The IMPORTED ENGLISH Orpington Thread

[homeschoolin momma]

I think its a girl. Wattles are much smaller and the comb seems a tad lighter in color. It seems to have a "girl" face. How about the saddle feathers?

 

[homeschoolin momma]

Actually you can see the saddle feathers in one picture a little. Looks round to me. Im voting girl!

 

[Faraday40]

I think its a girl. Wattles are much smaller and the comb seems a tad lighter in color. It seems to have a "girl" face. How about the saddle feathers?

Neither one has saddle feathers. My gut has been saying female. (I think from the stance, faster feather growth during the 1st week, & muscle tone... feels slightly "thinner") However, when I noticed that one wattle is about the same size/color as the male's, it really makes me question my gut. The English Orps have shorter combs, so as you know that gives a little extra challenge.

Not to mention the strange wattle situation going on with this bird. What's up with that?! Have you ever seen it?

 

[ColtHandorf]

I'm always better at doing this in person...lol

But are you 100% sure the black youngster is a cockerel? The legs on the blue bird appear to be much thicker than the black's legs. Ignoring the legs though my first guess would be to say pullet on the blue. And then id be on the fence with the black. I'm sure it's more obvious in person with behavior and observing them side by side.

 

[Faraday40]

I'm pretty sure on the male. I think he just has a shorter comb. He acts more cockerel -ish. Jewel (the blue's mom + one of my larger hens) has legs like tree trunks. Both chickens have about the same thickness of legs right now but that can always change.

 

[ColtHandorf]

Horrible, horrible weekend at my place. I have apparently become an incubus of viral plague. I was in bed sick all day Sunday and when the roommate took the dogs out Anna, the female poodle, managed to squeeze through the gate from the smaller yard into the larger one to chase the birds I’d let out to free range. She caught two but didn’t seem to hurt them. The roommate brought one to me in bed while crying. I looked her over as best I could and decided it was a sprain and she’d be fine. Of course she went into shock and died that night. And when the roommate went out to lock the goose and chickens up the young rooster I was so looking forward to using for breeding was dead in the gateway to the pen. Only his head had blood on it but he was completely whole. No punctures or open wounds. Just like his head had been crushed. I suspected the male goose and while he did have a little blood up on his forehead that could have been from him beaking the dead bird. I have no idea. So now I’m down to the pair, two pullets from another bloodline, and the chicks from my pair.

Fast forward to this morning when I find this surprise in the incubator. What in the world is going on with this chick?

 

[Faraday40]

I have one like that too. It just hatched today! Mine are part of my blue laced project. only time will tell what they will look like. My guess is that the lacing will be thicker.

I also have some that have a lot of white when hatched. Those often end up being partially blue laced - like my "Blizzard".

 

[ColtHandorf]

Everyone on the Facebook groups think the parents may be split to Gold-laced. Would that be sex-linked? Like would this be a pullet or a cockerel?

 

[Faraday40]

Everyone on the Facebook groups think the parents may be split to Gold-laced. Would that be sex-linked? Like would this be a pullet or a cockerel?

A gold laced orp (GLO) was my 1st thought but I didn't know you had any. You can make sexlinked laced orps .... but it depends. You'd have to know more about the parents you are using.

example
SLO male x Gold/red LO female = SLO pullets and a yellow/gold laced cockerels.
Gold/red LO male x SLO female = GLO pullets and yellow/gold laced cockerels.

It's going to be a "wait & see."

I had some brownish chick fluff in some of the orig laced chicks I used in my Blue silver laced orps. They had no gold at all in their juvenile & adult plumage. Not sure of the cause.

 

[ColtHandorf]

I don't have any visually Gold-laced birds. Which is why I was so confused by it. The last egg hatched so that's 100% fertility and hatching rate on the last three eggs I set before I separated the hen after he cut her. The new saddle should be here soon, so hopefully she can go back in with rooster with minimal issues from the geese and her lover's spurs.

Apparently the person I got the birds from did not in fact breed them, but just hatched the eggs out after purchasing them on ebay and then sold the older birds. They recently sent me photos of some birds that they thought I might be interested in. Silver and Gold-laced Chocolate Orpingtons. I wasn't impressed with the type, nor was I interested in getting more colors at the time. I think I'll have quite enough working with the Silver-laced Blue and Lavender-laced birds I'd like to spend time on. I'll post the pics they sent me from my cell phone in a few.

I'm certainly interested to see how the little one feathers out. If Sterling is split to Gold-laced any chicks that hatch this way (if it is indeed Gold-laced) would be a pullet because they cannot be split; they are either Gold or Silver-laced if I understand the gene correctly? The leg color on this chick is also different. It's more of a bronze/willow color. I'd think it would be white? Or at least the same color as the obviously Silver-laced chicks.

In a perfect world of mathematics, wouldn't I have produced more Gold-laced chicks than just the one? If I'm looking at it right (and I'm probably not), 50% of the chicks would be pure Silver-laced and 50% would be Silver-laced split to Gold. However, since hens cannot be split 12.5% of the split babies would be Gold and female (not true splits)? And 12.5% would be Gold and male and split to silver? Is gold or silver dominant? It may be the Benadryl but I think my head is about to explode...lol