Post Pics Of Orps/ Orpingtons HERE

[lildinkem]

Such a nice day. Thought I'd take some pics of the other birds.
Here is KORgo. My #2 Black cock.


Here is a nice young pullet in with my Marans Cuckoo cockerel I am using in my Marans Crele project.

Finally am getting eggs from my White Orp pen. Both pullets are laying.

Only incubating eggs from this one hen and the best Buff Orp cock. Should get some babies with great tails and size.


Still have a few more project birds I can use this coming season.
Like this Spangled pullet. She is gettting near 6 months old



Also have an update of my only Rumpless Orp. She is a good size girl too.

.
On the run look


My Aussie layers special. She is in with some soon to be culls and one Blue who I can find a use for

 

[jeremy]

Hey Bill- can you give me an idea what to do with this guy so I can still use him? His back is so flat- we call him Low Rider. He's got such great temperment. I just wonder if I could use him as a "balancer" for something, but I don't know what. He's 7 or 8 months now.Thanks in advance.

Do you have any pullets with tails that are little high Amy? He might help to correct that issue.

I would find a way to use him for sure though, he looks absolutely massive.

 

[jeremy]

I like your Dun guy Bill, do you plan on putting him with any solid Black hens?

 

[aveca]

i would like to see also like jeremy what you would get with the dun over blacks..maybe birchen??
gotta keep me updated on your aussies..
I always love the farm tour at bills place.
and jeremy, that low rider boy is kind of cute in his own way..if hes so sweet tempered, just keep him as a pet quality guy . its so hard sometimes to make decision on those..mr softie is such a big benevolent guy and sweet..our australorp rooster....not so nice but expected with some breeds, hes not bad when i let him out with the girls, he doesnt bother me, but i look like a gladiator complete with garbage can lid sheild when i used to have to walk into his pen if there are breeding hens in there...ive since changed that around years ago so i have a reach in point now that doesnt rile them up.. a little doorway , so no more gladiator sheild and helmet..he runs away from me the rest of the year,.

 

[jeremy]

I'd like to see some solid Dun birds aveca, and then a few generations down the road maybe some Khaki Orps... oh, that would be just gorgeous.

 

[chickened]

Something to keep in mind Ruth is that penned egg layers shells can vary greatly from porous to thick even in arguably the most controlled environment from hen to hen and the most scientifically designed diet. Candle some store eggs sometime and you will see what I mean. Are all the eggs you sent porous?

Older hens tend to lay more porous eggs. A respiratory virus can cause porous eggs also. An imbalance in a commercially prepared feed can also cause porous shell as most commercial feed is not always mixed properly before pelleting which is why to be sure I give my own supplements MIXED by me.

The only real problem with porous eggs is it can allow more bacteria to enter the egg but that can be overcome by good sanitation practices when incubating.

You may try a breeders supplement in addition to your regular feed. I have noticed over the years (30 plus) that heavy feathered birds with large carcases tend to have more porous eggs and my theory on that is available calcium is directed to feather growth before egg formation.

I have a question for all of the Orp owners out there. When you candle the eggs do they appear almost lacy - as if you can see all the holes or pores? I got a complaint from a customer who received eggs a couple of weeks ago that they were "too porous". When I asked what they meant, they said you could see all the holes in the egg. But I have 5 dozen hatching/pipping in my bator right this moment and another few dozen that went in a week ago and more sitting on the counter to go in so I candled them and I think what they are referring to is how they do appear almost lacy and fragile and the light just beams through the pores. Anyway, just wondering if anyone else's eggs are the same way. Most of my other breeds of eggs are dark - either dark brown, speckled, or olive and are too hard to see through so I rarely candle. The Orp eggs are the only ones that the light shows up so well that you can practically see through the pores.

 

[ruth]

Something to keep in mind Ruth is that penned egg layers shells can vary greatly from porous to thick even in arguably the most controlled environment from hen to hen and the most scientifically designed diet. Candle some store eggs sometime and you will see what I mean. Are all the eggs you sent porous?

Older hens tend to lay more porous eggs. A respiratory virus can cause porous eggs also. An imbalance in a commercially prepared feed can also cause porous shell as most commercial feed is not always mixed properly before pelleting which is why to be sure I give my own supplements MIXED by me.

The only real problem with porous eggs is it can allow more bacteria to enter the egg but that can be overcome by good sanitation practices when incubating.

You may try a breeders supplement in addition to your regular feed. I have noticed over the years (30 plus) that heavy feathered birds with large carcases tend to have more porous eggs and my theory on that is available calcium is directed to feather growth before egg formation.

Thanks everyone for all the help and suggestions. I used to feed gamebird feed and now that I've been reminded of it, I'll probably go back to feeding it. I feed my birds some of everything. I don't mix it but they get, on any given day, fed several times a day - layer feed; sweet feed; cracked corn; whole corn; dog food; kitchen scraps; garden scraps; BOSS and their own eggs. They love raw eggs. I had never even noticed the "porous" eggs before the customer brought it to my attention. Now that I've started looking, I've candled eggs from all breeds and some are "porous" looking and others are not and they are from the same pens. In other words, the Polish have some porous eggs and some not; as do the Orps; all breeder birds in pens; and my free ranging birds. I always have a very high development rate and a high hatch rate (except Marans but that's a different story). It has been months of non-stop rain here and the chickens are running low on health and vitality so maybe the porous "issue" will resolve itself if the sun will ever come out and dry up the muddy and wet pens. I did start feeding them oyster shell again which I was not doing before.

 

[chickened]

I think these may be duns, what do you guys think?

 

[jeremy]

chickened... I don't think so. The black feathers of the bird would be brown colored if they were Dun based.

 

[chickened]

Thanks Jeremy, I got 3 color variation from this hatch, this one in the picture , black and a dark brown. I was told they will change color and stabilize at about 5 months and was hoping on this color that it was going to be dun. They are Bachelor, Korpus Kluckers and Greenfire lines.