The IMPORTED ENGLISH Orpington Thread

[tennesseeckn]

Thank you everyone for your concern, I'm sorry that I haven't gotten on the forum before now to check in, it's be a very upsetting and frustrating past few days.

My adult birds are all okay. Neville, my Thelma, Alice, Elizabeth and my other girls were not harmed, they are housed in a coop that rivals Fort Knox in security, but I did lose some juvenile birds. My juvies are housed in tractors in a more free range environment and whatever got at the birds, we think it was coyotes or stray dogs, took quite a few of them.

I honestly don't know what else to say other than thank you all again for your kind words and your support.

To Tonea and anyone else that I had planned on sharing birds with, when my girls start laying if you're still interested I can hopefully ship you some eggs. I'm sorry that I won't be able to get you the young birds that you had hoped for.

You're juvies had such potential. I'm very sorry about your loss.

I'm so glad that Neville and the girls are OK. Looking at their pictures and hearing about their antics always brighten my day.

 

[tennesseeckn]

The weather here in East Tennessee has been crazy the last couple of weeks and I think it's been wreaking havoc with my girls' laying. We've gone from snow to 60 degrees and back. One day I'll get eight eggs, the next day none.

I miss summer so, so much.

 

[kidcody]

It won't be long and summer will be upon us and then we will complain it's too HOT!

 

[RedReiner]

Wow Jeremy I am really sorry, I hope you can identify what got your birds and put a stop to it ASAP. it is heartbreaking and I would not wish that on anyone... sorry.


my Partridge mistake has finally molted and grown back her feathers. thought I would share. she isnt a true partridge I am told but no matter, she is by a splash english roo and her mother was a big buff girl. just interesting she came out this well marked, yeah she is smutty on the back of her head. I dont have anything to breed her to to try and make more though...not that I have any idea what one would breed her to to make more...



and this is a big blue girl out of one of my very first hatches. she was really dark until she molted this last time. kind of liking her now

 

[kathyinmo]

and this is a big blue girl out of one of my very first hatches. she was really dark until she molted this last time. kind of liking her now

What a pretty chicken that is. I like that she has a fatter head. I'm just like that..... I like fat heads on my birds.

 

[rockinpaints]

A sample of my birds are tested every three months for AI. The test is a titer test that will react to any strain of AI.

I do this because, I am in a waterfowl fly zone. Many farms do this now because it is a part of the NPIP program.


I think their point was to not knowingly introduce birds that could spread disease. It's one thing to say there is the potential for alot of birds to have AI, but another to to say yes, the bird(s) is/are infected.


I've been through this in my flock also, not to the extent of what happened at the USDA facility, but I lost some birds because of the "rules".

I had to give up some of my breeding flock last year because a couple of my older hens tested positive to pullorum. I repeatedly told the State that I vaccinate for MG, which causes false positives. The birds were older specimens that would most likely cause a reaction to titer tests because of the likelihood of e-coli infection that also causes a false positive reaction. These birds had been tested also in the previous years I have been NPIP certified and had negative tests. They didn't want to hear it. So I had to kill them and they went off to the lab for necropsy and further tests on their reproductive organs. Guess what, they came back negative. So I lost a couple of my very nice breeder birds for not. But rules are rules and in order to keep my status, I followed them.

I also agree with you too pips&peeps
But it is still

very sad. Here in Ohio if you have a positive reactor your farm is quarantined and a series of retests are done to make sure the birds are really positive. Our tester said they do get false positives, for what ever reason, occasionally.

Farms like ours and yours and other small breeders are very useful to the large poultry production facilities and to the human population in general as our birds will be the first to show an AI outbreak or other infectious diseases that could be zoonotic (transmittable from animals to humans). As our birds are exposed to the wild birds that could fly for miles infecting thousands of birds along the way. I guess you could say then that we are doing a 'community service'

This would also be the reason for culling of sick birds instead of treating if they are harboring an infectious disease.

Carriers still infect wild birds that in turn infect other domestic poultry. ***'Interesting information***: Research has been done that reveals MG can stay in hair (even your nose hair) for up to 3 days........ Very scary how these things can be transmitted. The only way to stay on top of it is to get tested.
I am really sorry to hear about your birds, you must have been devastated.

 

[Zgoatlady]

Wow Jeremy I am really sorry, I hope you can identify what got your birds and put a stop to it ASAP. it is heartbreaking and I would not wish that on anyone... sorry.
my Partridge mistake has finally molted and grown back her feathers. thought I would share. she isnt a true partridge I am told but no matter, she is by a splash english roo and her mother was a big buff girl. just interesting she came out this well marked, yeah she is smutty on the back of her head. I dont have anything to breed her to to try and make more though...not that I have any idea what one would breed her to to make more...

and this is a big blue girl out of one of my very first hatches. she was really dark until she molted this last time. kind of liking her now

RR I really like the look of that hen. I have a Buff hen and that new splash roo Im going to see what I can get.

 

[TheReidHomestead]

Quote:

I agree, she turned out real pretty!!!

 

[TheReidHomestead]

I don't post here alot, but I do lurk all the time! Finally got some half way decent shots of our Orps, so thought I'd share my little flock.



This is my original 4 that I got as chicks from a local breeder who got their stock from Julie/Bamachicken when Charlie was her ruling Roo.
That's Baxter, Penelope, Piper and Parvati.


This is our whole flock now. Last summer we penned Baxter & Penelope together to hatch more blues, and we kept a blue trio to add to our original four.


This is Sterling, our blue cockerel, and one of his hatch mates.


Another blue pullet.










Another shot of Baxter from last summer. My DD won Best in Show in the 4-H County fair with him.

Hoping to take most of these to our first local open class show next month. Hoping to see several of you there as well!!!!

 

[BamaChicken]

RedReiner, Your flock is outstanding. You have done well with your breeding. I am giving you a A plus. I like your partridge looking girl. great type

Jeremy, sorry about the predator. I have been there and cryed about it. It just didn't bring back my babies.