Looking to add a couple of heritage chickens to the flock

[punky rooster]

Quote:
all orps are english

English blooded Orpingtons (from eggs/chicks/chickens actually imported from England) are different in appearance than US Orps.


US Heritage Orpingtons are bred toward the APA standard. The American standard is different from the English Standard.


Heritage APA Orpingtons also are not chicks purchased from a Hatchery or feedstore. Hatchery/feedstore Orpingtons are NOT bred toward the APA standard and are often outcrossed with other breeds to increase laying.



APA - American Poultry Association http://www.amerpoultryassn.com/

all orps are from england though

 

[RAREROO]

Quote:
English blooded Orpingtons (from eggs/chicks/chickens actually imported from England) are different in appearance than US Orps.


US Heritage Orpingtons are bred toward the APA standard. The American standard is different from the English Standard.


Heritage APA Orpingtons also are not chicks purchased from a Hatchery or feedstore. Hatchery/feedstore Orpingtons are NOT bred toward the APA standard and are often outcrossed with other breeds to increase laying.



APA - American Poultry Association http://www.amerpoultryassn.com/

all orps are from england though

No, the breed may be listed as an "English Class " breed, but their is a difference in English and American Standards and true English Orps look quite different from American Orps.

 

[Chris Mac]

Quote:
Actually, I may or may not consider raising them as I may have someone willing to have them on their land. But that's neither here nor there. I do understand what you're saying - maybe more than you realize. I bred rabbits for many years (to improve a breed) and I wrote The Complete Idiot's Guide to Heirloom Vegetables because I believe in keeping pure seed from open-pollinated vegetable plants.

However, I don't agree with you that breeding is the only way to help bring back a breed. Outreach and education is just as important to helping a breed make a comeback. Sharing rare breeds with the public by intimate introduction is another way to help conserve what we know and love. In fact, I've found that hands-on experience gives me better insight to my subject and my writing is colored by that. I may not live on enough land to have a rooster live here, but I'm a communicator - and communicators (writers, speakers, etc) are a wonderful tool for those looking to bring something to attention. Keeping a rare variety inside a close-knit group isn't the best way to get people on board, in my opinion. This is why we open-pollinated plant growers share our seeds so freely.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Yay another heirloom seed lover!

I buy ONLY heirloom seeds.

 

[Chris Mac]

Quote:
Awesome!!! I've been ordering seeds here and there all week...like candy, I tall ya...

 

[Illia]

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x2 - Bought some seeds years ago, never buy them again unless I'm looking to try a new variety. Same goes for chickens - Never need to buy more unless I buy a new breed to work on or need to improve my lines.

 

[Chris Mac]

Quote:
x2 - Bought some seeds years ago, never buy them again unless I'm looking to try a new variety. Same goes for chickens - Never need to buy more unless I buy a new breed to work on or need to improve my lines.

Because I write about them I'm always trying new varieties each year - there's hundreds! LOL