The IMPORTED ENGLISH Orpington Thread

[homeschoolin momma]

but if I bought say 12 eggs/chicks and ended up with say 4-8 males what to do with them?

I was going to say you're probably not going to like hearing this, but.....you pick you favorite guy and then eat the rest. Backyard chicken is good and you know it had a good life up until that unfortunate day. Don't name the ones you want to go. Makes it easier.

 

[Tehwrd]

I was going to say you're probably not going to like hearing this, but.....you pick you favorite guy and then eat the rest. Backyard chicken is good and you know it had a good life up until that unfortunate day. Don't name the ones you want to go. Makes it easier.

I'm good with eating them. We will have some meat birds too and the roos that don't make the cut will just have to join them. The more I think about this, the more I wonder why I even asked! A roo that gets up to 10ish pounds would make a great meal!

 

[Faraday40]

She is just stunning!!!

Thanks. @homeschoolin momma & I call them "BB"s - which is short for "bowling balls.

I just went to the Papa's Poultry site ... I'm in trouble!!!

I was going to mention them as a source, but was beaten to it. Carolina Rare Poultry is another good place.

I'm good with eating them. We will have some meat birds too and the roos that don't make the cut will just have to join them. The more I think about this, the more I wonder why I even asked! A roo that gets up to 10ish pounds would make a great meal!

I processed an 11lb hen this summer. (Stood on scale with her & subtracted my weight. Did it 3xs because I didn't believe it.) She was overweight and had a heart condition which is why she was culled. Most of our orp hens weight 8.5 -10lbs. The lavs & blacks are larger. We had a 14lb rooster for many years. He was like family, so we we never ate him.

We don't name the males until they're over 5-6 months and we've decided to keep them. In fact, right now I have one named "Fluffy-Butt" because that was his nickname. He made the cut to be our breeder this spring but has yet to be named. We ate "Mr. Potential" and "Nice Face" LOL

 

[ColtHandorf]

Definitely. It’s the little bantam Orpingtons that I’ve been dreaming about. I adore my little Cookie and would like her to have a broody buddy. She is also getting older and producing thin shelled eggs. That worries me.

Well I know if I manage to get some bantam English Orpingtons you're the first person I'm sending eggs to for a test hatch.

At the moment my chickens are one big flock, so I won’t know color until hatch. It didn’t stop me from putting a few in the incubator. Lol. I need to predator-proof their little love shack before they use it. (The hinged roof came off in October, so I just wrapped it in a tarp to figure out later)

You sound like me! lol The geese have been chewing on the hinged lid on the little prefab coop and I finally just put a piece of tin on in weighed down with bricks to keep them from chewing into the Cochin bantams while they are roosting.

So you'll separate them out once you get that repaired?

BTW- what would a splash SLO look like? Mostly white? If 2 blue SLOs were bred, what would offspring look like?

I haven't ever seen one. The three of us are the only people I know working with them. I'd imagine they'd be very pale. The pattern would be more difficult to see on a Splash than on a Lavender I think. Crossing two Blue SLO should result in 25% Black SL, 50% Blue SL, and 25% Splash SLO. I imagine breeding the Blue back to Blacks deepens the blue color up.

They're beautiful. Lemon Cuckoo isn't usually what I'd go for, but I was staring at the photos for a full five minutes.

I'm not usually a fan either, but a good looking rooster always catches my eye. I think I sketched one somewhere. I'll have to see if I can find it.

I just went to the Papa's Poultry site ... I'm in trouble!!!

You're in trouble? I priced out what I want to order from them this Spring and I'm at $550.00 before shipping...

as long as they are not mean and nasty roosters

None of my English males have been aggressive.

Good to know eating them is an option. I guess if I had thought for even a quick second, I would have realized that any roosters for which I couldn't find homes would make good eats.

They are dual-purpose birds. I don't eat my males, but I do sell them to people who do.

Thanks. @homeschoolin momma & I call them "BB"s - which is short for "bowling balls.

Entirely appropriate.

I was going to mention them as a source, but was beaten to it. Carolina Rare Poultry is another good place.

Yep. My order with them before shipping is looking like $449.00.

Can’t wait to see the photo! I’m hoping for a pinkish egg but I only have my Wyandotte left so we will see when she starts laying!

I washed them and they aren't as pink! I'll take an unwashed photo if they laid today. It's been in the twenties and we had snow over the weekend. They were all disgusted.

 

[ColtHandorf]

Oh it’s awful. Lol I had to search forever to find it. Blech. I’ll have to redo it sometime.

 

[Faraday40]

Got a big orp egg yesterday. Over 3.5" long! It has that pinkish hue, but it's early in the season (so the color will lighten in a couple months).

Here's what I got yesterday. One orp and one serama egg.

 

[Faraday40]

Took a few pics of "Awesome" and his girl "Stormy"

Close up of Stormy

Awesome & Crystal

 

[ColtHandorf]

Love, love, love!!! I can’t wait to have some! If I used the calculator correctly, I should get some this year if I hatch enough chicks.

 

[LadiesAndJane]

So, I made the grave mistake of writing to Papa's Poultry to ask if they would consider shipping to Hawaii! They did not say no!!!
They have not done it before but are willing to look into the process. Holy cow (or chicken) if it works out I will have to rethink my current flock to make room for these beauties! Was thinking their mixed box of English Orp chicks if they will send chicks. Coming from California, not too long of a trip for chicks. Of course I am jumping the gun here so to speak, but I am very excited just thinking about the possibility!
If I were to pick specific colors, which colors would work best breeding with my SLO (other than another SLO)? Thinking I would keep a cockerel. The breeder we have here has the silver laced and red laced I believe, but no other colors, so I could consider breeding other varieties, no competition then. Any thoughts? May be just a mental exercise if it does not pan out, but interesting none the less.

 

[ColtHandorf]

If I were to pick specific colors, which colors would work best breeding with my SLO (other than another SLO)? Thinking I would keep a cockerel. The breeder we have here has the silver laced and red laced I believe, but no other colors, so I could consider breeding other varieties, no competition then. Any thoughts? May be just a mental exercise if it does not pan out, but interesting none the less.

Good luck and congratulations if you're able to get them.

As far as what colors would go well with Silver-laced, I suppose that just depends on what you are wanting. If you want to work on some projects, Blue Silver-laced, Chocolate Silver-laced, and Lavender Silver-laced would be fun and relatively easy as those genes play nicely on Black. Buff or Red Silver-laced might be cool, but I've no idea how you'd go about producing them.