Russian Orloffs

[BlackPanther]

I got a few snapshots of the birds today. It was 6 degrees, with a chill to the bone wind. But, Orloffs have to play...

Zoya waiting to be let out of her pen.

Hey, what do you expect? Russians like the cold!

 

[ashandvine]

I really like how there is so little white on his head, which I normally am a fan of, but knowing how many of the Orloffs have way too much white its nice to see the difference.
I have read an interesting study that included the Orloff as one of its research subjects here if anyone else wants to read it:
http://www.agrobiology.ru/4-2011yakovlev-eng.html

I have attempted to reach the contact person so I might follow up with some questions I had. I will report an success or failures. I have never heard of an Uzbek Game. I am going to have to do some more research.

 

[taprock]

I have two boys who are needing homes. They are obviously not my best but seem to look ok just not as stocky as my other boy. They are mahogany colored with spangling. In the pictures they look darker than they are because of the snow. They were hatched in June but just starting to show the girls some interest. They are super friendly, i call them Puppy 1 and Puppy 2 because they will follow me everywhere and jump for treats. I am in northern Michigan, up near Mackinaw. I have never shipped birds but would try find them some transportation.

 

[ashandvine]

Well, you could come to Maine for a vacation and just happen to bring them along I really like that upright posture of the male in back of the first photo. The color on the last pic is good too, with nice legs/feet.

So... who wants to go sledding or snow shoeing in Maine with a few chickens??

 

[BlackPanther]

They're pretty!

 

[karenbrat1]

The Spangled Russian Orloffs look so interesting. I love the spangled mahogany color, the muffs, and the hooded eyes. What are the experiences of owners here as far as their temperament toward people? ( I won't put up with aggressive roosters.) I've read that they are "indifferent" or "poor" layers, what does that translate into in number of eggs per laying season? Sandhill's catalog says they lay great the first year, but then drop off very sharply after that. Anyone else's experiences?

 

[desertmarcy]

The Spangled Russian Orloffs look so interesting. I love the spangled mahogany color, the muffs, and the hooded eyes. What are the experiences of owners here as far as their temperament toward people? ( I won't put up with aggressive roosters.) I've read that they are "indifferent" or "poor" layers, what does that translate into in number of eggs per laying season? Sandhill's catalog says they lay great the first year, but then drop off very sharply after that. Anyone else's experiences?

Their temperament is wonderful! I just love them. They are the most curious, personable birds I have ever had. I have not had any aggressive males and I have 4 right now. 2 are 1 year olds and the other 2 are about 1-1/2 years. Can't tell you so much about the number of eggs because I don't count eggs from my different breeds. They definitely don't lay like a production (hatchery) bird. The 1 year olds I have now have not been laying much all winter, which is a disappointment. I'm planning to put a day length cycle on them and some other birds. Tired of expensive feed and no eggs.

 

[desertmarcy]

I just had a minor setback with my plans to hatch Orloffs this winter. I had put the 2 best hens in with a son in a pen along with my green egg layers, which are 1/2 Orloff and 1/2 Ameraucana (4 black and 4 blue pullets). I had just set 10 eggs from the hens 2 days ago. On a hunch, I took the Orloff trio out of that pen and into a pen by themselves. They were in with the green egg layers for space considerations and because I thought all the brown eggs were going to be from the 2 Orloffs--NOT! After I moved the trio out, I found a tan egg in the "green" egg layer pen. So one of the crosses (at least, hopefully only one) is not laying green. I made the decision to purge all the eggs I had just set. I don't think I'd have been able to tell if the chicks were pure or 3/4 Orloff....I had already hatched one, which is 2 weeks old now. Might be a male. Think I should just cull him/her now? I can't for 100% be sure that one is pure. Oh great, now I have the hard task of figuring out which of the 8 pullets is laying the tan egg so I can move her in with the mixed layer flock and consolidate the Orloffs back into that pen..... But I did get a for-sure Orloff egg from one of the hens since I isolated them

 

[kahlua]

I got my first Orloff egg today!

Pink is my friendliest Orloff, she is very sweet, but she has duck feet/toes so I won't be hatching any of her eggs. But she's the only "cull" that I was too attached to sell...

She was in the nest box this morning when I went to let everyone out of the coop. This afternoon I went down, and she was back in the coop, although not IN the nest box. But I picked her up and put her back in the nest box, to see if she'd do anything. She did start nesting, so I left her alone and went to eat dinner. I came back down about an hour later - and she'd laid a perfect little egg.

My Orloffs are almost 10 months old...so it's time they started earning their keep!

 

[ashandvine]

I made the decision to purge all the eggs I had just set. I don't think I'd have been able to tell if the chicks were pure or 3/4 Orloff....I had already hatched one, which is 2 weeks old now. Might be a male. Think I should just cull him/her now? I can't for 100% be sure that one is pure. Oh great, now I have the hard task of figuring out which of the 8 pullets is laying the tan egg so I can move her in with the mixed layer flock and consolidate the Orloffs back into that pen..... But I did get a for-sure Orloff egg from one of the hens since I isolated them

3/4 crosses with any Ameraucana cross could actually benefit your laying abilities so long as they still resemble Orloffs. The shank color will be a big deal to watch but... I have a cross here who is Marans crossed with Orloff and her beard is so nice and her coloring interesting enough that she got to stay despite any other cross leaving.

Congrats Kahlua!

As far as temperament goes even the information on them states very clearly they are very calm despite their 'raptor' like appearance and so far that is true here. I have seen them living with several roosters of their kind without issues and I also find that they are docile.

I tried taking pictures of One Eyed Jack again but he just won't pose. This is him trying to skulk by me (very bad posture here, like "Orloff limbo") and this is the side his 'bad' eye is on. You can also see clearly his white primaries. I keep reading conflicting information about whether or not these are going to be acceptable or if I should breed them out. He seems to have gotten over his depression at having left his cockerel buddy from the other farm and is now socializing more with the hens and pullets I have him in with. Just a reminder, I chose him because of his type, though he isn't flaunting it in these pics. He is the largest Orloff I have seen so far and I want to make sure I am not losing size as so many Orloffs are small in comparison. Being meant to be a dual purpose bird I want to make sure I see LARGE fowl sizes in my LF Orloffs