My "blue" Orpington is black in color

[Ninjapickles]

so...is she a blue orpington or shall I just call her a black orpington?

 

[Wyandottes7]

Could you post a photo?

When you breed blue birds to blue birds, you end up (ideally) with 50% blue, 50% splash (white and blackish), and 25% black chicks. Blue chicks sold as being "blue" are usually a mixture of blue, black, and splash. So, you could have bought your chicken as a Blue Orpington, but she was one of the Blue Orpington chicks that is actually a Black Orpington.

 

[Ninjapickles]

Yes, she was sold as a blue from the hatchery.

 

[Ninjapickles]

She is there in the right with the wyandottes.

 

[Wyandottes7]

She is there in the right with the wyandottes.

She does appear to be a Black Orpington. Most hatcheries, when selling blue birds, state that out of the chicks that you get some will be black, others will be blue, and some will be splash. You were just unlucky and got a Black instead of a Blue.

 

[keesmom]

When breeding blue to blue you will get 25% black, 50% blue and 25% black. When ordering a blue breed you could end up with any of those 3 colors.

Can you get a closer picture? Is it the one in the center with the large comb and wattles? How old is this bird?

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

When breeding blue to blue you will get 25% black, 50% blue and 25% black. When ordering a blue breed you could end up with any of those 3 colors.

Can you get a closer picture? Is it the one in the center with the large comb and wattles? How old is this bird?

X 2 - what hatchery did you order from? Most have it in the breed descriptor details that the birds may be any of these three.

 

[Ninjapickles]

I ordered from Meyer and yes I see now that it says they pick the color of the chicken. She is 14 weeks. No the one in the middle with the big comb is my black astralorp rooster. I can only have so many chickens, I wish you could get a guarantee on color.

 

[keesmom]

I ordered from Meyer and yes I see now that it says they pick the color of the chicken. She is 14 weeks. No the one in the middle with the big comb is my black astralorp rooster. I can only have so many chickens, I wish you could get a guarantee on color.

I thought the one in the middle looked male. Unfortunately blue does not breed true, so there is no guarantee on getting a blue when ordering one. Blue can also range from very light to very dark, almost black.