Russian Orloffs

[ashandvine]

He has nice thick hackles which is great. I have been examining the brows of my birds and feel that I want the wide, almost flat and over hanging brow that they are known for. So many I am seeing, and your boy is this way, have a narrow forehead and almost no overhang above their eyes. It is a small detail but one which I have noticed and read about and therefore am now choosing to try to promote.

You seem to have quite a few cockerels running together. How is that working for you? Are you caponizing?

 

[wezl]

Does the comb changed as they mature? I need to take pics of my new pair.

 

[kahlua]

He has nice thick hackles which is great. I have been examining the brows of my birds and feel that I want the wide, almost flat and over hanging brow that they are known for. So many I am seeing, and your boy is this way, have a narrow forehead and almost no overhang above their eyes. It is a small detail but one which I have noticed and read about and therefore am now choosing to try to promote.

You seem to have quite a few cockerels running together. How is that working for you? Are you caponizing?

Do you have any pics you can post so I can see what you mean? It's hard to visualize!
My guy came from Ideal...for a hatchery bird I am pretty happy with him. I know he's not perfect but there is a lot I like about him.

I have 4 roos running with my flock, they are all about 9-12 months old. They have the occasional squabble but nothing serious. Axl the EE is in charge and no one really challenges him.
I was going to build a new coop and run for the Orloffs this week, since I have the week off. I want to start hatching out chicks soon...but my van broke down last Thursday and I don't know if I'll be able to get the materials home during my week off...bad timing!!! I need to figure out a plan B...

 

[desertmarcy]

I don't know what Privet is but thank you for the answer. I would be interested to see how these grow and feather. So many of the RO do not have the proper 'ski slope' type-- that SS crossing you are speaking of.

Good news here. I believe the new cockerel will be here by the end of the month. Let the RO dreams once again begin.

Ashandvine, Privett is a hatchery in New Mexico. Privett Hatchery.

 

[Sarplaninec]

I have these two beautiful top quality RO girls for sale. They are originally 5th generation from H&H poultry. I also have another younger RO hen and 1 RO Rooster from Kummer for sale. Send me a message if you are interested.

 

[desertmarcy]

I finally took some new photos of my Orloffs for you all to see. Here are my best two original hens (going on 2 years old) in with a son (Number 12) from last year. I've been getting 100% fertility and hatchability from these.







Here is a brother (Number 13) to the male above. He is nice, too, and has no totally white wing primaries, but he's a bit smaller. He is a male in reserve. Maybe I will hatch some of his chicks from the above 2 hens later on.






Here is my original best red cock. He or one of his two brothers is the father of the males above. I had 3 males in my original Orloff group when I was first hatching last year. He is in with the best 6 hens hatched a little over a year ago. I have been getting all infertile eggs until recently, **One** was fertile, so hopefully he is starting to breed more. He is not a very aggressive breeder. I may have to move him and a couple hens into a smaller pen and see if that helps. I did see him breed a hen today, so there is hope!



Head shot:


Here are some (maybe all, not sure if I got pics of all of them in the group shots) of the 6 hens he is with.
Hen Number 1:



Hen Number 3:


Hen Number 8:


Hen Number 9:


Some group shots:

 

[ashandvine]

Well, you all can disagree with me but this is my opinion on primaries-- a few should be white. Looking over historical pictures of this breed I keep seeing it so for me it stays.

Kahlua- pics of those brow shots coming. Its been cold or too darn busy. I haven't forgotten.

Desert, thanks for sharing so many pictures. That raked red rock dust fits right in on a RO lol This is my piddley cents:
I like the broadness of chest in your males. I do not like the ticking/black in the beard and do not like that narrow, almost pyramidal shape to your male's head shot. I will show what I prefer in the pics to come and this is only based on what I read and see so its basically an educated opinion is all. The hens/pullets look really light in that last pic. Do you remember the posts that MFB put together to show his before and after color on his birds? The other pics of them aren't as light but I do think they are a little light. Something I am seeing but not sure about in this breed is the pinched tails. I see it a lot and don't know what to make of it. Feet look good, legs good. I think hen #9 is my favorite. Check pic number three in the back-- good type here, and second pic to the last, hen on the far right. I *think* they are the same one but these pics are tough to tell. I don't care about spangling much anymore at this point but its there and plenty of it. I have personally decided that the ornament of this bird, ie its spangling, is what is what led to its ruin in many ways= the crossing with sussex to improve the varnish so to speak. I might just be on a type kick right now but is where my head is as I look. I do like the type on your best male. Have you given thought to putting him in a larger area with another male to see if the competition won't get his libido in gear? Its worked here. Penning them so they can see each other but not hurt each other has also been a help but I do not find that the RO get into as many scuffles as some other breeds.

 

[desertmarcy]

Well, you all can disagree with me but this is my opinion on primaries-- a few should be white. Looking over historical pictures of this breed I keep seeing it so for me it stays.

Kahlua- pics of those brow shots coming. Its been cold or too darn busy. I haven't forgotten.

Desert, thanks for sharing so many pictures. That raked red rock dust fits right in on a RO lol This is my piddley cents:
I like the broadness of chest in your males. I do not like the ticking/black in the beard and do not like that narrow, almost pyramidal shape to your male's head shot. I will show what I prefer in the pics to come and this is only based on what I read and see so its basically an educated opinion is all. The hens/pullets look really light in that last pic. Do you remember the posts that MFB put together to show his before and after color on his birds? The other pics of them aren't as light but I do think they are a little light. Something I am seeing but not sure about in this breed is the pinched tails. I see it a lot and don't know what to make of it. Feet look good, legs good. I think hen #9 is my favorite. Check pic number three in the back-- good type here, and second pic to the last, hen on the far right. I *think* they are the same one but these pics are tough to tell. I don't care about spangling much anymore at this point but its there and plenty of it. I have personally decided that the ornament of this bird, ie its spangling, is what is what led to its ruin in many ways= the crossing with sussex to improve the varnish so to speak. I might just be on a type kick right now but is where my head is as I look. I do like the type on your best male. Have you given thought to putting him in a larger area with another male to see if the competition won't get his libido in gear? Its worked here. Penning them so they can see each other but not hurt each other has also been a help but I do not find that the RO get into as many scuffles as some other breeds.

It is really tough to get the color just right when taking photos out here because the sun is so bright and glaring, even with the shade cloth over my pen. I did take some with a flash, and that helps. What color do you think the beard should be, solid white? Hen #9 and the hen pic number 3 are not the same, those are two different pens. For me, good spangling is important even as I work on other things because that is the beauty of this breed and what people notice the most when they see these birds. Pinched tails are something I am working on. It is a problem in a lot of breeds as I understand it. There is a pen adjacent to the Orloff pen that has another male in it, a New Hampshire, not an Orloff. So it is not like he is the only male around. I'd be afraid to put the 2 older Orloff males together because I think the whiter one is dominant.

 

[ashandvine]

How old did you say your cock is? Yes, the beard should be a pronounced shape and it should be white. The color and pic quality issue is one that I face esp with my Marans egg color. Pictures can only say so much, which is why I give my opinion on tp because that's usually what its worth. You have two pens of RO?

 

[desertmarcy]

How old did you say your cock is? Yes, the beard should be a pronounced shape and it should be white. The color and pic quality issue is one that I face esp with my Marans egg color. Pictures can only say so much, which is why I give my opinion on tp because that's usually what its worth. You have two pens of RO?

The older cock bird will be 2 in June. Yes, two pens, one pen is a small 8'x8' and has a trio in it, 2 almost two-year old hens with a son. The other pen is one of my larger pens which are all about 10'x18' and has 6 hens just a little over a year old and the older cock bird (father or brother to father of the hens he is with).