Russian Orloffs

[ashandvine]

I keep hoping that one of these RO will go broody but they arne't. There's a clutch in there and no action. Its getting too late in the year for us... I keep hoping to get broodiness into them.

 

[Northie]

Our Russian cockerel is just so rediculously sweet... I can scoop him up with one hand and he'll snuggle right in and close his eyes while I play with his beard and pet him. Our daughter carts him around the same way as the cat an he's perfectly happy about it. If I'm going to show anyone our chickens he's the one I catch for them to pet because he's so tolerant and he actually seems to enjoy the attention. So far everyone loves "The Russian".

Please tell me he's going to stay like this forever...

 

[desertmarcy]

Farewell to my Orloffs...my favorite breed, but I decided to part with them. It was becoming increasingly frustrating because I kept losing birds to the heat. I lost 2 hens and a cock bird already and our summer is just getting started. Last year I lost my founding male. I just feel like I can't maintain a viable breeding program when I lose birds that are important. Plus they just suffer so much here. With climate change, it is only going to get worse. Predictions are for the SW to get hotter and drier and we are already seeing it. This just isn't a good place for them and too frustrating for me. It was sad to see them go, but they went to a slightly cooler locale, at higher elevation. My friend Keith Rae took them all and will be sharing them with another person close by him, so they can help each other in breeding program. I know Keith will do his best by them. He is on the Facebook Orloff group, you can contact him through that. Or PM me, I can give you his contact info if you do not use Facebook. He has got an awesome group of birds now, adding these to the other non-hatchery stock he already had plus the ones he got from me last year. I am glad I was able to help spread some good birds to others and thank those of you who bought chicks from me.

I will miss them. Perhaps some day I can build a climate-controlled space just for Orloffs

 

[FridayYet]

Oh Marcia I'm so sorry to hear that - I know how much you cared for your Orloffs and how hard it must have been to send them off to a cooler new home.

I was hoping to get some from you in the spring after we move to a more chicken-friendly place. (Had already told my husband we had to plan a road-trip to Tucson!) Hopefully the new owners will be selling them so I can have some descendants of the birds you worked so hard on.

It really shows what a great person you are to make that difficult decision.

I'll PM you for Keith's info.

 

[ashandvine]

I was just thinking of you in the heat when it was rather warm here and the Orloffs were hiding in the barn, panting. I admire your decision and hope more people will realize that there are such things as cold weather and warm weather birds. There's a reason Mainers aren't all running around with those pretty Penedesencas or Blue Andalusians etc and why even Marans and Favs struggle in the cold. I know you worked hard to keep them cool. PM me what you are going to be doing now bird wise. Curious, you know

 

[desertmarcy]

I was just thinking of you in the heat when it was rather warm here and the Orloffs were hiding in the barn, panting. I admire your decision and hope more people will realize that there are such things as cold weather and warm weather birds. There's a reason Mainers aren't all running around with those pretty Penedesencas or Blue Andalusians etc and why even Marans and Favs struggle in the cold. I know you worked hard to keep them cool. PM me what you are going to be doing now bird wise. Curious, you know

Sent you a PM

 

[gander007]

Farewell to my Orloffs...my favorite breed, but I decided to part with them. It was becoming increasingly frustrating because I kept losing birds to the heat. I lost 2 hens and a cock bird already and our summer is just getting started. Last year I lost my founding male. I just feel like I can't maintain a viable breeding program when I lose birds that are important. Plus they just suffer so much here. With climate change, it is only going to get worse. Predictions are for the SW to get hotter and drier and we are already seeing it. This just isn't a good place for them and too frustrating for me. It was sad to see them go, but they went to a slightly cooler locale, at higher elevation. My friend Keith Rae took them all and will be sharing them with another person close by him, so they can help each other in breeding program. I know Keith will do his best by them. He is on the Facebook Orloff group, you can contact him through that. Or PM me, I can give you his contact info if you do not use Facebook. He has got an awesome group of birds now, adding these to the other non-hatchery stock he already had plus the ones he got from me last year. I am glad I was able to help spread some good birds to others and thank those of you who bought chicks from me.

I will miss them. Perhaps some day I can build a climate-controlled space just for Orloffs

Oh desertmarcy. I am so sorry to be reading that you are getting rid of the Orloffs and I understand they take a bit of work in the heat to keep them cool ... I still have the ladies I got from you and the egg's are just hatching and the only problem I have with the chicks is not having enough to sell ,Lol , but I thank you for what I got from you and hope to still see you around ....
I still haven't lost a single Orloff to heat even to temps of 129 F degrees but they do require a lot of water and wet towels or blankets to set on in the summer ....

From the 4 hens I got from you last December I am back up to 12 Orloffs but I also have 4 Roosters at 16 weeks I am trying to sell Ha, Ha ya I wont have any problem after this summer when they are big and boatful ......

Again sorry you are getting out of the Orloffs for a wile ....

 

[desertmarcy]

Oh desertmarcy. I am so sorry to be reading that you are getting rid of the Orloffs and I understand they take a bit of work in the heat to keep them cool ... I still have the ladies I got from you and the egg's are just hatching and the only problem I have with the chicks is not having enough to sell ,Lol , but I thank you for what I got from you and hope to still see you around ....
I still haven't lost a single Orloff to heat even to temps of 129 F degrees but they do require a lot of water and wet towels or blankets to set on in the summer ....

From the 4 hens I got from you last December I am back up to 12 Orloffs but I also have 4 Roosters at 16 weeks I am trying to sell Ha, Ha ya I wont have any problem after this summer when they are big and boatful ......

Again sorry you are getting out of the Orloffs for a wile ....

You must be taking some extraordinary measures to keep them from dying in that heat---actually any chicken, yikes, 129, really?
I just don't have the time and energy to baby chickens. They need to be able to deal with the situation I have.

 

[gander007]

Quote:

Oh yes I have to take extraordinary measures with all my birds for the 4 to 6 weeks every year to keep them cool enough to stay alive just as someone who lives in an extra cold environment has to take to keep the wind and cold out ....

Yes it really get's that hot here and in the last several years I have lost a refrigerator and 2 T.V.'s to the heat but no poultry

...

And yes they are a full time job but I also have two your teenage boy's to help me out with the work also but you are correct about being able to deal with the heat and that is why I am thinking about Marans chickens later this summer as a Bob-Cat ripped into a run I had over a year ago and destroyed the little flock I had okay a small flock of 12 youngens I had and killed the idea for a wile .....

 

[desertmarcy]

Oh yes I have to take extraordinary measures with all my birds for the 4 to 6 weeks every year to keep them cool enough to stay alive just as someone who lives in an extra cold environment has to take to keep the wind and cold out ....

Yes it really get's that hot here and in the last several years I have lost a refrigerator and 2 T.V.'s to the heat but no poultry

...

And yes they are a full time job but I also have two your teenage boy's to help me out with the work also but you are correct about being able to deal with the heat and that is why I am thinking about Marans chickens later this summer as a Bob-Cat ripped into a run I had over a year ago and destroyed the little flock I had okay a small flock of 12 youngens I had and killed the idea for a wile .....

My birds are a full time job as well, but it is only me doing most of the work. My partner helps out a little bit, I would say 5%....but I'll take whatever I can get

We keep trying to get a caretaker to live on site and help out, learn the ropes of the property so we can get away from the heat a bit in the summer, but can't get someone to stay long term.

My Marans do well in the heat and when a lot of the other breeds stop laying in the heat, I still get Marans eggs. Of course I know it's theirs since they are dark brown.

Bobcats are the bane of poultry keeping around here since fences don't keep them out: all the tops have to have covers and the wire has to be strong, making pen building ever so much more expensive.

I wonder how Speckled Sussex take the heat? They are beautiful like the Orloffs, good ones also not so common. I don't know anything about their personality. The personality of the Orloffs was what had me keeping them as long as I did---I have not had a breed quite like them in personality, they are wonderful.