The Poultry Keeper

Clucky · Joined: 22 Jul 2006 Posts: 2182 Location: Shropshire

LS.... urm.......are those gorgeous LF Blues or Bantam Rolling Eyes

and urmm do you sell eggs Rolling Eyes

Loudmouth Schnook · Posted: Wed Feb 21, 2007 9:08 pm Post subject:

They are LF Clucky, sadly of those chicks, only one survived - he's called Misty - he's a big blue beautiful cockerel. I've got 6 mixed left of blue/splash... as for selling eggs... well.... got to build a breeding pen for them first! They're just free-ranging about, living the life of Riley...

Clucky · Joined: 22 Jul 2006 Posts: 2182 Location: Shropshire

Riley won't mind, but get cracking!

Loudmouth Schnook · Posted: Wed Feb 21, 2007 9:55 pm Post subject:

One of our Buff Orp cockerels...

Loudmouth Schnook · Posted: Wed Feb 21, 2007 9:58 pm Post subject:

Same guy...

Brittany Chick · Joined: 26 Sep 2006 Posts: 231 Location: Brittany

I've just made a local contact to get some buff orpington fertile eggs.... There seems to be no stopping this new hobby of mine Very Happy

Brittany Chick · Joined: 26 Sep 2006 Posts: 231 Location: Brittany

I was planning to get fertile eggs, but in the end bought six 12-week old buff orpingtons and collected them at the weekend.
They are being bullied a little by the older hens, but have found themselves a cockerel already - my buff crested polish Very Happy

.
Having said that, some of the orps might be cockerels - I really cant tell at this stage!

mojo · Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2007 9:12 pm Post subject:

help again ............i wrote it down a couple of years ago and cant find it........if i mate a blue coq to a blue hen what are the likly colours please......will they all be blues or what?

Hen-Gen · Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2007 11:21 pm Post subject:

Hi Mojo,
You will get:-
25% Blacks
50% Blues
25% Splashes

(Splash is a kind of off white with blue or black splashes of colour)

mojo · Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2007 8:33 am Post subject: blue orp

thanks i will write it in my stock book this time ....thanks again

tuzo2k · Joined: 09 Jun 2007 Posts: 179 Location: charente sw france

Yes - I agree with Hen-gen on percentages but of course it does depend on the parentage of your birds over the years and the relationship between the two birds you are breeding with. Because Orpingtons are not a true blue (not a self blue as such) you can never accurately predict what you will get, whereas with a true blue - like a blue leghorn for instance, you will get all blues out. It has been a while since I delved iinto Genetics of the fowl, but I have a vague recollection that if you cross a Black with a Splash you could possibly get out more blues. Richard.

Hen-Gen · Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2007 2:26 pm Post subject:

Hi tuzo2k,
Yes, its a minefield of confusing terminology! So called Blue Leghorns are in fact Lavender Leghorns and like Lavender Araucanas do, as you say, breed true.
With blues, like any random chance thing, the statistics only approach exactitude with large numbers. So it is likely that if you threw a dice 600 times then you would get each of the numbers close to a hundred times each. But if you threw it only 6 times then, as some gamblers find, you may occasionally get six sixes.
Similarly with the breeding of blues. The first six sperm that get to fertilise the eggs may well be six that don't carry the blue gene (because only half of them do) and so you would get six black or blue chicks from your pair and no splashes. And ditto with the egg cells from the hen.
(Yes Rich! Cross a black to a splash and every chick will be blue).

mojo · Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2007 10:24 am Post subject:

ok gang more orp questions................i have chicks that look like penguins........silver grey chicks.................lavender grey chick...........all from blue orp eggs anyone want to tell me what colours i will end up with.........remember these where blue orps from stamina so good quality eggs

Hen-Gen · Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2007 11:12 am Post subject:

Eh up mojo. By chicks I presume you mean really young and its the down you are talking about, not the feathers. In most breeds that are either destined to grow up to be black or blue the chicks have two-tone down being white or pale yellow on their undersides.
(Knowing your dislike of genetic notation, I feel proud that I managed to say that without once mentioning the E allele for pigment extension.............whoops!!! Crying or Very sad

)

mojo · Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2007 9:40 pm Post subject: orps

you are right hengen ..chicks they are.......... they are 2 day old chicks..some like little penguins black on top white/cream underneath and white/cream bottoms.....the others are 3 silver grey all over and one silver grey with a distinct dark eyeline and slightly lavender colour in the grey......................ok brains in english and no gobbldy gook what colours will i have ??..........black ??.......blue?? or something rare ..........i was told to expect black or blue or splash.........i guess the penguins are blacks .....the greys are blues................and the one with eyeliner is from essex