X Black Female = 50% Black Males carrying Chocolate, 50% Chocolate Females
Black Male carrying Chocolate X Chocolate Female = 25% Chocolate Males, 25% Black Males carrying Chocolate, 25% Chocolate Females, 25% Black Females
Black Male carrying Chocolate X Black Female = 25% Black Males carrying Chocolate, 25% Black Males, 25% Chocolate Females, 25% Black Females.
Black males carrying the chocolate gene are called 'Split' cockerels.

 

[mediazeal]

Quote:
So that black split male bred to a black female in the US would result in 25% chocolate females.
Choc females bred back to the black split male would result in everyone having the choc gene and 25% choc males and 25% choc females
So by 2nd gen you have full choc males and full choc females
Assuming you used good stock in your black females in the first gen, you are there in color in 2nd gen and have a decent start on conformation since you didn't have to cross another breed in to get the color.
So why do folks say it is so hard to get the cross over to LF? What am I missing, why do you think it will take 10 years?