The IMPORTED ENGLISH Orpington Thread

[ColtHandorf]

The roosters spend their days hanging out in a group of the same color, but when it comes to breeding I believe my roosters prefer the exotic girls.

The second one from left (with "eyebrows") is the only one that looks like a black orp to me.
View attachment 3001066

The rest all have an SLO influence.
Ex: Lighter beak, light brown fluff by beak, lack of yellow belly, lack of pink toe tips at hatch.
View attachment 3001077

But they are so cute!

Definitely look a bit like the project birds I've created working for the Blue Silver-laced. I'd imagine you'll get partial lacing from them. Most of mine always seem to be cockerels in that project, so at least they are good for something to someone.

 

[Faraday40]

Here's one of the chicks at 10 days old. The feather colors are coming in as I suspected. The first set of feathers look sort of mottled and as they grow, lacing should develop. I still feel they're partial laced. I've never had an SLO male successfully breed before 1 year old.

As soon as my grass is no longer soup, I'm going to separate them by color.

 

[ColtHandorf]

Here's one of the chicks at 10 days old. The feather colors are coming in as I suspected. The first set of feathers look sort of mottled and as they grow, lacing should develop. I still feel they're partial laced. I've never had an SLO male successfully breed before 1 year old.

As soon as my grass is no longer soup, I'm going to separate them by color.

Your picture isn't showing up.

 

[Faraday40]

I think I fixed it

 

[Adorae]

I’ve caught myself up on the last 4 years of this thread, and now I am very sad. I have loved reading everyone’s stories and I’m really looking forward to joining everyone as a English Orpington owner next year. Does anyone have any suggestions for someone starting out? I live on 10 acres and will be building my coop and run this summer.

 

[Faraday40]

I’ve caught myself up on the last 4 years of this thread, and now I am very sad. I have loved reading everyone’s stories and I’m really looking forward to joining everyone as a English Orpington owner next year. Does anyone have any suggestions for someone starting out? I live on 10 acres and will be building my coop and run this summer.

Build a bigger coop than you think you'll need.
1. Your chickens will be stuck indoors in the winter. Bored, crowded chickens can pick on each other, so more space will be appreciated.
2. Chicken Math! You may think you only need 4 chickens, and for the 1st year, that's great. However, at some point you're going to want to get new chicks or you discover a new breed you like. You may want to add more color to your egg basket. You'll also want to have a few back-up hens in case of predator loss. (I think you get the idea.) There are many reasons why you will NEED more chickens, so it's best to plan for that extra space before you need it

Think about climate, cleaning & ease of chores when building.
If coop is easy to clean, it will be cleaned regularly. If you have cold winters, you'll also have to plan how to care for the birds without a hose. Make sure there's good ventilation to prevent frostbite.

Have fun researching different breeds and pick chickens you absolutely love. If you enjoy your flock, & are excited about going out to the coop, then caring for them will never feel like a chore. Plus, why spend all the money and time building a good coop and fill it with common chickens?

 

[Adorae]

Have fun researching different breeds and pick chickens you absolutely love. If you enjoy your flock, & are excited about going out to the coop, then caring for them will never feel like a chore. Plus, why spend all the money and time building a good coop and fill it with common chickens?

Thank you for taking the time to reply! I have been reading as much of the backyard chickens’ different forums as I can. But I love the English Orpington’s so very much. I’m hoping to get some true blues also, for the blue eggs, but McMurrays is already sold out of all the pulleys for this year, and I doubt I’ll be able to get any next year. I may get a couple Sussex from the hatchery, they are kinda round and cute. But I’m definitely getting the Orpington’s. I just can’t decide which colors and patterns I like the best…

 

[ColtHandorf]

Here's one of the chicks at 10 days old. The feather colors are coming in as I suspected. The first set of feathers look sort of mottled and as they grow, lacing should develop. I still feel they're partial laced. I've never had an SLO male successfully breed before 1 year old.

As soon as my grass is no longer soup, I'm going to separate them by color.View attachment 3013117

Yes, those look like the F1 birds last year that weren't good for much.

Build a bigger coop than you think you'll need.
1. Your chickens will be stuck indoors in the winter. Bored, crowded chickens can pick on each other, so more space will be appreciated.
2. Chicken Math! You may think you only need 4 chickens, and for the 1st year, that's great. However, at some point you're going to want to get new chicks or you discover a new breed you like. You may want to add more color to your egg basket. You'll also want to have a few back-up hens in case of predator loss. (I think you get the idea.) There are many reasons why you will NEED more chickens, so it's best to plan for that extra space before you need it

Think about climate, cleaning & ease of chores when building.
If coop is easy to clean, it will be cleaned regularly. If you have cold winters, you'll also have to plan how to care for the birds without a hose. Make sure there's good ventilation to prevent frostbite.

Have fun researching different breeds and pick chickens you absolutely love. If you enjoy your flock, & are excited about going out to the coop, then caring for them will never feel like a chore. Plus, why spend all the money and time building a good coop and fill it with common chickens?

All of this is very good advice.

I have babies hatching:

Shame I don't know what any of them are except for the Brahmas and the Marans (feathered feet). All the Orpingtons are just stupidly adorable. Pretty sure I can tell my bantams from the LF but Red and Buff look the same to me. I don't see any SL, GL, or White so far. There are eye-liner babies and I've no idea what those are. None of the Chocolate eggs have hatched and if they don't by tomorrow I'm tossing them before any more blow up. There's Choclate Cuckoo for sure. And Blue, Black, and Splash. And Mauve. And maybe one Buttercup? I keep forgetting to look and see if the egg has hatched.

None of my SLO eggs have been fertile. And none from my friend were either. I'm desperately thinking I need a new rooster. Especially if I want him to cover the Splash hens to get me started on Blue Silver-laced again.

 

[Faraday40]

None of my SLO eggs have been fertile. And none from my friend were either. I'm desperately thinking I need a new rooster. Especially if I want him to cover the Splash hens to get me started on Blue Silver-laced again.

SLO males are EXTREMELY SLOW to mature. Don't expect fertile eggs before he's 1 year old. Mine also don't bother mating in the winter. Even when I had a mature rooster, eggs collected in Jan & Feb were often clear. I hope your guy finds his groove.

 

[ColtHandorf]

SLO males are EXTREMELY SLOW to mature. Don't expect fertile eggs before he's 1 year old. Mine also don't bother mating in the winter. Even when I had a mature rooster, eggs collected in Jan & Feb were often clear. I hope your guy finds his groove.

He's two now? And was fertile last year. He might be three. But I think he's two.