Russian Orloffs

[happyhens120]

Hi again... update on the feather legged babies: It's not the norm (thank goodness!) for my hatches, and out of about 20 Orloff babies I've only have 1 with full feathered shanks and 2 with a few feathers. I have some Easter Eggers in my breeding pen and I'm going to try incubating some EE eggs to see if it's the roo or the hens that are throwing the feather legged gene.

I'm also looking for some new Orloffs to introduce into my program for new bloodlines. Anyone around the PA area have any for sale or trade? Or I could trade hatching eggs, too. Thanks!

 

[kahlua]

I don't know if this is helpful, but one of the Orloffs I got from Ideal had some slight feathering on the top half of its legs. I sold it last week, I am trying to keep the nicest ones to breed and although that one was looking really nice otherwise I thought the feathered legs were a dealbreaker.

 

[Davlyn]

Hi EV1, Anyone in New Hampshire close to Haverhill, Plymouth. I have been wanting some Russian orloffs. I now have some room to add a few more birds. I am in contact with a lady in maine that has 2, but she's to far for me to travel.
hoping someone is closer. Or may have to try hatching eggs or chicks.
Does anyone ship eggs or babies ?

Thank you,
Linda

 

[Davlyn]

Hello Everyone! I have wanted Orloffs for the longest time, but cannot find any anywhere near me! Does anyone know of someone with them in Maine? I am sending in a order for some from Sandhill anyway, because I dont want to wait yet another year! It would be great to have some from a couple different bloodlines though so if anyone has any and happens to be in Maine, or passing through let me know!
I am really enjoying the pictures of all of your birds, they are all so beautiful! Thank You!

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.

 

[NCSprout]

There have been a few posts in BUY/SELL auction for Orloffs. You can also try Kummer poultry for eggs. There are a few sellers out there, but keep in mind the time of year and temp for shipping, it usually works better for shipping in cooloer months.

As far as feathered legs/shanks/toes, this is not a serious fault. It has been suggested that we try to breed away from it, however some of the older more pure strains will exhibit feathers on the shanks and/or between the toes. Also realize that the gene pool for Orloffs in the US is very narrow.

edit for spelling

 

[Davlyn]

There have been a few posts in BUY/SELL auction for Orloffs. You can also try Kummer poultry for eggs. There are a few sellers out there, but keep in mind the time of year and temp for shipping, it usually works better for shipping in cooloer months.

As far as feathered legs/shanks/toes, this is not a serious fault. It has been suggested that we try to breed away from it, however some of the older more pure strains will exhibit feathers on the shanks and/or between the toes. Also realize that the gene pool for Orloffs in the US is very narrow.

edit for spelling

Ty for your post / info. I will check out that hatchery.

 

[NCSprout]

There are other source of eggs in addition to those, but they don't use this forum. If you don't have any luck with the auctions or Kummer, then PM me. And on a side note, I wouldn't refer to Kummer poultry, Rare Feathers or some of the others as hatcheries. They run small operations focusing on quality over quantity. There are hatchery Orloffs out there, you can go to Ideal for one example, but you never know what standard they have been bred to. There are Orloff breeders out there who want nothing but to promote and preserve the breed and they don't ask outrageous prices for half doz or even a doz. eggs. I know of 2 who have birds from the original imported flock, pure closed strains, and they would never charge what some of these people do. But then again they aren't in for the money.

 

[mississippifarmboy]

A question for the Orloff breeders: I have heard that Orloffs are poor layers, but poor laying ability varies among opinion and strain (i.e. someone used to Leghorns will refer to a bird that lays 100-200 eggs a year as a poor layer, others may refer to it as average/decent) as well as certain lines may only lay a few while another may reach a production rate that is 10 times as much as the described line.

So the question is, how decent of egg layers are Orloff's? If possible, can you describe it in numbers?

Thanks and God bless,
Daniel.

I haven't been keeping up with this thread (or BYC for that matter) lately, but caught this question and a few others and thought I'd give it a shot.

I can only speak for my own birds as every strain is different. I personally am breeding mainly for type and size, will work on coloration and such once that is established. My great uncle had Large Fowl Spangled Orloffs when I was a kid, and I won't be happy until my strain reaches the look of those birds from my childhood. Even with some of the strains I am working with I understand other breeders are having different results. So this is just my take... your mileage may vary.

My best birds as far as color goes are the ones from Kummer Poultry. Great looking birds, but mine are not good layers - only about three eggs per week per hen and then only lay dependably in the early spring. Fertility has been fairly low and hatchability just so-so. Chicks are not near as thrifty as the other strains. Legs are clean and a fair shade of yellow though. Do throw an occasional mahogany bird with very little or no spangling, especially in the cockerels.

The Welp Hatchery birds are the worst as far as color and type. Lots of white legs, occasional straight combs, odd spangling (All due to a cross somewhere in the past with a speckled Sussex is my guess). Very small birds. However they are very good layers, 5 plus eggs per week per hen and lay fair through the winter months and the hot summer months.

The Roberts strain birds are the largest, have fair color and good fertility. Laying is about the same as the Welp birds or maybe a tad better. These and the unknown strain are the only ones heavy enough to be considered dual-purpose birds.

The unknown birds I picked up at a swap a couple of years ago are the best combs, legs and upright carriage, but laying is poor. Fertility on the eggs they do lay are near 100% though.

The birds we have that are combinations of these strains are the best layers. This strain is a work in progress. We started out segregating and breeding each strain pure, then crossing each strain with all the others. Then over the years recrossing to overcome faults. Trust me, a toe punch chart and colored, numbered leg bans are my friend! Some crosses were dead ends, some worked, some showed little change. But over time it's evolved. Now, several thousand birds into it I am starting to see some progress.

On this strain, from around mid February until around August I expect near an egg per day per hen. During the fall and winter it drops to around 4 to 5 eggs per week per hen. Compare that to most dual purpose birds and they will lay with the best of them. Coloration is very good, combs are nice, carriage is fairly upright, fertility is high, hatchability is great and they are very good foragers. Very friendly, calm and not flighty. The down side to our flock right now is problems with legs being too light (hatched 99% yellow legs this year, but they fade out to near white as they age), egg color is too light, egg size is a bit small, and the size of the adult birds is about 1/3 too small for my goals. I plan on at least another 8 to 10 years of selective breeding before I get that "perfect" pair.

Someone mentioned the color of the chicks. Our chicks run from yellow with a wide band down the back to chipmunk striped chicks and everything in between. All our birds are toe punched. The chipmunk stripe babies usually have the best mahogany coloration as adult roosters from what I've seen so far, but the best colored hens seem to come from the lighter chicks. Also in my personal experience, juvenile bird color has no bearing on the color of the adult birds. Sometimes a near solid white bird will be perfect colored when it molts, and a good colored juvenile might turn out far too light or darker or even off colored. I don't cull for color until around a year old.

Like I said though, this is just my experience. Everyone is different. And God knows, I'm no expert.

We did finally get our NPIP, so I can ship, but I am not currently selling Orloff eggs or chicks as I feel they are still too much a "project" bird and don't want to sell someone eggs or chicks unless I am sure they understand that the pictures they see of our birds are the best 20 or so out of the thousand or so I hatched that year. I have sent eggs to a few select people who asked though like Patty. I personally prefer to sell started birds to serious breeders at this point, but will start selling eggs and chicks in a year or two. Maybe as soon as spring, depending on how this years birds turn out.

I love reading everyone else's experiences and keep posting pictures.

 

[NCSprout]

Great to see you around again MFB. I'd love to see how far you've come with your Orloffs. I'm also working toward a more correct type and size with the large fowl strains I have (Kummer, StarBrightFarm and some from Charlie Casper) I think the fertility issue is the result of a bit of inbreeding and, as you seem to have found, can be overcome by crossing in a few different strains from the beginning. My Kummer birds have actually been laying pretty well, I'm waiting to see if they drop off after a year as has been mentioned. They are a bit over a year now. Have you had any broody hens in the strains you are working with? I have one and she is on eggs now, so I'll post how good she did when the time comes.

 

[mississippifarmboy]

Great to see you around again MFB. I'd love to see how far you've come with your Orloffs. I'm also working toward a more correct type and size with the large fowl strains I have (Kummer, StarBrightFarm and some from Charlie Casper) I think the fertility issue is the result of a bit of inbreeding and, as you seem to have found, can be overcome by crossing in a few different strains from the beginning. My Kummer birds have actually been laying pretty well, I'm waiting to see if they drop off after a year as has been mentioned. They are a bit over a year now. Have you had any broody hens in the strains you are working with? I have one and she is on eggs now, so I'll post how good she did when the time comes.

Thanks. I'll try and get some new pictures tomorrow if the weather permits. I've still got a long way to go and a lot of work yet, but I'm proud of the progress I've made so far.
We are working this year with our own mixed strain and some of the first of them are over two years old and haven't slowed down on the laying yet. Only time will tell if it's going to be an inherited trait or not, but they are all laying like crazy right now. So far I get around 20% go broody the pullet year and more like 50% or more the second and third years. Depending on the hen and the time of year, I let one set a clutch of eggs occasionally with good results. My oldest hen is a Roberts/unknown strain hen about 6 years old. She is still laying about 4 to 5 eggs a week, but goes broody if you don't gather her eggs twice a day. lol

Sounds like you have some great strains yourself. Mr. Weis, Shelly.... Would love to compare pictures!