Silver-laced Orpingtons (European)

[ColtHandorf]

You've all heard the expression counting your chicks before they've hatched? Well I decided to just buy the birds before I'd actually moved into the new house. lol I was browsing through Craigslist of all places and happened across an add for a pair of Silver-laced Orps and couldn't resist messaging the seller. As it happened they were still available. I drove out the next day to meet the seller and pick them up. They are currently staying at a friend's house until I get their pen and house completed this week/weekend and get moved in. They are from the Crazy Ewe Farms line.

She's laying fairly consistently and my friend popped the eggs in the incubator. She's used to raising parrots versus chickens so brown eggs are harder for her to candle. But she swears none of them are developing. The birds are just over a year old. Do a lot of people have fertility issues with the larger English-type Orpingtons? I've never raised Orpingtons before. I'm debating trimming some vent feathers when they've settled in after a week or so to see if that helps.

I also know the hen has yellow legs and feet which is a disqualification when showing. The rooster's are white but do take on a yellow tint in some light. I'm planning on selectively breeding them in an attempt to produce more white-legged birds. I'm also going to be looking for some more hens as there's not much I can do with just two birds. I've also entertained the notion of crossing the rooster over a Lavender Orpington hen to produce a Silver-laced Lavender.

Completely unrelated, but I'd also love to find some Salmon Faverolles. They were originally what I was looking for and I'd still like a small flock of them to augment the eggs and to be broody hens for me. I hate incubating (I'm terrible at it) but for the moment it seems like I'm going to need to get one in order to monitor their fertility.

I'm located in North East Texas if anyone in the area is working with SLO or SF and would like to trade some eggs/chicks later down the road.

 

[aart]

Have you looked at yolks for fertility?
Those fluffier butted birds can have trouble making the necessary contact,
might need a bit of a trim back there.
They are beautiful.

 

[Cyprus]

I suggest using artificial insemination.

 

[djoesting22]

Gorgeous birds!

 

[TropicalBabies]

You've all heard the expression counting your chicks before they've hatched? Well I decided to just buy the birds before I'd actually moved into the new house. lol I was browsing through Craigslist of all places and happened across an add for a pair of Silver-laced Orps and couldn't resist messaging the seller. As it happened they were still available. I drove out the next day to meet the seller and pick them up. They are currently staying at a friend's house until I get their pen and house completed this week/weekend and get moved in. They are from the Crazy Ewe Farms line.

She's laying fairly consistently and my friend popped the eggs in the incubator. She's used to raising parrots versus chickens so brown eggs are harder for her to candle. But she swears none of them are developing. The birds are just over a year old. Do a lot of people have fertility issues with the larger English-type Orpingtons? I've never raised Orpingtons before. I'm debating trimming some vent feathers when they've settled in after a week or so to see if that helps.

I also know the hen has yellow legs and feet which is a disqualification when showing. The rooster's are white but do take on a yellow tint in some light. I'm planning on selectively breeding them in an attempt to produce more white-legged birds. I'm also going to be looking for some more hens as there's not much I can do with just two birds. I've also entertained the notion of crossing the rooster over a Lavender Orpington hen to produce a Silver-laced Lavender.

Completely unrelated, but I'd also love to find some Salmon Faverolles. They were originally what I was looking for and I'd still like a small flock of them to augment the eggs and to be broody hens for me. I hate incubating (I'm terrible at it) but for the moment it seems like I'm going to need to get one in order to monitor their fertility.

I'm located in North East Texas if anyone in the area is working with SLO or SF and would like to trade some eggs/chicks later down the road. View attachment 1678561 View attachment 1678562 View attachment 1678563 View attachment 1678564 View attachment 1678565 View attachment 1678566

Sooooo pretty!!!!

 

[ColtHandorf]

The birds are currently a forty minute drive from me at a friend’s house until I move this week so I haven’t had an opportunity to check the eggs personally. I haven’t even seen him successfully breed her yet.

I plan on trimming some fluff to see if that helps once they are home. I’d prefer not to artificially inseminate them. Seems kind of silly to breed birds that aren’t capable of breeding themselves. Lol

And thank you for the compliments. They are really gorgeous in person.

 

[ColtHandorf]

For anyone interested I have been tracking down a few breeders of this color and it looks like I'll be enlarging the flock in the next few months with unrelated birds from several breeders.

 

[homeschoolin momma]

I have just started with this color of orpington that I got from a friend. She has noted that the laced otps do mature more slowly and take their time in growing up. From what I've witnessed with mine, that is true. They also seem to be a little clumsy when mating. My roo will just stand on his girl when he's done and forget to get off. She's on the bottom squawking "get off you oaf!"

 

[ColtHandorf]

My rooster has taken a very large interest in breeding the last two weeks. I've ordered a saddle and am waiting for it to come in on the chance I need to use it. Of course she hasn't laid one egg since coming home. I tease her relentlessly when I go to check feed and water, calling her all manner of silly things for being a free-loader. She spends the majority of her time up on the perch in the house. I'm pretty sure this is because he's over-breeding her. Since she's almost always in the house, he stays in the house on the floor too. It's quite frustrating to look out the kitchen window and not see any birds in that massive pen I built for them in thirty degree weather...lol I'm going to be getting some chicks from several breeders but in the meantime I've tracked down a breeder that is fairly close and has Blue, Black, Splash, Lavender, Buff, Red, Jubilee, and Partridge Orpingtons. I'm hoping if I can get a few more hens for him to spread his love over she'll start laying if she's more comfortable in a flock environment versus just her alone with him.