Time for the annual update on the orpington program! I hatched a lot of birds this year, but on the advice of a couple good friends and a judge, i took the road of cull hard. Fancy way of saying as soon as a chick or bird showed a quality less desirable then its hatch mates, it was removed from the grow out pen.
It looks like the selection has been working, I'm down to 12-15 pullets and 5 or 6 cockerels out of the dozens upon dozens that I hatched this spring.
the pullet pictured left is only 5-6 months old and already bigger then the hen she came from. the girls this year have improved size over their mothers, and are showing a better overall type i think. There is however a lot of maturing left to do.
It looks like the selection has been working, I'm down to 12-15 pullets and 5 or 6 cockerels out of the dozens upon dozens that I hatched this spring.
the pullet pictured left is only 5-6 months old and already bigger then the hen she came from. the girls this year have improved size over their mothers, and are showing a better overall type i think. There is however a lot of maturing left to do.