The IMPORTED ENGLISH Orpington Thread

[Faraday40]

I spent the whole day getting new tires and an oil change after hitting a bungee in the road on the way home from work Friday and puncturing my tire with the S-hook. Ironic that I'd just been thinking that I needed some bungees... -_-

Ok. The way you worded that one made me chuckle. Sorry about the tire, though.

@homeschoolin momma & I spent Saturday processing some birds. Thanksgiving went to my cooler camp and a few extra cockerels went into her freezer. We also played several rounds of musical birds this week.

I gave @homeschoolin momma my 2 fav serama pullets from the September hatches. I also dropped off my extra SLO cockerel. He's sweet, quiet, calm, gets along very well with other chickens, and might be a blue SLO.

Last week when someone asked to buy young pullets - which I did not have- I sent them to @homeschoolin momma. I knew she was trying to clean out her brooders. After buying 2 females, the customer discovered integration was too difficult and returned them..... to my house. How did that happen? I got rid of 3 birds on Saturday and 2 more showed up on Sunday. LOL

It worked out well. The littles were dropped off, I put them in a temp tractor & then rehomed them less than 2 hours later. I happened to be selling a pair of orps on Sunday and that family liked the idea of buying 2 more.

The Happy Ending: We both have empty brooders! I have also finished down-sizing for winter. (It's so hard to make those decisions, but since I cannot safely free-range in winter, I have to keep the number low.)

 

[Orpingtons Mom]

Well, I am a small ... ok TINY chicken keeper. I have 4 English SLOs that look like tanks.

I have just bought 3 Crele English Orps (bebe stage)

and am waiting for lemon cuckoo English orp eggs, which I hope will hatch, by Count Chocula. This is my favorite picture of him http://indigoegg.us/sitebuilder/images/FB_IMG_1488901805443_1488901842713-235x322.jpg
Breeder site: indigo egg.us/Englishorpingtons

 

[ColtHandorf]

I've got two brooders full of chicks and two more sets in the incubator due to hatch on December 1st and 9th. Then I'll probably fill it up again.

 

[ColtHandorf]

Ok. The way you worded that one made me chuckle. Sorry about the tire, though.

You want another chuckle? I forgot to pick some up from the feed store when I went in to buy feed yesterday...

I gave @homeschoolin momma my 2 fav serama pullets from the September hatches.

They are super cute.

I also dropped off my extra SLO cockerel.

He's a handsome boy. He looks Black to me, but he and Blizzard can still produce Blues...

 

[ColtHandorf]

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I spent entirely too much time cooking. Starting Wednesday night and finishing up about thirty minutes after a few friends came for dinner I made Hot Crab Dip with Cheddar, Bubblin' Brown Artichoke and Cream Cheese Dip, Sweet Saltines with Bacon, Crab and Avocado Dip, Chicken, Rice, and Avocado Salad, Family Reunion Deviled Eggs, Creamiest Mac & Cheese, Sunday Baked Chicken, Creamed Potatoes, Broccoli Salad, Squash Casserole, Blackberry Cobbler, and Sparkling Berry Punch. There were several types of breads and chips for the dips and my friends brought Chocolate and Coconut Pies plus all the drinks we had. It was pretty fun. It was my first time doing the whole Thanksgiving and I definitely made way more than six people could eat. lol

The birds enjoyed all the fresh veggies and berries that were left over. I moved all the younger birds in with the Chocolate Orpingtons who started laying on Thanksgiving. I have a few with Fowl Pox and it's impossible to medicate in the pen with the waterfowl because there's pools and water tubs to drink out of. It also got them away from the guineas who were driving the Lavender Silver-laced cockerel and me absolutely crazy. They mostly stayed on the roosts yesterday, so I'm hoping when I get home today they've done some exploring. The pullets don't seem to bother anyone, but Jamie and Cadbury think they are big and tough now that they have birds that are a month younger they should bother...

 

[ColtHandorf]

I have chicks hatching today and brought in some Black Mottled/Lavender Mottled English Orpington chicks in an order a friend made from a breeder to fill up the box. I got three of them, so hopefully they aren't all cockerels. lol

It's been wet and cold here. The birds are not impressed and neither am I. lol

 

[ColtHandorf]

Babies have started hatching. No idea who's out as I'm still at work but one of the roommate's texted to say there were babies.

 

[ColtHandorf]

I've only gotten five out so far; two Silver-laced, two Splash, and a Blue I think. I'm having a really hard time with the humidity in the incubator this time around. I think it's because the heater is on and it's pulling moisture out of the air so I added a humidifier to the room. That got the humidity up to 50% or so. I'm hoping there are some more pips or chicks out when I get home. I hate leaving the babies in there to play soccer all day with their unhatched siblings, but after I set up their brooder last night I was lowering the heat lamp and the stupid bulb came apart from the base, so the glass is dangling by the filament. I replaced it with a ceramic heat emitter, but I basically had to put the lamp all the way down in the tub and I wasn't comfortable with it, so I just left them in the incubator overnight and today. I'll bring home a bulb when I get off of work.

 

[ColtHandorf]

Not English, but I'm getting some bantam APA-standard Buff Orpingtons. I also have a friend with English White Orpington bantams and I'm planning on getting some of those from him as well. And maybe some English Jubilee LF and bantam also. I'm addicted, I know. I can't help myself. He has a bunch of other colors, but my friend just up the road got Isabel and Crele, so I don't see any point in duplicating his color efforts.

Since my Blue, Black Splash pen clearly carries Mottled, I decided to go ahead and bring in three Black Mottled split to lavender chicks. My hatch last week was abysmal. Over half the eggs were clear due to age I think because they've slowed down and I wasn't dating them, just saving them to stuff in the incubator. I only ended up with five hatching out of twenty or so that made it to the hatching tray. I'm not sure what happened with that one. I've got another set due on Wednesday. Most of those are shipped cochin bantam eggs I'm hatching for a friend, but I snuck some of my Orpington eggs, plus a few of my own cochins in there.

 

[Faraday40]

I also have a friend with English White Orpington bantams and I'm planning on getting some of those from him as well. And maybe some English Jubilee LF and bantam also. I'm addicted, I know. I can't help myself.

Ohhh! So great that you found some English bantam orps!!! We'll definitely have to trade some eggs in 2021. Laced lavs & any color English bantam orp are on my wishlist.