The IMPORTED ENGLISH Orpington Thread

[Faraday40]

My Orp babies will be three weeks tomorrow. I will have to get some new pics this weekend.

Definitely! I love playing the "guess the gender" game. Usually around 4 wks, but sometimes there are clues at 3 weeks.

Here are my youngest laced orps (9 wk olds)
2 pullets, 2 cockerels, and one molting mama, Crystal.

Two are staying and 2 are going to @homeschoolin momma . I call them my distributed back-ups. LOL

This girl is Blizzard's. She's also moving south.

PR & her 2 chicks went up north to Wisconsin. I just heard today that they're doing great.

 

[flgardengirl]

I love your laced orps. I do hope I can get some laced orps, later next year after I get all my current babies and coops situated.
Well, I was so busy today that I only got one quick shot of the one Orp baby that would hold still and wasnt petrified of the camera lol. Thats a little Silkie on his right.

Little Chocolate Cuckoo roo. He sure has some bald elbows (or shoulders) lol. He only has wing tip feathers so far and they do look choc cuckoo. He is a little sweetie and likes to be picked up and have his neck and chest petted with my thumb & finger.

 

[Faraday40]

Your choc cuckoo may be funny-looking now, but he'll be magnificent as an adult.

We had a double barred choc cuckoo boy named "Brick" (short for "Dumb as a Brick") As a young cockerel he needed assistance finding his way into & out of the run on a daily basis. What he lacked in intelligence he made up for in beauty. It turned out he wasn't all dumb. While the #1 & #2 roosters would fight for the leadership position, Brick would back away. He spent his time mating all the hens while the other two fought for command. That summer about 60-70% of my chicks ended up being cuckoo.

 

[flgardengirl]

So he was lover not a fighter lol. Worked out good for him. Your Chocolate Cuckoo is so handsome!
Lol@ Dumb as a brick!
My little guy was really really stuck in the egg plus the egg was kinda small nd he seemed big for the egg. He hd to be totally peeled out about 30hrs after he pipped. In general, I dont help them. Good thing I did because he wasnt going anywhere
I was wondering at one point if he would make it. He seemed a little slow at first but now he runs into the middle of the crowd of chicks and karate kicks them lol.

 

[Faraday40]

I was sharing some pics on another thread of my lav roosters as I decide who stays & goes. I'm reposting here to hear your opinions.

I really like the lav boy, "Mr Nice Guy." He's got the usual gentle giant personality and we can just bend down & scoop him up without a fuss. However, I have too many and must process the extras. We have another sweet lav with a better body shape and extra fluffy bloomers that will soon glide across the ground (but a wonky comb). "Wonky's" going to stay for a little while longer, but doubtful that he'll make the cut to become our breeder. (Yet, I need to keep him for flock protection until his replacement gets bigger.) Then I have a 3rd lav boy who hatched in August. He's "Mr Potential." His shape is not as nice as Wonky, but his comb is much better. Lastly, I have a lav from the Sept 10 hatch. My gut says male due to slower feather growth & slightly larger wattles. However, at 9 wks there are no definite male signs, so he could still end up being female. For now, I'll just let them keep growing until I can be sure of gender.

Mr Nice Guy will be leaving. I may end up reusing his name someday if another "nice" rooster comes along.

Wonky I love this guy but I'm too nervous about breeding him. How many years would it take to get that crooked comb out of my line?

Mr Potential

Mr Potential's sister whom I adore. Its hard to see in a photograph, but her shiny black feathers are amazing.

The September buddies. Do you agree that I have a pair? If the male is nicer than Mr Potential, then he could be our keeper.

 

[ColtHandorf]

I'd kill for Mr. Nice to come live down here. But I know the feeling with too many roosters. I've got Hollywood the Silver-laced Orpington, and Suede the Blue Orpington. I guarantee both of the older Silver-laced are roosters, Sterling Jr. (for now) and his white-legged brother. And I have Derek the Recessive White Orpington. That's five boys. I only have three Silver-laced hens, Mel, Sue, and Victoria. I have Dahlia the Black Orpington. And the Weird Sisters, Prudence, Agatha, and Dorcas, the Chocolate, Blue, and Lavender pullets. Oh, and Odette the Recessive White Orpington and the two youngest Silver-laced Orpington pullets.

I snapped some decent pictures of the crew this weekend. I'll get them posted from my phone in a bit.

Back to your Lavender Dilemma...

I'm not a huge fan of Wonky although I will say that he has the correct amount of points on his comb. I noticed all my Lavender cockerels had six or more points. I prefer five to six, but that's a preference. Both five or six points are allowed per the Standard.

I like August but I think he has too many points. It's a little hard to make out because he's not well developed in the comb area.

How old is Mr. Nice? Is it worth replacing him, or hoping to see if you produce another nicer cockerel from him next year? I'd be tempted to keep him due to the comb issues with both the younger boys.

 

[ColtHandorf]

The two youngest Silver-laced pullets. I put them on the ground for the first time yesterday. Suede was a huge jerk and then the Weird Sisters started in on them so I scooped them up and put them in the tractor. I think they are pretty cute. Too young to tell much, but what do you think about them?

A puddle of Silver-laced Orpingtons. Clockwise from top center: Sue, who looks terrible, Mel, who has nearly finished her molt, Hollywood, who needs to grow a tail back. He looks so silly. Lol And Victoria, who looks lovely but needs to start laying, and

The unnamed Blue Slate Turkey and the pair of Whites, Derek and Odette. She’s got her head turned away from the camera but if you zoom we’re pretty sure that much red means cockerel, right? She still has zero development in her face.

And one long shot of them all busy in the yard.

 

[Faraday40]

@ColtHandorf

I like your puddle of laced orps. Even when molting I can see they have nice crisp lacing. Your boy has a decent comb too.

Your laced pullet pair is dark, but it's hard to say whether that will change as they mature. I can tell they're BFFs. I like how they're always side by side in all the pics.
So far I see good shape, so that's great. Also I do not see smutty centers which is also great. They always get better contrast with age, so starting out clean is a huge plus.

I would guess your running white orp is a male. The other could be a female, but I can't see the face at all.

 

[Faraday40]

Did your kids end up staying home?

I decided to stay close to home. I really dislike the snow.

 

[homeschoolin momma]

She still has zero development in her face

I would guess your running white orp is a male

I'm going opposite on this one and saying female for now. My current double whites popped some combs and wattles early, but stayed small. How old are they?

Did your kids end up staying home?


I decided to stay close to home. I really dislike the snow

I'm assuming this was directed at me. No, they went to school while I busied myself taking the oldest two over to Plainfield for emergency sports physicals. Then we (the teens and I) covered the heat lamps with chicken wire and I got them secured in place just after dark.