The IMPORTED ENGLISH Orpington Thread

[SadieSue]

I've been lurking on this thread for a year, admiring everyone's beautiful photos while I waited patiently for an opportunity to acquire my chicks locally. I'm pretty certain these are offspring of someone's birds here, but I can't recall.

My babies are 6 weeks old as of Sunday. Finally enjoying a sunshiny day here in the Pacific Northwest! I'm going to let them grow out as long as possible before I have to let any go. Just how early can some of you with a lot more experience sex your birds? If I had to guess right now I'd imagine I have 2 boys and 2 girls.

But I love every one of them - the color, the lacing, and their sweet personalities. One of the "boys" loves to sit on my DH's shoulder while DH plays video games on the computer. It's like a boys night out.

Today - just over 6 weeks


A couple of weeks ago - DH and "Baby Blue" A little father/son time together.

 

[aveca]

jees margitas, thats too bad..are they eos? not a lot of care at po. they just throw things.... thou lot of the air cell damage is cargo pressure..you would have to have them shipped as live animal on airplane....i havnt sold an egg in many years, i keep very few birds due to illness...we are building a bigger barn but it will house only orps and no more that 3 colors ....if its any consolation to you, i got a batch of aussie eggs in that condition a couple years ago..the seller put pleanty extras, but 4 were scrambled... my vet used to work in ornthology at cornell ymany years ago.. they hatched rare parrots and condors and assortment of endangered birds..she taught me something important way back in the late 80s.. thou 4 eggs were scrambled, all of the rest of the eggs hatched. i never said a word about it to the seller or in here..i felt kind of bad about it , but send your seller medishipper styrofoam containers if you really want them to arrive pristine..it still wont stop the cargo pressure that causes air cell damage.if the eggs are very valuable , thats what i do..you can get them free usually at you local clinics or hospital..they throw them out, they are small , but at leat 4 inches thick, impervious to temp changes and throwing.

 

[aveca]

No, I did not know that. Good to know! I will do that.

Kathy, those chocolates are just so beautiful , the color is wonderful, the faces are over the top nice...i am super excited for you..please keep posting pics as they develop..i was missing seeing that pair..

 

[BerrytangleFarm]

I've been lurking on this thread for a year, admiring everyone's beautiful photos while I waited patiently for an opportunity to acquire my chicks locally. I'm pretty certain these are offspring of someone's birds here, but I can't recall.

My babies are 6 weeks old as of Sunday. Finally enjoying a sunshiny day here in the Pacific Northwest! I'm going to let them grow out as long as possible before I have to let any go. Just how early can some of you with a lot more experience sex your birds? If I had to guess right now I'd imagine I have 2 boys and 2 girls.

But I love every one of them - the color, the lacing, and their sweet personalities. One of the "boys" loves to sit on my DH's shoulder while DH plays video games on the computer. It's like a boys night out.

Today - just over 6 weeks


A couple of weeks ago - DH and "Baby Blue" A little father/son time together.

Trade ya Snowman for one

 

[Margitas]

jees margitas, thats too bad..are they eos? not a lot of care at po. they just throw things.... thou lot of the air cell damage is cargo pressure..you would have to have them shipped as live animal on airplane....i havnt sold an egg in many years, i keep very few birds due to illness...we are building a bigger barn but it will house only orps and no more that 3 colors ....if its any consolation to you, i got a batch of aussie eggs in that condition a couple years ago..the seller put pleanty extras, but 4 were scrambled... my vet used to work in ornthology at cornell ymany years ago.. they hatched rare parrots and condors and assortment of endangered birds..she taught me something important way back in the late 80s.. thou 4 eggs were scrambled, all of the rest of the eggs hatched. i never said a word about it to the seller or in here..i felt kind of bad about it , but send your seller medishipper styrofoam containers if you really want them to arrive pristine..it still wont stop the cargo pressure that causes air cell damage.if the eggs are very valuable , thats what i do..you can get them free usually at you local clinics or hospital..they throw them out, they are small , but at leat 4 inches thick, impervious to temp changes and throwing.

I ask the seller all the time to put the eggs in air thight container , this save the embrios from the high pressure.

 

[naturespace]

so how does the chocolate gene work? similar to blue but with out the splash? if you have a choc bantam and you breed it to a large black you will get half black half choc?

 

[Margitas]

so how does the chocolate gene work? similar to blue but with out the splash? if you have a choc bantam and you breed it to a large black you will get half black half choc?

You can get black with choc gene and choc , to get 100% choc you need to breed back to pure choc.
Don't use bantam choc , you never get the right egg size.
I used LF Black orp from ramsley line he cary the choc gane i breed him for very large english hen all the choc color i keep and breed back, now i hatching all choc.

 

[pips&peeps]

It is sex linked recessive; like chocolate in waterfowl.

Choc male X black female = all female offspring are chocolate, all males black carrying the chocolate gene
black male X choc female = all female offspring are black, all males black carrying the chocolate gene
Split male X black female = 1/4 female offspring chocolate, 1/4 male offspring split the other 50% are black males and females (for most breeders all visibly black chicks would be "wasters" since there is no way to tell which males are split without test breeding)


There are other scenarios you can use, but these are the most common.

 

[Goose and Fig]

This little guy is a brick. I have never felt such a dense bird outside of my araucanas. Slow- feather too.

 

[Reyvaughn]

Of course, I was destined to have bad luck after posting pics of my Chocolates. One of my boys is breathing funny like he has something stuck in his throat. He was fine yesterday and this morning. I am hoping it's just because it was hot, he was panting and he had a full crop of water. I have been so careful for 4 months and now look...

(And when I say a full crop of water, I mean it. He didn't smell like sour crop, but I am watching for an impaction).