These were supposed to be RIRs but I don't know....

[shelleyd2008]

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The rarity comes from having 'true' ones. As stated before, hatcheries breed chickens to make more chickens, with little to no regards to the breed standards. Having a 'true to form' orloff is a rarity.

 

[Cuban Longtails]

If I were closer to ya, I'd take 'em for sure. I've a promising cockerel (I hope it's a boy!

) from some very nice breeder stock. I'll be needing some pullets/hens for him.

 

[savingdogs]

Shelly is correct, I'm sure these are not show quality birds. They all vary and one does not have the face feathering at all. ......the one I think is pretty....

Beauty is usually in the eye of the beholder. I think I'll keep my "pretty" and probably poorly bred one to get some little eggs in the dead of winter if that is true, but need to rehome the others and invest in the nice orp roo I need.

I would have been happier had they been EE/sussex mixes as that is what I went to the store looking for (EE)! That would have been a happy circumstance for me as my hubby was at first sold on the RIR and then later fell in love with the orps we got later and I was just so happy we were getting chickens anything was fine.

Is it a poor choice to hatch eggs from hatcherie/feed store birds? We were not looking to sell them, rather replace older ones, give a couple to friends, etc. And having a chicken that will go broody appeals to our urge to become more self sufficient overall. We thought to raise only orp/orp and eat all those delicious brown eggs from the RIR.

If anyone is local enough to be interested in these pullets, please send me a private message! I'd love to find an enthusiast in the breed and not someone looking for dinner, at least not for a few years anyway. Please jump in and tell me if these plans sound dumb..... I could tell you all about taking care of dogs and cats but chickens are a new hobby for us.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

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Not at all--my layer flock is pretty much culls from the breeding pens and projects, plus a few older feed store birds.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

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Totally depends on what you want from the birds you raise. While hatchery birds might not match the standard of perfection, they can be better egg layers than birds that were bred for show. We have almost all hatchery birds, with a few breeder Ameraucanas (since we wanted to know that they were homozygous for the blue egg gene).

The one thing you might have to watch for is that I think hatchery birds are less likely to go broody. Out of 25 two year old birds, we have had two go broody, a blue laced red Wyandotte and a barred Rock. The BLR was given 11 eggs, hatched 7 and is a good mom. She's got a job for life! The BR is broody now and I think I'll give her a few eggs tonight.

So, basically, if you want good, standard, heritage birds to sell as purebred birds/show prospects, you can't use hatchery birds. If you want to become self sufficient and don't really care if the birds meet the standard of perfection or are mutts, go ahead and breed your hatchery birds.

I would recommend paying attention to what eggs you allow to hatch, and only breed the best to the best instead of letting them hatch indiscriminately. That way your flock will improve each year.

 

[savingdogs]

You guys are so full of good information, I'm like a sponge here...............

Thanks again for answering all these questions, I just want to do the right thing by these birds as I feel responsible pet ownership is a very important thing. I work for a veterinarian and have volunteered in dog and cat rescue for 10+ years so the word "breeder" is usually a bad word in my vocabulary, but in that world the overpopulation is euthanized instead of eaten........ I guess dead is dead but somehow we are all hardened to seeing chickens on a plate, poor dears.
I had hoped that if I stick with one breed at least the birds I raise would be along the same bloodlines. I had faith that orpingtons go broody because of the literature I had read about them, but perhaps that is more what the sales folk want everyone to think. I suppose if none go broody in a few years I can buy an incubator or more feed store chicks instead.

We never suspected having chickens would be so fun! I do think watching a mama hen and chicks would be adorable...I must admit. Do you suppose that hatchery chicks, not being raised by a real mom, have fewer motherly instincts because of that? How does an orphan know how to mother?