“I ordered 2 lavender hens and one roo, a copper marans, white cochin, partridge olive egger and green queen. They are 24 weeks old today. They arrived in great condition and grew and developed well. The orpingtons are beautiful. One hen developed a fluffy loose hind end and the other a sleek rear. The rooster is stunning.
Last week with no warning or sign of health issues, the lavender just dropped dead. No vent issues, no injuries, no blood, no eggs developing, just poof gone. She hadn't started laying yet and did not have any egg development started. Has this been a more common issue with the lavender genetics?
It's always hard to lose an animal, but usually they're is some explanation.
Otherwise, very happy with the other 6 chickens.”
“Our Lavender Orpington is just three weeks old and is already the sweetest lap chicken. She loves to be held much more than our 3 other chicks and would sleep in our palms all day if we let her. She makes me understand why some people keep their chickens in their house- she‚Äôs as cuddly as a cat.
Absolutely love this chick. Looking forward to many years of chicken snuggles!”
“Orla and Aiofe were born the end of March and started laying eggs the beginning of September, one of them laying a cute speckled brown egg with white spots. They're certainly not my smartest hens, but they're calm and relatively quiet. Our chicken-loving friends are jealous that we have such beautiful birds that are tolerant of our preschooler, toddler, and nosy basset mix.”
“We ordered 8 baby chicks last week. We had chicks for less than 6 days and our lavender Orpington unexpectedly died this morning. She had no signs of health issues and was eating and drinking normally. She was interacting with the other baby chicks. She was fine last night and when we woke up this morning she was dead. We are so devastated. Such a beautiful bird gone too soon.”
“I purchased 4 Black/Lavender Split Orpingtons (1 was an intentional male) and 4 Lavender Orpingtons. They arrived a day late (according to tracking). I picked them up right away and could hear the chirps in the Post Office. All the chirps on the drive home assured they were doing well. I could feel like the heater pack in the box when I got home. We live in Maryland and it was mid-March. I like that the cockerel was sporting a manly blue leg band. 3 days of being home (5 days post hatch) and all seem to be doing well. They love eating and chasing each other around. They are slowly warming up to humans.”
“We got Cokie Roberts, our lavender Orp, almost two years ago. She was never overly friendly but she's always had a pleasant, confident, laidback temperament (for a chicken, that is). Consistent with the other reviews, she is HUGE. She's at least a lb if not a lb and a half heavier than another colored Orpington we have. She looks like a body builder compared to a lot of our other birds. When her feathers first came in I worried that she was sick or malnourished because her tail feathers always kind of seemed frazzled, but she always seemed very healthy in every other respect. After her first molt her tail feathers grew in and looked even worse, unfortunately. I talked to the vet about it and was told about the "tail shredder" gene that affects lavender-colored poultry and makes their tails look, well, shredded. Looking at the photos online, I'm sure 99% sure that's what's wrong with Cokie's tail. Fortunately, it's just an aesthetic problem. She's great in every other way.”
“We got 2 female lavenders in April of 2020. They are 10 months old and they have grey feathers , in the daylight you can see a some purple.The one is named Allie and is the sweetest bird of the whole flock. She follows me everywhere and when I say her name she comes over to me. She also will sit on my lap and is very gentle when taking food out of my hand. Also is very gentle to the other girls in the flock, even thought she is the second biggest. The biggest is a Buff Orpington-also very friendly. The other lavender named Lily,supposed to be a female.But she just started growing Spurs. But doesn‚Äôt have any other rooster traits. She is also sweet and friendly.”
“Our Lavender Orpington, is our biggest hen. She best layer and does great foraging. She is not the friendliest in our flock however as others have suggested. This maybe due to the fact thought that she came in with one other chick, that passed away, she was integrated safely into the new flock but has always been a bit scared and flighty. Now the other hens pretty much leave her alone as she towers over everyone else. Girl loves to eat!”
