Russian Orloffs

[RiddleMe]

those aren't eggs flying out No one is laying yet but one is showing signs of getting ready. I believe mine are the mahogany color.

Yours are actually Spangled, they don't have a lot of the markings but you can see some. And they may get more white with each molt. If they were Mahogany's they wouldn't have any white.

 

[Angelray]

Hi folks, been a member a few months & thinking about breeding my Russian orloffs. I got my hen from a breeder on Craigslist and have no way of knowing her history. I got my roo from a BYC member and was assured he is not hatchery mix. He doesn't have yellow feet tho and I want to be sure my offspring carry the orloff traits. I will post pix but can you advise if the roo ever has whitish feet?

 

[RiddleMe]

Hi folks, been a member a few months & thinking about breeding my Russian orloffs. I got my hen from a breeder on Craigslist and have no way of knowing her history. I got my roo from a BYC member and was assured he is not hatchery mix. He doesn't have yellow feet tho and I want to be sure my offspring carry the orloff traits. I will post pix but can you advise if the roo ever has whitish feet?

Note, the following is a simplified scenario as there are other things that can influence leg color. But white leg/skin color is dominant over yellow. So he could carry white/white (W/W) or white/yellow (W/w+) and still have white legs. If you are lucky, he carries the white/yellow. Then if your hen is true yellow (w+/w+), half their offspring will have yellow legs, and half will look white but carry recessive yellow. If he is true white, they will all have white legs (but carry recessive yellow) and breeding a son back to his mom will result in half their offspring having yellow legs. Another thing to consider is age as yellow can fade as the bird gets older.

 

[bamitsbrittany]

Yours are actually Spangled, they don't have a lot of the markings but you can see some. And they may get more white with each molt. If they were Mahogany's they wouldn't have any white.

Really so they cant have ANY white on them to be considered mohogany? Mine has a couple of little white spots but not the gorgeous spangles....Just curious! Very new to the breed. She was given to me.

This was when I first got her.

 

[Angelray]

Really so they cant have ANY white on them to be considered mohogany? Mine has a couple of little white spots but not the gorgeous spangles....Just curious! Very new to the breed. She was given to me. This was when I first got her.

I was told mine was spangled & she looks VERY similar to yours!

 

[RiddleMe]

Quote: Correct, the mahogany should not have any white. On your bird, it's actually as much the black on the feather tips (look at her shoulders) as it is the white that gives it away that she is a spangled. If she were mahogany, she wouldn't have those black tips either.

 

[bamitsbrittany]

Correct, the mahogany should not have any white. On your bird, it's actually as much the black on the feather tips (look at her shoulders) as it is the white that gives it away that she is a spangled. If she were mahogany, she wouldn't have those black tips either.

Interesting... so if I bred her would it be possible to get the crazy spangles? I guess that would depend on the rooster...

 

[desertmarcy]

I took 3 Orloff pullets to the Tucson show and put them in the sales area Saturday. They were in lay or about to start. I listed them for $40 each or 3 for $100. Not one buyer! Admittedly, they did not have the best spangling, but still, what does it cost to raise a bird to laying age (especially on organic feed) nowadays? I did not want to take them all home, so I donated one to the $1 raffle. I was too busy packing up my birds to see who won her. My pair that I entered in the show were 1st and 2nd place. Competing only with one other pair from someone else. And someone else had a pair on the sales table for $25 for the pair....guess that's why people thought mine were overpriced....

 

[NCSprout]

Congrats on the showing, Marcy. I don't know what it's like there, but we have birds selling for $20-$30 a pair here. Granted they are typically "potential show quality" culls, but that doesn't really help the feed bill.

 

[RiddleMe]

 
Correct, the mahogany should not have any white. On your bird, it's actually as much the black on the feather tips (look at her shoulders) as it is the white that gives it away that she is a spangled. If she were mahogany, she wouldn't have those black tips either.

Interesting... so if I bred her would it be possible to get the crazy spangles? I guess that would depend on the rooster...

It would definitely depend on the rooster and also how well the two birds "mix" genetically.