The IMPORTED ENGLISH Orpington Thread

[galanie]

Yep, I've paid a fortune in eggs for my American SOP hen and two part English ones, just the same way as above. Money's gone now but some day I WILL have pure English!

I've paid tons for nice breeder Delawares as well, only to have zero hatches. So for now I sit with a few nice Orps, a few hatchery ones, and a couple random hatchery hens. Your experience wasn't really so unusual. Eggs get a real beating in the post office.

 

[naturespace]

Looks like I only have 3 possible out of 14 B/B/S eggs I had shipped to me. So sad. No way to tell if the BCM eggs in the same shipment are doing any better.

eta: I'm done with eggs................

That sucks. I've had some eggs shipped great and had high development rates and about 50% hatch rate. I also had bad packaging, broken eggs and cracked eggs. Not fun! Good luck with your hatch anyway. Local eggs would do much better I'm sure.

 

[klf73]

my first attempt at orps was two years ago. I paid a decent amount of money for some part english bird, one hatched and of course was a cockeral

. I would rather pay $500 for some good birds instead of spending over a thousand to get a few cockerals (because when the hatch rate is low it is usually mostly, if not all, cockerals) when I buy eggs. I have been doing this for 5 seasons now and every year my hatch rate is dropping for shipped eggs and I know it's not my bator because I have at least a 95% hatch rate with my own eggs. My first year was excellent, my second was decent and now I don't have much luck with shipped eggs. I have some shipped eggs in my bator now. One breed is doing well and i have 8 growing(out of a dozen) and the other I think only 3 of 10 are doing anything. I was hoping for a better rate and will probably have to buy more. The time and money that goes into it just doesnt' seem worth it to me. I really wanted to get some 100% english eggs but dh just looked at me funny when I told him how much they were, and I don't blame him

I really like my birds I got from Julie and Joy and am happy with them. Someday I will get some 100% eggs and hopefully add some more girls and maybe a nice roo.

 

[kathyinmo]

I've paid tons for nice breeder Delawares as well, only to have zero hatches.

I have come to the conclusion there are no "nice," Delawares out there. I decided to make my own. Let me tell you..... I am totally blown away with the results I am getting. I hope to have my F3s on the ground this summer. If they are all I hope they will be............ well, just sayin'...... building the barn is going well. Next will be painting it.

Here is one of the F2s, today. I can hardly wait to see the F3s !

 

[aveca]

i know this is the wrong thread for this, but fantastic bird kathy...one of my freinds had a really good run with dels for many years but he never could find decent stock to add ..too bad he had a good thing going, it just dwindled..he isnt doing them anymore cause they were getting too imbred...

 

[OSUman]

Looks like the painting is going pretty well too.

I have come to the conclusion there are no "nice," Delawares out there. I decided to make my own. Let me tell you..... I am totally blown away with the results I am getting. I hope to have my F3s on the ground this summer. If they are all I hope they will be............ well, just sayin'...... building the barn is going well. Next will be painting it.

Here is one of the F2s, today. I can hardly wait to see the F3s !

 

[justuschickens59]

Looks like I only have 3 possible out of 14 B/B/S eggs I had shipped to me. So sad. No way to tell if the BCM eggs in the same shipment are doing any better.

eta: I'm done with eggs................

Honestly, I don't think this is that bad. When I imported eggs from England, my hatch was 2 out of 105. Thank goodness I got a pair !! I have a few thousand bucks in 2 birds - Winston & Clementine - worth every penny

 

[kathyinmo]

That is one of my black orps behind the Delaware.

 

[OSUman]

Wow, hes pretty nice too.

That is one of my black orps behind the Delaware.

 

[BamaChicken]

That black Orp looks like a big boy.