Russian Orloffs

[Maligator Love]

I have not seen any from Meyers for sale. I do know that Meyers will soon be selling bantam orloffs. When did you get them?

 

[jbolt]

I have not seen any from Meyers for sale. I do know that Meyers will soon be selling bantam orloffs. When did you get them?

I got them about 3 weeks ago from redrocketrooster here in AZ. She ordered them from Meyer. I checked out their site, and I like that their pics are of their own birds. They do indeed have LF orloffs for sale in the mottled/spangled variety.

 

[Maligator Love]

I got orloffs from meyers poultry but meyers hatchery does not show them on their website.

This meyers hatchery? http://www.meyerhatchery.com/index.a5w
Or this meyers poultry? http://www.myerspoultry.com/index.html
or someone else?

I got mine from meyers poultry. They do not list them but if you call they can supply you.

 

[ashandvine]

For the record, and this is just a little pet peeve of mine so please don't take offense, but there is a difference between a Mottled bird and a Spangled one. Spangled/Speckled look the same and mottled is black with white tips. I love both but haven't yet seen a Mottled RO. ooooh, someone get started on that!!

 

[speck wilson]

i have always understood mottle to be a white marking anywhere on a solid color feather feather...black is the most common, but any solid color feather can be mottled....spangle must be a solid color with a black line then a white tip...a tri colored feather.

 

[RiddleMe]

i have always understood mottle to be a white marking anywhere on a solid color feather feather...black is the most common, but any solid color feather can be mottled....spangle must be a solid color with a black line then a white tip...a tri colored feather.

Mottled is typically black with the white tip, but could be other colors like dun with a white tip, etc. But yes, the white tip is key.

Spangled can be somewhat confusing, because when referring to the Orloff it is as you described, a tri colored feather. But when referring to the Hamburgs or Appenzeller Spitzhauben, it's a solid feather (white or gold) with a black tip. And the genetics between the Orloff's spangle and the Hamburg's spangle are completely different. Of course, then you throw in terms like speckled, red mille fleur, and the fun really begins.

 

[RiddleMe]

A couple pics of my orloffs at ~ 5 1/2 months (they are a little older now, these are just the last pics I took). You can see the height difference in the two boys, these two both passed first cull for now as each has aspects I like, and don't like. The first is wider, stockier, feathered and matured faster, and seems a little more balanced overall visually. He has as much beard as the other cockerel, though it doesn't look like it since it's darker. I like the height, stance, shank length, and length of back on the second bird, but he still has a lot of filling out to do (he's pretty lanky but doesn't look it in his pic because he had a full crop). He is not as wide as the stockier bird but he's not bad. I do not like how heavy his fluff is, it might balance out visually if he gets more hackles... On handling, he doesn't seem to have a physical cause for the droopy drawers look, it's just thick fluff, but it bugs me. Ignore the beat up tails, they haven't had a full molt since the feather picking issues were resolved and for some reason, those tail feathers were the last thing that was left alone.



This last two pics are the pullets that made the first round of culls. The one got her own pic since she was busy in the nest box during the group shot. For next spring, I will be focusing on type over color, which means I will probably be including the black banded pullet as she has the nicest upright stance, widest shoulders, and a decent tail spread, even though she probably has the worst coloring. But I might do a few single matings this fall just to see what happens, then go from there in the spring. Yeah, I guess I'm going to at least attempt to breed these guys.

 

[speck wilson]

i had forgotten about the Hamburgs ect!...thanks for the good examples! I raise mainly oriental games, and they get confusiing to....to that crowd ANY white.... specks tips or whole feathers seems to be called spangled!
I am new to keeping orloffs, have ended up with two pairs after my hard cull. I enjoy following the posts here.

 

[RiddleMe]

I believe, with regard to color pattern of the Spangled Orloff, the genes responsible are more like what we see in the mille fleur color pattern with the addition of the Mh (mahogany) gene. The Mh acts as a columbian like restricter of black. This would also involve the mo (mottled) gene and the Co (Columbian) gene to achieve the desired pattern of red/black/white. True spangled breeds involve both the Pg (pattern) gene and  Ml (melanizer) but would lack the Co and mo genes. For this reason, I believe, the term spangled is a bit misleading in reference to the Orloff. I am not suggesting it be changed, simply stating that it is a bit of a nomenclature issue when trying to pin down the genes.

Speck, this was a good post from NCSprout wrt the genetic differences between the colors. For those who are interested, there's a good table here discussing the individual actions of the different genes: http://sellers.kippenjungle.nl/page3.html Of course, they don't actually act individually, and that's where the fun really begins. Fortunately, we don't have to understand the genetic code (though my geeky side enjoys trying). if we did, none of these breeds would ever have been created or successfully bred true.

 

[ashandvine]

Yes, mottling is typically a white tip on a solid feather. I should have been more complete but I was in a hurry. Sorry.

Riddleme- I like the breast on that cock in the middle. Beards combs and legs all look pretty good. I think that pullet in pic two is really light though. Is she just hunched or is her neck short? He speck- welcome- what kind of games are you keeping? You wouldn't have an Irish Muff would you?