Carm
Junior Member
Posts: 58
|
Leg Bands
Oct 24, 2013 8:34:18 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by Carm on Oct 24, 2013 8:34:18 GMT -5
What is your favourite leg band for orpingtons? Which type and what size do you use? I am using toe punching and coloured zip ties currently. I am looking for more individualized identification for record keeping. Thank you
|
|
Carm
Junior Member
Posts: 58
|
Post by Carm on Oct 21, 2013 14:20:48 GMT -5
My mistake Don, I misread one of your posts. You mentioned black birds and said you thought about adding this to your buffs. I took it as the black but you meant the 1/2 english buffs. Sorry for the confusion.
Is adding black a bad idea though? I have seen some nice bigger birds. And a way to add some new genetics. I was intrigued that it might totally open up what I could add for new genetics.
Does anyone have any experience adding a shot of something different?
Thanks
|
|
Carm
Junior Member
Posts: 58
|
Post by Carm on Oct 20, 2013 22:30:02 GMT -5
It was mentioned in the fluffiness topic about adding black to buff or even australorp. What is the best way to do this and how long does it take. Use black into buff. If you use a black rooster and buff hen, then what? Keep the best male progeny to use back on the buff mother? How many generations until you have a pure looking buff again?
|
|
Carm
Junior Member
Posts: 58
|
Post by Carm on Oct 19, 2013 17:28:31 GMT -5
Thanks. If I put them under lights now, do I put the male in too? Or should he be under the lights but kept separate until they start to lay?
|
|
Carm
Junior Member
Posts: 58
|
Post by Carm on Oct 19, 2013 6:35:02 GMT -5
What do you do to get ready for the breeding season? I want to breed for January instead of the spring. What do I need to do to get the ball rolling. I have lights on a timer for when the time comes. How early/gradual do you start changing the daylight hours. I assume you bump the feed protein level up a bit also. My breeding birds stopped laying in June. They didn't lose many feathers, so it was hard to tell when or how long they were moulting. Any tips?
|
|
Carm
Junior Member
Posts: 58
|
Meatiness
Oct 17, 2013 8:01:08 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by Carm on Oct 17, 2013 8:01:08 GMT -5
What are your thoughts on the carcass qualities of an orpington? My first priority is exhibition quality. But the more I handle them, the more I question their meatiness. They are good sized birds weight wise. I have learned to weigh them as some of the fluffy ones can fool you. Does anyone sell their extra birds as processed table birds? Are some lines better than others? Is it something to breed for? Should I leave meat production to the meat breeds and crosses? Is it just my birds that seem this way? Thanks
|
|
Carm
Junior Member
Posts: 58
|
Post by Carm on Oct 17, 2013 7:30:29 GMT -5
Thanks for the advice. Even in the 9 days since I posted the question the cockerels have changed. Some are really sorting themselves to the top.
|
|
Carm
Junior Member
Posts: 58
|
Post by Carm on Oct 8, 2013 14:04:07 GMT -5
What is the appropriate age to start to cull? I have some 4-5 month old buff orpingtons. The cockerels especially are going through a real gangly phase and its hard to tell what they might body down as. What age is common to start to have a pretty good idea what they might end up as? There are a few that are too light coloured and some comb flaws etc that are easy to pick out. But once the obvious ones are weeded out, there really isn't a stand out to keep. I don't want to give up too quick on one, but don't really want to keep them all over the winter. Thanks
|
|
Carm
Junior Member
Posts: 58
|
Post by Carm on Aug 22, 2013 9:10:26 GMT -5
Thanks Bill, I read some of this book online and enjoyed it enough to order a reprinted hard copy through eBay.
|
|
Carm
Junior Member
Posts: 58
|
First Show
Aug 19, 2013 22:44:19 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by Carm on Aug 19, 2013 22:44:19 GMT -5
Hello, I am getting 2 buff orpington hens ready for our first show. I was wondering what the best resource was for exhibition information. Does anyone know of a good book, website, youtube video, anything like that for discussing show preparation? Thanks
|
|
Carm
Junior Member
Posts: 58
|
Post by Carm on Jul 24, 2013 17:44:15 GMT -5
Hello,my uncle hatched 25 chicks from a crele orpington trio here in Ontario. He didn't get one crele coloured offspring. He got black, blue, varying degrees of barred, etc but no full crele colour like the parents. The rooster especially was definitely crele coloured. How true does the crele colouration breed in the next generation, crele on crele?. Thank you
|
|
Carm
Junior Member
Posts: 58
|
Egg Shape
Mar 1, 2013 5:54:55 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by Carm on Mar 1, 2013 5:54:55 GMT -5
Thanks for the replies. I have decided to go with harrys advice. And only hatch the best. Especially with high feed costs lately. I only want to hatch what has the greatest chance of being as close to the standard as possible. This hen is also slightly lighter coloured and not quite as compact bodied or roundish, if that was a word, and wide as I would like. That's why I wondered if the egg shape might be a throw back to a characteristic of a different breed. So really, egg shape is a bit of a third minor strike for this hen. Thanks again for everyone's feedback.
|
|
Carm
Junior Member
Posts: 58
|
Egg Shape
Feb 25, 2013 20:50:54 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by Carm on Feb 25, 2013 20:50:54 GMT -5
Does anyone worry about egg shape for breed character or hatching? I have a LF Buff Orpington hen that looks like the other hens, but consistently lays narrow tall eggs. Does this matter for any reason? Will the chick be the same size as the ones out of the regular rounder eggs? Thanks
|
|