The IMPORTED ENGLISH Orpington Thread

[ColtHandorf]

I just love her.

 

[Faraday40]

I took a bunch of pics yesterday before I got slammed with all the snow today. More snow tomorrow!!!! Ick!

Cookie & her chicks (hatched August 12th)

The babies still have juvenile feathers so not looking very shiny yet. In plan to keep one of the black lav splits

This boy has some potential.

Cupcake is finishing up her molt & looking better. (Just needs to fluff out a bit more)

PR with her 2 chicks. I can't tell gender yet.

another pic of them (7 weeks old)

I have other 7 week olds but already know their genders and didn't take their pics. They were in the tractor due to all the hawk attacks. (laced orps - 2 female, 2 male and 2 more blk/lav split females, 1 lav female, & 1 likely lav male.)

A big blue orp pullet. Not sure if I'm keeping her long term, but she stayed to keep a laced orp company.

This is the SLO who might be a blue SLO. (She's getting lighter with age)

A molting lav orp. Surprisingly, she doesn't look too bad.

My Leghorn stalking me:

Wonky

Mr Nice Guy

 

[ColtHandorf]

Everyone is looking good. Did your Orpingtons throw the two chicks PR hatched out? I'm going to guess males, but the Columbian pattern is interesting. I'd agree that your pullet that is getting lighter is probably a Blue. And the icy-blue, pale hen is gorgeous! I know the standard prefers them darker than that, but she's very pretty. I'm still liking August, the Lavender cockerel. He's filling out nicely. It's amazing how much larger your chicks are than mine that are the same age or older. I'd have to double check hatch dates, but Cookie's babies look massive compared to my little Whites and the Silver-laced.

 

[flgardengirl]

I love the blue and black orpingtons. When I hatched my baby lavender Orps, I was so happy to hatch out one that is Black split to lavender. Even if he isn't true black, he will be soo cute!
Is it just me, or are the glossy black chickens actually softer? lol
Im excited to see how my two Isabel Cuckoo babies will feather out. One is mich lighter than the other so I wonder if that one is male? I dont know how to tell with the Isabel Cuckoos

 

[flgardengirl]

Heres how the Isabel Cuckoo English Orpingtons look now. The smaller one has some faint partridge markings. The larger is more solid colores yellowish and lavender tinged. I really really hope I have a pair

 

[flgardengirl]

This is my baby Chocolate Cuckoo Orpington. I'm pretty sure he is male due to the large head spot lol. He was shrink wrapped in his egg and had a hard start in life. He's a little sweetie. Hopefully I can breed him with my remaining solid Chocolate bantam hen later.

 

[flgardengirl]

Okay, I tried to get some pics of the English Lavender babies and the Lav split black baby but they kept running off everywhere grrr, plus, they have been playing in their water and look all gross lol.
I need to think of names for all these babies lol!

 

[ColtHandorf]

*repeats to self* I do not need more babies. I do not need more babies. I do not need more babies.

lol They are in that darling stage. I know Cuckoo Marans follow the normal Barred rule, darker ones are pullets with one copy of the barring gene, while males are lighter because they have two copies. I don't know if Lavender changes that at all. Technically I don't believe it should, because Lavender is diluting the Black. And the Double-barred birds only appear to be lighter because their white areas are more cleanly defined. So I'd assume that as they begin to feather in, the lighter bird would be a cockerel and the darker a pullet. I don't think they'd be easy to sex with their baby fluff on though. @The Moonshiner do you know if Lavender Cuckoo can be visually sexed in the same manner as normal Cuckoos?

I don't know for sure, but Dahlia the Black pullet and Odette and Derek (may have to change that if he is actually a she), the two white Orpingtons, are the absolute softest birds out there. It's a shame they aren't more cuddly. Of course as wet as it's been i wouldn't want to cuddle with fluffy, muddy chickens. lol

Is the Chocolate Cuckoo large fowl? I'd be very careful letting him cover a bantam hen. Even bantam Orpingtons, while larger than most Bantams, might be injured by a large fowl male.

@Faraday40 - Do any of your LF English boys breed Cookie?

 

[flgardengirl]

ColtHandorf, Yes the English Chocolate Cuckoo Orp is a standard size. I hear ya about the size and mating. I will have to see what kind of roo he is and how big he will get. Ideally, if I do put them together it would be very briefly only to mate.
I lost my English chocolate bantam roo and other hens due to a predator getting into the coop one night. I would love to get some more bantam chocolates but have had trouble locating any. I have my Choc bantam orp hen, Tootsie, in with my Key West chickens this past year because they are a smaller sized chicken. I feel bad for her since she lost her flockmates. Her roo was the sweetest gentlest little guy.

 

[Faraday40]

Everyone is looking good. Did your Orpingtons throw the two chicks PR hatched out? I'm going to guess males, but the Columbian pattern is interesting. I'd agree that your pullet that is getting lighter is probably a Blue. And the icy-blue, pale hen is gorgeous! I know the standard prefers them darker than that, but she's very pretty. I'm still liking August, the Lavender cockerel. He's filling out nicely. It's amazing how much larger your chicks are than mine that are the same age or older. I'd have to double check hatch dates, but Cookie's babies look massive compared to my little Whites and the Silver-laced.

Because the legs are white, I'm pretty sure the white chicks are from my laced orps. The eggs were collected while the flock was still in breeding groups. At 1 week old, I thought the Colombian one was male & the other white a female. Now my predictions have reversed. Of course they could both be male. With all the other September chicks, my predictions haven't changed.

The big blue pullet has lighter legs than any other blue I've ever hatched. i'm wondering if she's a product from my blue laced orp project. I bred Jewel to my SLO, and then bred the daughter back to the father to get blue SLOs. There's a chance i'd get blue orps & blue SLOs. All of my blue orps have slate legs - like my lavenders. This blue has pink in between the toes. The gray looks like it's painted on. If she is from that cross, then I'd like to keep her. IF the blue is Jewel's grand daughter (& not daughter) she'd be great to put with another SLO.

Jewel is my orig "big blue orp." She makes gorgeous babies of all colors. I know her genetics are not the best for breeding since she has lav, blue, choc, & recessive white, but the people who buy from me always want a "selection" of colors - and only hens. No one is looking for breeding stock, just pretty backyard hens. By breeding Jewel, I can get all those colors from just 1 hen. (Conserves coop space.) Her eggs are huge & easily identified. Because she's so awesome, her eggs are always set every chance we get. .

I love the blue and black orpingtons. When I hatched my baby lavender Orps, I was so happy to hatch out one that is Black split to lavender. Even if he isn't true black, he will be soo cute!
Is it just me, or are the glossy black chickens actually softer? lol
Im excited to see how my two Isabel Cuckoo babies will feather out. One is mich lighter than the other so I wonder if that one is male? I dont know how to tell with the Isabel Cuckoos

The black chicks do feel softer. Their fluffy down is smoother & their feathers are stronger. The lavender's diluting gene can weaken feather quality, so that's why you breed them back to blacks or blk/lav splits. If not, you could get nasty-looking feathers in just a couple generations. You probably can't visually tell a black from a black/lav split. Both look like amazing, glossy, black chickens. Most people want to buy the lavs & they're very popular, but honestly, the blacks are more stunning.

With the exception of playing with the chocolate or barring genes, most orps can't be sexed by down color. However, often you can start to guess when they're 4-5 wks old.