The IMPORTED ENGLISH Orpington Thread

[ColtHandorf]

Nice looking round girls you've got there.

 

[ColtHandorf]

I do want to treat everyone for mites this week. What all are y'all using for mite control. I've seen a few on a couple of the birds and want to take care of it before it gets out of hand.

@Faraday40 @PlainOrpingtons2018 and anyone else, what are y'all using?

Also, any thoughts on that barn? I've gotten basically zero input or response in the Coop design section.

 

[Faraday40]

This year was my 1st time with mites. I found them on 2 broody hens. I think they got mites because they were sitting in the nest all day and not dust-bathing.

I may have gone over-kill, but I sprayed Permethrin throughout the coop. (I have a concentrate that I mixed with water & sprayed it using a 1 gal applicator - like for weed control.) I removed the birds, feeders, waterers, etc before spraying.

I also dusted the birds with diatomacious earth - because I already had it on hand. Be careful not to inhale it. I know many farm stores sell poultry dust & also sprays. I heard of people using Sevin powder. That works well. It's sold in the garden pesticide area. I think poultry dust is basically the same type of product.

Using both of those seemed to knock out the mites in the main coop & on the birds. I didn't do a thorough application in the tractor because my sprayer was running out. I noticed some mites are still in there. (However, no birds are in there since I'm done breeding for the year. Going back, remixing, and treating is a lower priority right now.) We also have the advantage of very cold sub zero temps up here. Most invertebrates die off in the winter.

 

[ColtHandorf]

Nice. I sent all the Lavender cockerels (and I mean all of them) to their new home last night. I kept the one pullet to eventually breed to one of Suede and Dahlia's sons. For now she will just stay in with the Silver-laced. It should make it much easier to spray and treat all the birds.

Speaking of cold weather, it's supposed to be over 90 degrees this evening with rain on and off all day and then be in the low 40's when we wake up tomorrow. I'm not worried about the big birds, but I am worried about the two younger chicks. I believe they are both pullets (what are the odds!?). They have delicate little legs and faces and are well feathered but with just the two of them I think they are going to need some heat. I'm tempted to put them on the ground with the older babies so they can huddle with them. Thoughts?

I am also in looove with Sterling Jr. I'm obviously not going to call him that but he is certainly his father's son. And clearly from Duchess as well as his legs have only gotten more yellow. lol He is the shortest squaty-est little bird. He's a good two inches shorter than his siblings, which is odd due to Sterling's size. But he has these wide spread little short legs and he just stomps around everywhere. I just stand there smiling at him. He's not showing very good lacing, which doesn't surprise me at this age, and I really shouldn't use him for breeding, but he gets to stay. Even if he's just a big old pet with all my culled girls for a kitchen flock of eggs. I can't wait to see what he looks like grown up.

 

[Pickled Plaid]

[QUOTE="Also, any thoughts on that barn? I've gotten basically zero input or response in the Coop design section.[/QUOTE]

I feel completely unqualified to answer here, as I've never bred, or built breeding pens. But looking at what you've got and what you'd like to build, I think it's got tremendous potential. Great weather protection, so long as there's good airflow at the back at the concrete slab portion (which is where I'm assuming you'd construct your pens?) to keep the fluffy butts from getting over heated. I'm in central Oklahoma, and man, keeping my flock cool during the summer has been a challenge!

I really like the breeding pen design idea you're aiming for though! I like it a lot. With nest boxes along the front walls of the pens, it would make egg pickup a breeze.

With so much space under that roof, maybe there would be a way to incorporate a grow out area towards the front, too?

Please post updates as you work on it, because I'd really love to watch the process and transformation, not only so I can learn, but because I genuinely believe this will be an awesome space when you're done!

 

[ColtHandorf]

Thanks. I have a grow out area in the current pen that I may leave there. I'm thinking about letting the geese have the existing pen so they can be turned out onto the yard during the day to graze in the grass there. I'll sketch up a design for what I'm thinking on the barn. I haven't measured it, so I have no idea what the dimensions actually are.

 

[Pickled Plaid]

To me, it looks freaking ginormous! I'm thinking with planning and forethought you can create a really, really nice space that's enjoyed by you and your birds! Maybe approach your conversion in phases, so it's not overwhelming and you can see if your changes are working or need to be tweaked a bit. I think that's an often overlooked benefit of repurposing an existing building versus building all new.

 

[homeschoolin momma]

Dont know if i shared these yet, but a couple of updated pics of my "bowling ball lavs". They have a lovely round shape, but still not in love with their feathers.

Managed to get everyone at the watering hole.

The cockerel is FINALLY growing tail feathers.

 

[PlainOrpingtons2018]

@ColtHandorf I haven’t got a clue on building pens lol, but that shed looks like a nice area! I say go for it

 

[Cryss]

Dont know if i shared these yet, but a couple of updated pics of my "bowling ball lavs". They have a lovely round shape, but still not in love with their feathers.
View attachment 1931578 View attachment 1931579 View attachment 1931580
Managed to get everyone at the watering hole.
View attachment 1931581 View attachment 1931583
The cockerel is FINALLY growing tail feathers.
View attachment 1931586

I love the look of my Lavender boys feathers.