The IMPORTED ENGLISH Orpington Thread

[TNBEARCHICK]

PAPABROODER that was my guess. We are going to label those chicks and take out the laced hen and hatch eggs from the good hen for 2 weeks. Then we have some lighter than we liked red hens we are going to add to see what their offspring look like over the rooster. Then this fall we should be able to choose the best ones and go from there.

 

[megalomaniac]

@Mahen100

Its very, very hard to see any faults in that black roo... I'd consider myself lucky to have one exactly like him one day. If I had to nitpick (and I mean REALLY getting nitpicky), I'd prefer his comb to be just a tad smaller. But that's just me... most would actually prefer him the way he is.

@TNBEARCHICK

I agree with the others... one of those hens is crossed with a partridge and giving you the chipmunk striped chicks. All reds I have hatches have been fairly uniform in color just a shade or two darker than a typical buff orp chick. The red cuckoos are quite a bit lighter... almost like a regular buff orp chick.

 

[megalomaniac]

@laadeebug

I also think that roo is MUCH younger than 14 months... His shape and feathering are pretty consistent with any English orp I've raised at the 6-7 month stage. Have you had him for 14 months? Or did you get him from someone else? If you got the hens from the same source as the roo, I'd also suspect they are 6-7 months, and you should be getting eggs any day now... looks like their combs/ wattles are reddening up nicely.

Most all of my English orps begin laying between 6 and 9 months of age.... so something is not quite right if they aren't doing anything at 14 months

 

[laadeebug]

@laadeebug


I also think that roo is MUCH younger than 14 months... His shape and feathering are pretty consistent with any English orp I've raised at the 6-7 month stage.  Have you had him for 14 months?  Or did you get him from someone else?  If you got the hens from the same source as the roo, I'd also suspect they are 6-7 months, and you should be getting eggs any day now... looks like their combs/ wattles are reddening up nicely.

Most all of my English orps begin laying between 6 and 9 months of age.... so something is not quite right if they aren't doing anything at 14 months

Those pics are a months . I will try to get them to sit still to take a recent one. They are for sure 14 months. I got them all day old from fancy chicks the December before last. I have two boys left and six girls.
The thing my English Rhodebars about the same time from greenfire. Some of those girls layed a couple times but since last fall....nothing. The rhodebar roos on other hand have been crowing, albeit, not too much, and trying to handle their business. The Orps seems way behind though. They all get fruit and veggie scraps, tortillas scraps, from the
bakery as well as feed and grass cuttings. I did recently read a post where someone mentioned cabbage leaves can make egga infertile but they've only had that rarely here and there.

 

[Mahen100]

@megalomaniac Thank you so much for your kind words!

 

[laadeebug]

Those pics are a months . I will try to get them to sit still to take a recent one. They are for sure 14 months. I got them all day old from fancy chicks the December before last. I have two boys left and six girls.
The thing my English Rhodebars about the same time from greenfire. Some of those girls layed a couple times but since last fall....nothing. The rhodebar roos on other hand have been crowing, albeit, not too much, and trying to handle their business. The Orps seems way behind though. They all get fruit and veggie scraps, tortillas scraps, from the
bakery as well as feed and grass cuttings. I did recently read a post where someone mentioned cabbage leaves can make egga infertile but they've only had that rarely here and there.

These are updated from a little while ago. I'm not the best photo taker but does it help?

 

[HighStreetCoop]

Quote:

Yes. Now he looks like a big boy, LOL!

I wonder why they're not laying? Maybe you got caught in some kind of winter delay?

 

[laadeebug]

One of my Rhodebar girls just layed!! Hallelujah!

 

[Faraday40]

Does anyone here have Orps in cold climates? My poor guy got some frostbite in January when the temps dropped to -35'F (high of -10'F during the day) for about 4 days. Things were finally starting to heal, then this week we just got hit with a 3rd polar vortex! Only -18'F, but the winds made it feel miserable! The hens have no problems, but the huge rooster comb turned black on the tips. It's no problem when we stay above -5'F, but those severe cold stretches are brutal. As a preventative, I used Vaseline a few times & now am trying Bag Balm. The coop's ventilation seems good & the walls are insulated. The winter run is kind of like a greenhouse, so about 20 degrees warmer when sunny.

I see a lot of beautiful roos with perfect combs. Is it possible to prevent frostbite in severe cold? The roo's wattles are also a concern. When the chickens go out to the yard, they sometimes like to eat snow. His wattles flop down into the snow. Wet+cold= frostbite. I've been keeping them locked up for the past month. My hens have no problems. Any suggestions for the roo?

 

[Faraday40]

These are updated from a little while ago. I'm not the best photo taker but does it help?

That's an interesting color. Is he a splash?