Russian Orloffs

[desertmarcy]

True... it's hot here but nothing like AZ. Let me know in the fall if you want to do a swap. I only have two laying hens right now, so the most I can ship out is 6... How do your girls mind the heat?
I've also started removing the roosters because of the bare backs of my girls. They seem to have a few special hens that they prefer.

They do okay in the heat, no better or worse than my other breeds as far as I can tell. I have a mister system I turn on when it gets really hot and that helps a good deal. Yes, I removed my roosters for the summer because of the bare backs. Where did your stock originate from?

 

[happyhens120]

My rooster is from a breeder in Georgia, and my hens are from Ideal. I was pleased with the quality of the hens even though they are from a hatchery. I actually got them by accident... I bought two "Easter Eggers" from our Agway which turned out to be Orloffs. I'm glad they didn't know what they were talking about or I never would have fallen in love this this breed.

 

[happyhens120]

I have someone coming to look at chicks today. Excited about my first babies finding good homes!

 

[kahlua]

Happyhens, just out of curiousity, when did your girls start laying? Since mine are from Ideal too it'd be great to get a general idea Thanks!

 

[happyhens120]

They laid really late... I'm thinking like 30 weeks or so? They are good layers, though, even at 1 1/2 years old I get about 4 or so a week from each.

 

[ashandvine]

New to this thread. I have three spangled hens. Their beards are all growing back in... Reliable eggs so far and nice size. Are there other breeders/keepers in New England?? I know of one near Canada. Others?? Seems like its hard to get good spangling color. I see a lot without it. I need a nice rooster... or eggs to increase my flock here. I also need to read more on the breeds standards... IF I breed, which I feel I should since there are so few.

 

[ashandvine]

Had a few minutes today and although it was windy and hot, I decided to snap a few pictures of the latest birds. Not great pictures, but maybe I can get some better ones soon. These are around a year old or so, our strain;

This IS nice Spangling. I have two of three like this. Sharing any of this stock??

Blacks would be nice too....

 

[ashandvine]

I am in touch with a lady in Bowdin ( ? ) maine she has 2 hens. I have been wanting them as well, just couldn't find any near me & had no room. I now have some room. But I am 2 1/2 hrs just from the boarder of Maine, a bit far for me to travel.

Too funny! I am the gal in Maine. Bowdoin. If someone wants to trade a hen for a roo I'm game. There is another breeder MUCH further up in Maine: Lubec. Lets keep in touch. Those folks come down sometimes and were trying to rehome Orloff roos.

 

[mississippifarmboy]

Quote: Thanks, they are very much a work in progress. Right now I only sell a few locally, mostly my culls to local folks for processing. We did finally get our NPIP though and will start selling a few chicks and hatching eggs in another year or two maybe. Spring of 2013 will be our first year of breeding ONLY our strain, I just recently culled the last of the original birds I used to work on ours. I really want to see how the next years birds grow out before I get too carried away with selling a lot.
I did take a few more pictures the other day, need to see if I can find them.

 

[mississippifarmboy]

Here are a few more pictures, some taken this week, some older, both chicks and started birds so you can see the wild variation in color between chicks and grown stock.















I've still got a long ways to go with the breeding program, but every season finds me getting closer and closer to what I'm looking for. This year I'm only raising out around 50 young birds, having to cut back on the numbers due to working more with some of our other breeds, but I have three young cockerels and several pullets so far that have caught my eye from this year's hatches. Now it's just a matter of waiting until they molt in the final color.
I do things a little different than most. I usually single breed the first part of the season, hand pick pairs that I think will help each other's faults or in some other way improve the strain. After that I hatch from the best birds from the previous year, what I call my breeding flock. The other adults and all the young birds once they leave the brooders just free range the farm until the following January when I pick that years breeders to put in the breeding pen.
I've yet to breed that perfect bird.... but I continue to strive for it.