The IMPORTED ENGLISH Orpington Thread

[thedragonlady]

I just got a small flock of Lemon Cuckoo(sp?) Orpingtons and I have a few questions about them. I hope I can ask them here, if not could you direct me in the right place?!

I love my chickens and so have a lot of them. I have waaaay too many just for my own families consumption of eggs so I started thinking that I can get them to start to "work" for me. BUT I did not want to just crank out farm mixes, even though they are my pets. I wanted to make sure they were decent lines and decent quality. I really was only going to stick with my three little side flocks I got from a breeder but then I saw a small flock of beautiful lemon cuckoo Orpingtons for sale near me and I fell in love. I figured they had to be decent quality because how many people have those right?! My issue is I have no idea about Orpingtons as I am more into Cochins and I discovered when I went to pick these birds up that two of the hens have missing toenails, and immediately my heart sank. One has one missing toenail and another has two missing (middle toes) toenails and the third has all her toenails, so she is good(on that anyway). Is this a serious issue? Can I breed and then sell the chicks/eggs without feeling like I jipped someone? I read somewhere on another breed it is only points off in a show not a DQ, so what does that mean for me? Is this a non issue? I am not going to show and people that do show will probably not buy from me but still what about quality? I really don't want to put out crappy chicks just for the sake of a buck. My dad always said if your gonna do something, do it right the first time and I believe that applies to animals(and their genetics) as well. I will keep the hens no matter what, but what is the point of keeping the rooster if I can't breed to these hens? I do NOT need this rooster as a lawn ornament as I already have seven other roosters and keeping one more is only an option if it can work for me.

A lot of Lemon Cuckoo Orps are PROJECT birds at this point. I see you are in Maine. Is it possible that the ends of those toes were frost bitten ? If not , I would certainly ask the seller if missing toenails are a problem in the line. Orps are big, heavy birds, and need sturdy feet and legs to function well. Can you post some photos of these ? Their type and conformation is very important too.

 

[delisha]

we need pictures!!! Please

 

[vebyrd36]

I just got a small flock of Lemon Cuckoo(sp?) Orpingtons and I have a few questions about them. I hope I can ask them here, if not could you direct me in the right place?!

I love my chickens and so have a lot of them. I have waaaay too many just for my own families consumption of eggs so I started thinking that I can get them to start to "work" for me. BUT I did not want to just crank out farm mixes, even though they are my pets. I wanted to make sure they were decent lines and decent quality. I really was only going to stick with my three little side flocks I got from a breeder but then I saw a small flock of beautiful lemon cuckoo Orpingtons for sale near me and I fell in love. I figured they had to be decent quality because how many people have those right?! My issue is I have no idea about Orpingtons as I am more into Cochins and I discovered when I went to pick these birds up that two of the hens have missing toenails, and immediately my heart sank. One has one missing toenail and another has two missing (middle toes) toenails and the third has all her toenails, so she is good(on that anyway). Is this a serious issue? Can I breed and then sell the chicks/eggs without feeling like I jipped someone? I read somewhere on another breed it is only points off in a show not a DQ, so what does that mean for me? Is this a non issue? I am not going to show and people that do show will probably not buy from me but still what about quality? I really don't want to put out crappy chicks just for the sake of a buck. My dad always said if your gonna do something, do it right the first time and I believe that applies to animals(and their genetics) as well. I will keep the hens no matter what, but what is the point of keeping the rooster if I can't breed to these hens? I do NOT need this rooster as a lawn ornament as I already have seven other roosters and keeping one more is only an option if it can work for me.

Hello, nice to see another person interested in these birds. Come on over to Lemon cuckoo Orpington questions. I have mine over there as well. Lots of nice people to share info with. VIVI

 

[wife2abirdman]

Ok Vivi I will go to that thread thank you. So reading that other thread I looked and I apparently have 2 Lemon Cuckoo Orpingtons-1 hen & 1 roo and 2 Buff Orpingtons hens. Now on the two buff hens they are much, much larger and darker than the barred hen, but she also has a much smaller comb so was thinking maybe she was a little younger than the other two. The woman who sold them thought they were hatched in April.


























Left foot

Right foot-she was curling it so it was a hard picture

The lighter one really does have the barring my camera is just not very good.

 

[wife2abirdman]

So what do you think? I know they are not the greatest pictures I am going to have to invest in a better camera and maybe a photo box(well not invest it the box I imagine I can make one )

 

[aveca]

That looks like frostbite damage

 

[Renie'sPeeps]

That looks like frostbite damage

Yep I think so too.

 

[wife2abirdman]

Well that makes me feel better-well not good, I feel bad they had frostbite but better that it's not genetic. The lady had said they might have some frostbite on their combs but I didn't think their toes would get like that so fast. It has only been really cold the last week to two weeks. It has only got to 0 this week and they were in a coop, can they get frostbite that easily?

Also what do you think about breeding this small flock? Or should I work on them? I really didn't want another flock to work on as I already have my Cochins and do not really have the space for two WORKING flocks. But I have to tell you if I hadn't already invested money into my Cochin stock I probably would try to find out all that I could about Orpingtons(I still might they are impressive). I knew I wanted one and I was going to get some last Spring but I thought that they just looked like regular buff chickens so I ended up getting a couple of buff Cochins instead from the hatchery.(which I gave away because I was so not impressed)

 

[TheNuttyChick]

Hi! I keep lurking around here and don't say too much since my birds are not 100% English(that I know of) but does that really look like frostbite? I'm still learning and was puzzled so I didn't want to say anything until the experts commented. Thanks for the info!​

 

[delisha]

From what i see they look like frost bite, other than that, it is hard to tell. They are all pulled in. i am not sure if it is from fear of the unknown or cold, or something else. Maybe let them out in the grass and take some pictures. ( i know how you feel, I take horrible pictures and have a crappy camera)