The IMPORTED ENGLISH Orpington Thread

[gclark94560]

@gclark94560 looks like you kept some good ones!

For young birds they're already showing good type, their color is a bit dark, but that can be bred against in subsequent generations. How old are they now?

Pretty lacing on your pullet, too.

Twenty-two weeks and counting!

 

[ShadyGroveFarm1]

Chicken math is clearly the result of chick lust. I want CHICKS!!! I have no more room for chickens!!!

Ugh chicken math is the bane of my existence

 

[Faraday40]

Chicken Math!

 

[Turkeytruff]

So this hatch we had 3 red orp chicks hatch.. here they are, one chipmunk, one light, one dark.

gorgeous little guys!

 

[megalomaniac]

@Faraday40

That's such a cute picture! Friends for life (or at least another 4-5 years )

 

[megalomaniac]

@TNBEARCHICK

Gz on the babies. I just fired up the incubator for the first time in 6 months and did a test run with some ameracaunas. Got 8/8 to hatch... I'll be ready for some English orps to set next week to hatch after I get back from Disneyworld with the kids.

 

[megalomaniac]

@gclark94560

I agree with Jeremy... I really like the type of those holdbacks! Nice full breasts!. They'll be exceptional in another 6 months!

 

[megalomaniac]

Treat time!!!! My kids get fresh greens, BOSS daily, and I add a bit of cracked corn when we get below freezing. These are some holdbacks that are hitting 8 months. The pullets have started laying, and the treats make for some really spectacular eggs to eat. In another couple months, they'll get split up into pairs/ trios for the bulk of hatching season.

 

[megalomaniac]

Here's the new home for a single pair mating of Jubilee's... I built this coop in an afternoon with $96 in materials. It's a 3x3' floor with 2' walls and 3.5' rise at center of roof. Our weather is warm enough here in south Mississippi to get by with smaller coops since the birds spend no time in the coop except to sleep, lay, and grab a bite to eat. Otherwise, they are in the run the rest of the day. They'll probably go into this dedicated run this weekend, and I'll start setting eggs in another couple weeks.

 

[jeremy]

So this hatch we had 3 red orp chicks hatch.. here they are, one chipmunk, one light, one dark.

This is a bit concerning... Reds genetically should be Wheaten based, so as chicks they should be orangey-yellow.

The fact that yours have "chipmunk" marking indicates that they are either Partridge, or Wildtype/BBR instead of Wheaten. Do you plan on watching these birds as the mature to see if they have any color faults when they're mature? Do you know if there is any mixed color parentage in their ancestry? Where did you get your Reds?