Post Pics Of Orps/ Orpingtons HERE

[TheSpiceGirls]

Ops. That last post posted before I was finished. Anyway, I go the one bird a year and a half ago and wanted to get her some friends. So I got three more Orpingtons 6 months ago. Pictured here at about 4.5 months. Just before they came into lay. They are MUCH darker in color. Much more golden than blond. Their faces even today with them laying are a pale pink and never get red. They are also about a pound bigger than my original BO. They tip the scales just under 6lbs each.

Obviously, there is some different blood line in these guys and was just curious which was more true to the breed or what anyone could tell me about the two. My husband keeps asking why they look so different.

I know I'll take some heat for buying hatchery birds. But I'm a city dweller and can only have a few birds and it was just the easiest option for me to get a few birds when I was ready and know that they were sexed pullets and vaccinated, etc. I'll never breed them. They are pets and I'll never have a rooster. We just have them for eggs and bug control. And for the entertainment value. I never realized how funny chickens were.

I'll try and post one more current photo. The darker, bigger birds, one has a HUGE set of wattles on her.

 

[TheSpiceGirls]

Not the best photo. But check out the wattles on this gal. She's all girl too. Lays eggs. But I've never seen such big wattles on a BO before.

 

[AinaWGSD]

Yes, the difference between hatchery birds and non-hatchery birds in many breeds, including orpingtons, is enormous. There's nothing wrong with hatchery birds if all you want is some chickens from the backyard to lay you some eggs and do bug patrol, chickens are chickens and the source doesn't really matter if you have no interest in showing or breeding. But you can see for yourself how far from what the breed is supposed to be a hatchery bird often is. They don't even really look like the same breed. And frankly, because the focus of hatcheries is solely for egg production and their birds are so far from what the breed was intended to be, they really aren't the same breed anymore, IMO anyway. We processed a few birds this weekend from someone else and I'm pretty sure that one of them was a hatchery buff orpington. She looked absolutely nothing like my blue orpington hen in body type, the hatchery bird could just as easily have been a very pale production red. If you were to put the two side by side, you probably wouldn't have guessed that they were supposed to be the same breed because they looked nothing alike aside from both having single combs.

The three darker ones you have are much more true to standard than your hatchery girl. Buffs are supposed to be that rich golden yellow color. A bird as pale as the first one would have to have absolutely outstanding type to do well in a show and is generally something that breeders striving for the standard try to avoid. Orpingtons are large birds. They are supposed to be. The APA standard puts pullets at 7lbs and hens at 8lbs, with cockerels at 8 1/2lbs and cocks at 10lbs. Hatchery birds on the other hand are usually undersized for the breed that they are supposed to be and often by quite a lot. I haven't actually weighed my orpington hen, but she's easily the size of a cat (weight-wise, when picked up...with all the fluff she's easily bigger than most cats) so I'd guess her weight to be around 8lbs. The hatchery buff we processed this weekend weighed maybe 4lbs.

As for the wattles, comb and wattle size can vary quite a bit between strains and individuals even in birds bred to the standard. Some girls just have bigger accessories than others

 

[Renie'sPeeps]

Holy Smokes... her waddles look like what I see on guinea fowl.

 

[Red Barn Farms]

here is my 4 8 week olds.

 

[galanie]

Ops.  That last post posted before I was finished.  Anyway, I go the one bird a year and a half ago and wanted to get her some friends.  So I got three more Orpingtons 6 months ago.  Pictured here at about 4.5 months.  Just before they came into lay.  They are MUCH darker in color.  Much more golden than blond.  Their faces even today with them laying are a pale pink and never get red.  They are also about a pound bigger than my original BO.  They tip the scales just under 6lbs each.

Obviously, there is some different blood line in these guys and was just curious which was more true to the breed or what anyone could tell me about the two.  My husband keeps asking why they look so different.

I know I'll take some heat for buying hatchery birds.  But I'm a city dweller and can only have a few birds and it was just the easiest option for me to get a few birds when I was ready and know that they were sexed pullets and vaccinated, etc.  I'll never breed them.  They are pets and I'll never have a rooster.  We just have them for eggs and bug control.  And for the entertainment value.  I never realized how funny chickens were.

I'll try and post one more current photo.  The darker, bigger birds, one has a HUGE set of wattles on her.  

Which hatchery did you get those last three from? I've yet to see hatchery Orps that close to standard. But then most of the ones you get here are from Ideal, so I'm curious which hatchery it is that is selling better BOs.

As for the lighter color, mine are getting lighter color with age so the fact that she's 1 1/2 years old might have something to do with it. My 2 year old hatchery BOs are very light after molting this last time.

 

[TheSpiceGirls]

Thanks for the reply. It's nice to know at least which ones are closer to breed standard.

I love all 5 of my girls. The 5th is a Black Jersey Giant. Also a hatchery bird and also small for her size. Which I'm thankful for. Cuz, she's already a BIG GIRL.

 

[TheSpiceGirls]

I bought them all from the Half Moon Bay Feed and Fuel and all they will tell you is that they come from a hatchery based in California. But I'm sure they order from many and thus the wide variety even in the BO line.

I also wondered if age had something to do with color. But the older bird started replacing her feathers the same time these babies feathered out. So this year's feathers have all had the same exposure to the elements and yet you see the difference in color.

Again, I don't really care. Was just curious more than anything and figured this was the place to go for info.

 

[TheSpiceGirls]

Yea, we call her Wattles now. She gets them into everything. The water when she drinks and anything messy I put out for them to eat.

She's not crazy about being held but she's warming up to me. I had to pick her up last night and give her a quick wipe down with a damp cloth because she was just a hot mess from eating grapes earlier in the day and her poor wattles were just covered in dirt.

And it's like she knew she was a mess and couldn't do anything about it and was very appreciative of the quick spa treatment.

 

[fowlman01]

Keep in mind that the sun will bleach out a buff Orp....or any buff bird for that matter.

Walt