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[megg]

Hi

We got our 4 orpington girls in the summer aged 8-10 weeks and then at around 20 weeks it was confirmed that Martha was infact Arthur but by this point we had become too attached (as I know many of you have too!) to let him go so decided to keep him with his 3 girls.

At the weekend I witnessed for the first time the that is mating chickens!

Only one of our girls seems to be getting Arthurs attentions and she is already showing signs of damaged feathers around the neck.

We also had our first egg this weekend too

My questions are:

Are 3 girls enough for 1 orpington cock? I know that being a larger docile breed they dont 'tread' as often as smaller sprightlier breeds.

Will he eventually share his attentions around all 3 girls?

And if it is advisable to have more girls, how many orpingtons would it be reasonable to keep in an eglu cube (bearing in mind that Arthur is already the size of your average turkey )? The cube is in a large walk-in run and they freerange when we're not at work.

Thanks to anyone who can answer any of my questions!

Merry Christmas to you all

[Daphne]

3 girls will be ideal for Arthur - you could get one or a maximum of two more but really its not necessary. Orps don't need a large harem! Sometimes a cockeral will favour one girl over another and I don't think there's much you can do about it. You should monitor the situation and if necessary think about getting a poultry saddle which protects the girls back and sides from his spurs. I don't know if you were thinking of expanding your flock with some offspring so, just in case, do consider a couple of things - your stock maybe related (not a problem if they are all healthy and free from defects) and I'm not sure how old your girls are now but they are reasonably young to have a mate - serious breeders/books say you shouldn't breed from pullets/hens till they are about a year old. What colour are they all? Happy Christmas - Arthur sounds like a lucky chap!

[Topdollar]

Hi Megg

 

same sort of thing happened to me with Margot turning out to be a Jerry. I found that he matured a lot quicker than the new girls and only really showed attention to the girls that where laying. It's taken several weeks for him to work his way to the top of the pecking order, but he's now top of the pile and hannah is his favorite girl.

I don't think he's a very sympathetic lover as he never wipes his muddy feet and all my other girls seem to have permanent muddy backs (can't wait for the spring!).

He looks fab now but the only problem is he doesn't let me go near the girls and stands in the way looking very intimidating with his neck feathers all puffed out. The only way around him is to distract him with a few treats.

I managed to catch him the other day and he weighs at least 3 times more than my girls, I hope he doesn't damage any of their backs. They all seem to be quite happy at the moment though. Infact after an initial lull, a few weeks ago, in egg production we are now getting 5 or 6 eggs a day so they must be fairlly happy with him.

 

merry christmas to you and your extended familly

 

Jon

[The Dogmother]

Cocks do often have favourites, but in your case, it sounds like he's treading that particular hen because she's the only one mature enough to lay. They won't tread a hen unless she's in lay.

 

You don't say the size of your big run, but it sounds like it might be enough room; they do need lots of space. Do wacth out for the girls going broody in the warmer months.. unless you have planned carefully and made the necessary arrangements for hatching. Orps are inclined to be very broody, and are good mothers too. It mighrt be a good idea to remove the eggs from the nest on a regular basis so that they don't get it into their heads to sit on them.

[megg]

Thank you for your replies. I feel much happier now in the knowledge that Orp cocks dont need a big harem. I have seen Orps with those saddles before and its definately something to bear in mind if Arthur does get a bit much for his ladies.

I'm definately not planning on breeding chickens so will be vigilant with my removal of eggs asap. I don't think I'd have the heart to dispatch of the unwanted males and as I'd never planned to have a cock in the first place it's never been part of the plan.

Having said that I do love having Arthur, he is absolutely stunning and a real gentleman to his girls - always letting them exit the eglu first in the morning and eat first. I think that may be the reason I was so when I saw him 'treading' Speckle! Very ungentlemanly!

Just out of interest what would the chicks look like if I did ever hatch any? Arthur is a buff orpington, Speckle is a splash orp, Freckle a partidge orp and Mabel a blue orp

[Daphne]

It sounds like you have a lovely mixture there. I love blue hens in particular. Anyway, I've not really got much idea about what colour offspring you'd get - genetics are not my strong point. I do know somebody who is going to cross buff with blue next year, and he doesn't know what to expect. I would guess you aren't going to get too many 'pure' colours from these crossings - there are likely to be mismarkings on tail or neck particularly. Partridge is a very rare colour in orps - so lucky you. I have a buff bantam, one of whose parents we think was crossed with something partridge - she is beautifully buff coloured except she has mucky partridge markings on her tail.