The IMPORTED ENGLISH Orpington Thread

[Jennrichmond]

I'm a new chicken owner. I picked up three different chicken breeds on May 2nd. My English Orpington named Beast was 10 weeks old. The other two (a buff Orpington and a Barnevelder) lay light brown eggs and were four weeks younger. They both are laying. Today the Beast didn't come out of the hen house with the others (they roam the yard during the day) and I went to check on her. A brown speckled egg was in the box. Could this be hers? Has she finally started laying? I know they aren't big layers. What can I expect egg wise per week?

She's black with light blue feathers on her rear end if that makes a difference. I went to load a photo but I just got a new phone and my pics haven't downloaded yet. Will post one if needed.

 

[HighStreetCoop]

I'm a new chicken owner. I picked up three different chicken breeds on May 2nd. My English Orpington named Beast was 10 weeks old. The other two (a buff Orpington and a Barnevelder) lay light brown eggs and were four weeks younger. They both are laying. Today the Beast didn't come out of the hen house with the others (they roam the yard during the day) and I went to check on her. A brown speckled egg was in the box. Could this be hers? Has she finally started laying? I know they aren't big layers. What can I expect egg wise per week?

She's black with light blue feathers on her rear end if that makes a difference. I went to load a photo but I just got a new phone and my pics haven't downloaded yet. Will post one if needed.

When mine are laying they lay almost daily, but I hear this tapers off greatly after the first year or so and mine are broody a lot (A LOT!). Only one is laying right now as they're molting. I'm curious to see how the winter goes. Mostly I'm either flooded with eggs and can't give them away fast enough or I barely have enough for me on the weekends.

 

[LuvMyPolish]

I just lost my Jubilee Rooster. I have 2 Red Roosters & a Spangle/Mottle rooster. Will either of these work overy my Jubilee hens? What about a black rooster? I can't find any color info. Thank you for any info or input.

 

[rockinpaints]

I just lost my Jubilee Rooster. I have 2 Red Roosters & a Spangle/Mottle rooster. Will either of these work overy my Jubilee hens? What about a black rooster? I can't find any color info. Thank you for any info or input.

Neither rooster will give you Jubilee chicks, so it depends on what you wanted the results to be as to which one to use. Actually nothing will give you jubilee chicks except a jubilee rooster. If you wanted to create a pure jubilee line by using the red you might be able to get there after about 4 generations, in 1/4th that time you could have raised out a pure jubilee replacement rooster and be raising pure jubilee chicks.

So if the results you are looking for are just to produce chicks you could use either, but if you want to raise pure bred jubilees then you would need to use a jubilee roo.
Hope that helps.

 

[HighStreetCoop]

Quote:
Rockinpaints is of course 100% right. If you want to see what the results of your various cross options would be, you can use the chicken calculator.

http://kippenjungle.nl/Overzicht.htm#kipcalculator (basic)
http://kippenjungle.nl/kruising.html (deailed, for those who know the genetics)

 

[jeremy]

Neither rooster will give you Jubilee chicks, so it depends on what you wanted the results to be as to which one to use. Actually nothing will give you jubilee chicks except a jubilee rooster. If you wanted to create a pure jubilee line by using the red you might be able to get there after about 4 generations, in 1/4th that time you could have raised out a pure jubilee replacement rooster and be raising pure jubilee chicks.

So if the results you are looking for are just to produce chicks you could use either, but if you want to raise pure bred jubilees then you would need to use a jubilee roo.
Hope that helps.

I second this opinion...

However.

You could put your Jubilee hens under your Mottled rooster, then hatch out a cockerel who will be almost entirely Black Mottled, but with red leakage. Take one of these males, preferably the best typed boy, and put him back over your Jubilee hens. In the next generation you'll hatch some chicks that will be Jubilee patterned. ETA: YOU MUST NOT KEEP ANY OF THE MOTTLED HENS PRODUCED FROM THIS BREEDING, THEY SHOULD BE CULLED. They will carry unwanted genes from the Jubilee cross and cannot be considered pure Mottled birds, even if they look exactly like a Mottled Orp should.

That said, Nellie (rockinpaints) makes a great point- in the time it will take you to breed back to the correct color/pattern by outcrossing to a Mottled (or Red) rooster, you could simply purchase and raise a replacement Jubilee rooster.

The only possible benefit of outcrossing to the Mottled roo you have would be an infusion of new blood into your Jubilee flock, which oftentimes always helps type/size/vigor/productivity.

At the end of the day it's up to you, Jubilees are everywhere now, sooo...

 

[ChuskaMtns]

I second this opinion...

However.

You could put your Jubilee hens under your Mottled rooster, then hatch out a cockerel who will be almost entirely Black Mottled, but with red leakage. Take one of these males, preferably the best typed boy, and put him back over your Jubilee hens. In the next generation you'll hatch some chicks that will be Jubilee patterned. ETA: YOU MUST NOT KEEP ANY OF THE MOTTLED HENS PRODUCED FROM THIS BREEDING, THEY SHOULD BE CULLED. They will carry unwanted genes from the Jubilee cross and cannot be considered pure Mottled birds, even if they look exactly like a Mottled Orp should.

That said, Nellie (rockinpaints) makes a great point- in the time it will take you to breed back to the correct color/pattern by outcrossing to a Mottled (or Red) rooster, you could simply purchase and raise a replacement Jubilee rooster.

The only possible benefit of outcrossing to the Mottled roo you have would be an infusion of new blood into your Jubilee flock, which oftentimes always helps type/size/vigor/productivity.

At the end of the day it's up to you, Jubilees are everywhere now, sooo...

Isn't this what created the problems with the Jubilee's coloring in the US? That leakage may still rear its ugly head generations later and/or problems with the mahagony color? This was the main reason I sold my Jubilees, leakage kept appearing in the offspring.

 

[rockinpaints]

Isn't this what created the problems with the Jubilee's coloring in the US? That leakage may still rear its ugly head generations later and/or problems with the mahagony color? This was the main reason I sold my Jubilees, leakage kept appearing in the offspring.

Actually, it was the leakage in the Mottled Orps that was the problem. The Jubilees are already black white and mahogany. The red affected the mottled orps as it was nearly impossible to get rid of the red gene. What Jeremy was talking about was using it to benefit the Jubilee gene pool or quality of the Jubilees.

If you did that cross you would never use the offspring back in a mottled orp pen (ever.......) You would only keep the very best to use in your Jubilee pen. It can be done once about every 5 or 6 generations. Anymore than that and would diminish the jubilee pattern. There is a tremendous amount of culling that has to be done when you choose to cross to a different pattern or breed and a lot of generations involved.

The beautiful English Orpingtons in general have been out crossed so many times since they were imported a few years ago it is nearly impossible to find a true pure English Orp pattern. There are just a few breeders who were really serious about keeping the breeds pure. SO many people jumped on the bandwagon and bought a rooster (or pair) and bred it to what ever it looked like (regardless of breed) and flooded the market with them.

I am really saddened by what has happened and wish everyone who still have the original imports the best of luck.

 

[piglett]

has anyone here been having trouble with things with big teeth showing up?

I cleared out 3 skunks & 2 coons over the summer, so I figured I was all set.

Wrong! something got 1 of my blue slate turkey's & 2 meet birds all in 1 night

good thing my Orps are locked up in their coops at night.

 

[jeremy]

SO many people jumped on the bandwagon and bought a rooster (or pair) and bred it to what ever it looked like (regardless of breed) and flooded the market with them.

I am really saddened by what has happened and wish everyone who still have the original imports the best of luck.

& now trying to find decent stock, with good type and color pattern, regardless of the variety, is rare.
It's good that we've got people like you Nellie, keeping some great lines.