Tisbury Orpingtons + Co

01/09/2026

☔️⛈️🌨️ INCUBATOR UPDATE 🌨️⛈️☔️

Hope everyone in the lower south has come out of the last few days ok! We see a funny yellow thing in the sky that’s creating a little bit of warmth today ☀️⛅️! Though seems more 🌧️ rain is in the forecast!

Eggs are doing surprisingly well, we have had huge and prolonged thunderstorms, power outages, dips and the wind has been shaking the absolute hell out of the chicken shed, hail, sleet and snow flurries and huge amounts of rain! I’ve had to wrap the cabinet incubator in blankets to try and keep the heat. Plus change things round a bit to get the humidity down. Thankfully my incubator part for my the smaller one arrived yesterday. I installed it but now need to test it.

The faverolles are definitely the most fertile this early in the season. Sitting at close to 100% fertility within the eggs and 90% have developed past day 7. A huge improvement on last year which is amazing.

The wee pekins are at about 50/50. They’ve just started to come on the lay so I wasn’t expecting amazing results.

The Orpington’s are dragging the chain a bit here! They’re laying well but fertility is a bit average. I am probably going to need to get the scissors and clippers out in the coming days and hope that the fertility improves from there.

28/08/2026

🐣THE BIG INCUBATOR IS UP AND RUNNING 🐣

With my smaller incubator waiting on its parts, hopefully here this coming week (it is what I like to do my controlled test hatches in), I fired up the big cabinet to try and get things underway. It’s been fun a games this week as we have had some rough weather and the cabinet is struggling a bit in the shed. It been wrapped in blankets to try and keep the heat consistent but that in turn makes the humidity quite a bit higher. So will see how we go!

We’ve got eggs incubating at the youngest TO+C’s members school again for third year. Thanks so much to Anna at Blue Moon Hatchery for helping with eggs since my incubator issues I am a few weeks behind!

Also, we have had 1 successful hatch 😂. The first Faverolles egg of the season actually hatched (I was testing the incubator heading to school so didn’t expect much, but lo and behold it developed!), thanks again to Anna for hatching the chick in the later stages so I could get the 10 egg incubator into the school and so the wee chick could have some friends!

26/08/2026

⭐️⭐️ Wanting to Buy ⭐️⭐️

I am looking for a couple of the masterpet indoor rabbit cages, 100cm (would look at 120cm but a little big for the space). Like the picture attached in like new/great condition and with both cage clips. Please send us a message if you have one or 2 spare! Invercargill area or close to. Thank you ☺️

21/08/2026

🥚🪺 UPDATE 🪺🥚

We are finally starting to get eggs, and hopefully the number keep increasing.

Unfortunately, I’ve had an incubator decide to throw a wobbly and I am waiting on parts so I won’t be testing fertility for a little while. I am hatching but at the moment, the chicks I will be hatching will be for us here at TO+C.

The reason for that is that next year (July 2027) our Invercargill Club is hosting the National Poultry Show! So I will be hatching as many birds as I can to make sure I’ve got the best of the best I have ready for that.

Keep a watch on the page as I’ll start updating as I go.

Picture featuring Birdie, our youngest TO+C’s first ever pekin egg hatch from last year. He’s a great natured wee man!

08/08/2026

⭐️ALL SOLD⭐️

🐤 Pekin Bantams available 🐤

I’ve made the hard decision move on some of my pekin pullets. I haven’t been able to source the right males to make breeding groups. So these girls are available so we can focus on the Millefleur and Furnace colours.

The groups won’t be split as they’ve been together for a long time now. They’ve been hand reared and are used to be handled by a 7 year old. Our youngest member of TO+C is very sad to be moving these guys on.

4 x pullets 8-9 months. Showing great promise and size. $110 for the 4.

2 x black
2 x black mottle

Please message if you’re interested, we are wanting these guys to go to the best homes only.

You’ll need your own cage/transport box. Collect from Tisbury area, no holds

20/07/2026

🐤🐤 Opportunity for Breeders 🐤🐤

Gauging interest on opportunities available for breeders who’d like to take on a project colour, begin breeding or continue to improve the Orpington’s chooks in general .

- Black or Blue trios (or a mix of the 2) consisting of last seasons hatches 1 cockerel and 2 pullets (Sep-Dec 2025). These would be great beginner birds to start from.

- Lavender duo, consisting of last seasons hatches (Sep-Dec 2025) 1 cockerel and 1 pullet.

- Lavender Cuckoo trio or 2 duos, consisting of last seasons hatches (Sep-Dec 2025), trio 1 cockerel and 2 pullets or 1 cockerel and 1 pullet for 2 duos

- Mottled Orpington trio, this is still a project colour and will require time and effort to continue the consistency in colour.l and improvement, I am not letting these guys go easily. The trio would be 1 year old rooster, 1 year old hen and Jan 2026 pullet.

Please get in touch if you have genuine interest in these groups. I am not selling birds individually at the moment.

Photos to come, they’re a bit muddy at the moment so I’ll give them a tidy up 😊

15/07/2026

🐥🐥Now Sold - Pending Collection🐥🐥

⭐️⭐️ Pekins Available ⭐️⭐️

6 months old, hand raised, well handled and very friendly. Would make great children’s birds or people wanting very friendly chooks.

5 pullets and 1 cockerel available, must go in groups of 3 minimum. The cockerel would go well with the black and the mottle pullets for a beginner breeding group.

$30 each for the pullets, $10 for the cockerel or $140 for all 6.

Please message us for details, they will be listed elsewhere tomorrow.

12/07/2026

⭐️🎪🎪 Invercargill Poultry Show Results 🎪🎪⭐️

Well, that was a show and a half and what a way to end our showing season for 2026! Met some amazing people who gave me a lot of insight and information. I was also given praise for how consistent the quality, weight and size of my Orpington’s which is fantastic to know I am on the right track!

Results below (it’s a long list, out of 32 birds I think only 3 didn’t place):

Special Awards:

- Taylor Cup, Best Heavy Breed went to my Black Orpington Hen (this is out of all heavy breed chooks in the show)
- Holloway Trophy, Best Heavy Breed Hen or Pullet again to my Black Orpington Hen (out of all the heavy breed hens and pullets in the show),
- Best Heavy Breed Reserve to my Blue Orpington Rooster
- Best Orpington to my Black Orpington Hen
- Best Black Orpington to my Black Orpington Hen
- Best Blue Orpington to my Blue Orpington Rooster
- Best AORC Orpington (any other recognised colour) to my Lavender Hen
- Best Millefleur Pekin to my Millefleur Pullet
- Best Children’s Poultry (Wyandotte Pullet)

Orpington Results:

🥇 Orpington Black Hen
🥇 Orpington Black Pullet
🥇 Orpington Black Rooster
🥇 Orpington Blue Rooster
🥇 Orpington Blue Cockerel
🥇 Orpington Blue Hen
🥇 Orpington AORC Hen

🥈 Orpington Black Hen
🥈 Orpington Black Pullet
🥈 Orpington Black Cockerel
🥈 Orpington AORC Hen
🥈 Orpington AORC Pullet

🥉 Orpington Blue Hen

Araucana Results:

🥇 Araucana Black Pullet
🥇 Araucana AORC Cockerel

🥉 Araucana AORC Pullet

Pekin Bantam Results:

🥇 Pekin Splashed Pullet
🥇 Pekin Millefleur Hen
🥇 Pekin Millefleur Pullet
🥇 Pekin Millefleur Cockerel
🥇 Pekin Black/Red Cockerel
🥇 Pekin AORC Pullet

🥈 Pekin Millefleur Pullet
🥈 Pekin Blue Pullet
🥈 Pekin Blue Cockerel
🥈 Pekin Brassyback/Furnace/Polecat Pullet

🥉 Pekin Brassyback/Furnace/Polecat Pullet

Children’s Class:

🥇 Heavy Breed Female (Wyandotte Pullet)
🥈 Heavy Breed Female (Faverolles Hen)

Special mention to my Faverolles I bred, or hatched and raised and now owned by one of my Poultry Club members. Her pullet won the South Island title for Best Faverolles Female and the cockerel come first in his class! She prepped them beautifully and it truely showed!

⭐️ 2026 Show Season over and out 🫡 ⭐️

10/07/2026

10/07/2026

Penning day for the Invercargill Poultry Show on tomorrow and Sunday!