Russian Orloffs

[TherryChicken]

Thanks everyone and ashandvine we are working on their run to buld it in a coop, when it's done ill ost a picture , it's very shaded

 

[pandabunnie]

Hi all. We have a Russian orloff and she is getting picked on by other members of the flock. At first they would peck out her beard and today they were pecking at her comb. Its all swollen and red

. She is SUCH a sweet girl and I hate seeing her picked on. Right now she is in the house with us separated from the others. Have any of you had problems with your Orloffs getting their beards plucked out?

 

[RiddleMe]

Hi all. We have a Russian orloff and she is getting picked on by other members of the flock. At first they would peck out her beard and today they were pecking at her comb. Its all swollen and red

. She is SUCH a sweet girl and I hate seeing her picked on. Right now she is in the house with us separated from the others. Have any of you had problems with your Orloffs getting their beards plucked out?

I haven't had any issues with beard plucking in my ROs though I have had an issue with feather picking near the base of the tail. I do have an EE who is habitually missing her beard, not sure who does the plucking as she is just one of many EEs and the rest all have their beards... Highs of 99 the last two days , my birds use a nipple system but I gave them pans of cool water midday and hosed down some of the ground in their shade areas. Otherwise it was business as usual, no one seemed overly stressed. Calling for 100 tomorrow, then back down into the 90s for the rest of the week. Good test run, we rarely get any hotter here, so this should be a good indicator they will do ok in our climate.

 

[skydancer28]

Thank you all for the input about non-negotiables when culling. Yes, type is very important to me as well. If I wanted Sussexes, I'd have gotten Sussex chicks...;-) I like the idea of keeping track of foraging ability too. I thought about just letting mine free-range (currently on grass in chicken tractors) and breeding the survivors.

The heat intolerance is a concern. so sorry to hear when anyone loses animals to heat. I can sympathize, having lived in Texas for 17 blistering years. Even here in the northwest of the Northwest, we had temperature close to ninety this past weekend, with more expected again in a couple of days. All the Orloffs were panting--but not so my other birds--Silkie, Dark Brahma, RIR, Olive-egger, and a couple of mystery chicks--including the following one that appears to be some sort of Orloff hybrid:


This was chick #8 of the SRO group I purchased in April, and has exhibitted some impressive bold, friendly, intelligent behavior. Plus the heat tolerance. If it was a hen, I'd probably keep her--but alas, he's a he and destined for the freezer...

I do not want to have to resort to the ice/water bottle tactic, since I am already dealing with that for my Silver Fox bunnies. Maybe heat tolerance is yet another trait to consider when making decisions about culling.

 

[desertmarcy]

Thank you all for the input about non-negotiables when culling. Yes, type is very important to me as well. If I wanted Sussexes, I'd have gotten Sussex chicks...;-) I like the idea of keeping track of foraging ability too. I thought about just letting mine free-range (currently on grass in chicken tractors) and breeding the survivors.

The heat intolerance is a concern. so sorry to hear when anyone loses animals to heat. I can sympathize, having lived in Texas for 17 blistering years. Even here in the northwest of the Northwest, we had temperature close to ninety this past weekend, with more expected again in a couple of days. All the Orloffs were panting--but not so my other birds--Silkie, Dark Brahma, RIR, Olive-egger, and a couple of mystery chicks--including the following one that appears to be some sort of Orloff hybrid:


This was chick #8 of the SRO group I purchased in April, and has exhibitted some impressive bold, friendly, intelligent behavior. Plus the heat tolerance. If it was a hen, I'd probably keep her--but alas, he's a he and destined for the freezer...

I do not want to have to resort to the ice/water bottle tactic, since I am already dealing with that for my Silver Fox bunnies. Maybe heat tolerance is yet another trait to consider when making decisions about culling.

That is some sort of cross for sure. Comb, foot color, stance, lack of muffs and beard are all incorrect for an Orloff. If this one came from a group, I would suspect the others have something mixed in them as well.

 

[skydancer28]

I suppose it is possible others of mine have mixed blood--can you tell anything from my previous photos? The rest of the chicks are very different from this one, however, in looks AND personality. Very yellow legs, big muffs and beards, different tailsets, different builds--but all extremely similar to one another. This poor little guy sticks out like a sore thumb.

 

[desertmarcy]

I suppose it is possible others of mine have mixed blood--can you tell anything from my previous photos? The rest of the chicks are very different from this one, however, in looks AND personality. Very yellow legs, big muffs and beards, different tailsets, different builds--but all extremely similar to one another. This poor little guy sticks out like a sore thumb.

I went back and looked at your post with the photos and the rest of them look like pure Orloff to me. You said you got this one in the group from Erhard? You might email him a photo and ask what might have happened. Perhaps a male of a different breed got a hold of one of his Orloff hens. It is known to happen

but however this bird occurred, I would not keep him to breed to your Orloffs.

 

[ashandvine]

Ehard Weis is known for his Welsummers. Is it possible a Wellie and Orloff made this? It would account for the comb... but IDK about those legs.

 

[skydancer28]

I did not contact Erhard to ask, but I think I will, now that you mention it. I am happy to hear none of the others look like mongrels. I thought about the possibility of this being a Welsumer/Orloff mix. Like I said above, he really is friendlier and quicker to learn than the Orloffs, If I had unlimited time and resources, I might be tempted to use him as the start of a breeding project for friendly, brainy chickens, but no, I'm sticking to Orloffs, just Orloffs. This guy is slated to go into the freezer--along with several other culls--possibly as early as tomorrow.

Yes, I will be mixing Mahoganies and Spangleds, but I just do not have the room or time to try maintaining two color varieties. And, I am interested in seeing what I get, colorwise.

With that in mind, I plan to try using the breeding method described in one of the SPPA (Society for the Preservation of Poultry Antiquities) newsletters I received last year. Since I am starting with only one dozen total Orloffs and none of them appear to have any nonnegotiable cull faults, I am going to breed most of them in order to maximize genetic diversity. I will consider the one rooster and four hens hatched in 2012 as my "old" birds, and the three cockerels and four pullets hatched in 2013 as my "new" birds. In early 2014, I will mate the old rooster to the new pullets and mate the best of the new cockerels to the old hens. The 2014 chicks will become the "new" birds, and the 2012 and 2013 chickens together now form the "old." At this point, I should have enough old and new to cull at least some of them. My target breeding flock size is 12-15 total, with three of those being roosters/cockerels.

If I understand the breeding strategy correctly, I am supposed to continue the mating scheme of rooster/pullet and cockerel/hen. New blood can be introduced, of course.

Sounds very simple, doesn't it?

NOTE, several hours later: Erhard replied, and I quote:

"Hello Diane!

Thanks for your message and the pictures. The little cockerel in question is a speckled Sussex (note the white feet). The only Sussex I own are bantams and have never been kept anywhere near the Orloffs. I free-range my standard chickens only because the bantams fall pray to falcons.
The rest of your Orloff chicks look very nice - congratulations.

Regards,

Erhard"

How's that for a development? I better see if anyone around here needs a Bantam Speckled Sussex cockerel before I cull.

 

[Pozees]

I did not contact Erhard to ask, but I think I will, now that you mention it. I am happy to hear none of the others look like mongrels. I thought about the possibility of this being a Welsumer/Orloff mix. Like I said above, he really is friendlier and quicker to learn than the Orloffs, If I had unlimited time and resources, I might be tempted to use him as the start of a breeding project for friendly, brainy chickens, but no, I'm sticking to Orloffs, just Orloffs. This guy is slated to go into the freezer--along with several other culls--possibly as early as tomorrow.

Yes, I will be mixing Mahoganies and Spangleds, but I just do not have the room or time to try maintaining two color varieties. And, I am interested in seeing what I get, colorwise.

With that in mind, I plan to try using the breeding method described in one of the SPPA (Society for the Preservation of Poultry Antiquities) newsletters I received last year. Since I am starting with only one dozen total Orloffs and none of them appear to have any nonnegotiable cull faults, I am going to breed most of them in order to maximize genetic diversity. I will consider the one rooster and four hens hatched in 2012 as my "old" birds, and the three cockerels and four pullets hatched in 2013 as my "new" birds. In early 2014, I will mate the old rooster to the new pullets and mate the best of the new cockerels to the old hens. The 2014 chicks will become the "new" birds, and the 2012 and 2013 chickens together now form the "old." At this point, I should have enough old and new to cull at least some of them. My target breeding flock size is 12-15 total, with three of those being roosters/cockerels.

If I understand the breeding strategy correctly, I am supposed to continue the mating scheme of rooster/pullet and cockerel/hen. New blood can be introduced, of course.

Sounds very simple, doesn't it?

NOTE, several hours later: Erhard replied, and I quote:

"Hello Diane!

Thanks for your message and the pictures. The little cockerel in question is a speckled Sussex (note the white feet). The only Sussex I own are bantams and have never been kept anywhere near the Orloffs. I free-range my standard chickens only because the bantams fall pray to falcons.
The rest of your Orloff chicks look very nice - congratulations.

Regards,

Erhard"

How's that for a development? I better see if anyone around here needs a Bantam Speckled Sussex cockerel before I cull.

You might post over on the Sussex threads, it is likely someone would want him.