The IMPORTED ENGLISH Orpington Thread

[Outdoorlover]

Faraday40, I love your Lavender Orps!

 

[Outdoorlover]

Momma Mocha has some babies! Chocolate, black split, mauve/splash! And looks like I got 1 blue.

That's too cute!

 

[Honora]

@Faraday40 Love all your chick pics! It's the same in my house when we have chicks; all my kids' friends want to come and see them. Did you hatch from your own chickens or did you order eggs?
I have always wanted to get blues and lavenders, but every time I try they all turn out to cockerels. :-( I think my current blue chick is no exception; he is always giving me the stink eye and putting the other chicks behind him.

 

[Faraday40]

@Faraday40 Love all your chick pics! It's the same in my house when we have chicks; all my kids' friends want to come and see them. Did you hatch from your own chickens or did you order eggs?
I have always wanted to get blues and lavenders, but every time I try they all turn out to cockerels. :-( I think my current blue chick is no exception; he is always giving me the stink eye and putting the other chicks behind him.

Thank you.

All the chicks came from our eggs. Last year, I traded some of my orp eggs with a friend. From what hatched, I kept 2 pullets (choc & mauve) and a double barred choc cuckoo male. That's how I have choc cuckoo chicks this year. The mauve x my black roo gave me my 1st blue chick. So far at 4 weeks, it looks like a female. (With my line, I can usually tell by 4 weeks, but since she's got 1/2 her mama's genes, I can't be sure.) Hoping she'll get the size from her daddy or at least grow larger than her mama. I don't plan to breed blues but I do find them very pretty.

I hatched 2 other eggs from my mauve & those were both black, so splits..... but split to what I don't know. I marked them because the genetics are unknown. They could have some blue, choc, lav, & even a touch of recessive white, so it would be a nightmare trying to figure it out. One lady came in & bought up my whole brooder. She fell in love with my orps last summer & wanted as many as possible to start her flock - no matter the color.

In addition to orps, our daughter hatched some Speckled Sussex, Silver Appenzeller Spitzhauben, Silver Penciled Rocks, & some black silkies. (Sadly the silkies do not look like good quality birds, but she fell in love with them,) These all came from shipped eggs which she used in her poultry sci project. We might keep a max of ONE female of each. Therefore for every new bird we keep, we must rehome an existing orp to make room.

 

[Outdoorlover]

Does anyone here grow herbs (or vegetables) for their chickens?

I knew I'd grow some lettuce, then I read that several herbs ( sage, oregano, mint...) are beneficial to chicken's immune system, and should be a part of a their diet .... I'm trying to learn more about this, so I can give my chicken the best care possible

 

[Faraday40]

I grow herbs for the family - not really for the chickens. I know mint & oregano in the nesting boxes helps keep them smelling nice & repels bugs. I try to prevent chickens in the garden. My little fence worked for 4 years, but they learned how to jump it last summer. They ate all 18 of my broccoli plants, all the spinach, swiss chard, & peas last summer. They also scratched up the onions & green beans leaving me only with wild tomatoes......Those they ate only after ripened!

Here's the garden carnage in late June. I didn't have enough time to replant or the funds for a new fence, so I gave up.

 

[RoseViewFarm]

Does anyone know a thread about eBay sellers and their ratings? I am considering purchasing some BBS English Orp hatching eggs off eBay, but this will be a first for me. Is there anything (other than look at the 700+ positive experiences) to make sure I'm getting quality birds? The parent stock Is posted.

 

[ChuskaMtns]

Does anyone know a thread about eBay sellers and their ratings? I am considering purchasing some BBS English Orp hatching eggs off eBay, but this will be a first for me. Is there anything (other than look at the 700+ positive experiences) to make sure I'm getting quality birds? The parent stock Is posted.

On Facebook there's a group called Good Egg Bad Egg that has reviews on ebay sellers, private breeders, hatcheries and facebook sellers, as well as buyers. Don't think there's anything here like that yet.

 

[RoseViewFarm]

On Facebook there's a group called Good Egg Bad Egg that has reviews on ebay sellers, private breeders, hatcheries and facebook sellers, as well as buyers. Don't think there's anything here like that yet.

Thank you! I will join that group!

 

[jbraswell]

no. A blue rooster (unless he carries 1 copy of the chocolate gene, takes 2 copies of the gene to show in males) with a chocolate hen will make all blue and black chicks. Males from this cross will carry 1 copy of chocolate. Keep a blue cockerel and breed back to your chocolate hen blue, black, mauve, and chocolate chicks.

Thank you