Orpington

Love this bird! Mine are raised free range, they run from danger, they are docile, they lay great eggs, they stay with the flock, etc! Love these guys! They do look alike though, that can be good and bad. It really depends on the person/owner. I found many ways to detect who is who with my girls. Once you get to know them its comes a lot easier! One is tail-less, on is huge, and one is normal sized! Love em'!

Three years ago, I purchased two Buff Orpington and 2 Dominique pullets. The Dominiques had far and away the best and friendliest personalities. Big Bird and Itty Bitty (anything BUT once she matured!) were pleasant to be around, but were indisputably the "queens" of the chicken yard, as they continue to be. The Dominique continued to lay longer, although the remaining Dominique (Peep) and both the BOs are since "retired". As youngsters they were a little flighty and goofy, but as they grew up they were fine. Mine have definitely earned their keep and will live out the rest of their lives pecking around in the yard and herding guineas.

I love my Orpington. Wish she would get picked on less

I love my two Buff Orpington girls, Potato and Ms. Fluffy. Ms. Fluffy is the fattest, fluffiest bird in my flock, which is great. She is absolutely adorable with intense green eyes and evenly spread light blonde feathers. She isn't old enough to lay yet (just reached four months), but will probably be a great mama when she does because of her fluffy, warm feathers and her protective mentality. She is great, but kind of gets picked on by Potato, the lead hen. Ms. Fluffy is still probably the third one in the pecking order ( behind Eggy the rooster and Potato). Potato is the most protective hen, but a little small. She will jump in my lap and will let me pet her. She is more of a red-head than Ms. Fluffy, but is 100% just as cute. Potato is dominant, and can be very aggressive towards everyone but Eggy (he's probably the only one not afraid of her). They both love to eat Elephant Ears and Banana Palms (the plants). They love to dig and are just great!

My 2 Hens are Ideal examples for their Breed & are all of the above + Soft & Frendly
& not even close to being an overly protective mom when it comes to their humans or other chickens(unless that chicken is known to be a bully)

I have one Buff Orpington right now, his name's Ginger. He will come when called, play the drums, let me paint his nails, come in the house and watch TV, heel, walk on a leash, and let me walk right up to him and pick him up. He is a very nice rooster. I think Buff Orpingtons are the best breed ever.

I have three Buff Orpington hens in my flock and they are an absolute pleasure to own. I really love their build and size...they are a heavier bird, and their chunky structure shows it. Because of their size, they are pretty bad at flying, which is an added bonus if they are confined to a backyard or urban area. The birds are very winter hardy, as their combination of fat and fluff/feathers keeps them very warm. My Buffs were wandering around the yard in 10-15 degree temperatures and were completely unaffected. They are also rather intelligent for a chicken. They have great foraging skills and are not picky when it comes to eating. They will pretty much eat anything that they can swallow, which helped me save on feed. I always offered them layer feed inside the coop, and when combined with free-ranging, they seemed pretty efficient for their size. These birds are also quiet. They don't make much racket like other chickens, and only really cluck when I come over to them, otherwise they are very relaxed and calm in the yard. My coop is oversized for the number of birds it holds, so I cannot say with certainty that they take confinement well, but my birds seem plenty happy in their house when they are not/unable to free range (like when there is 12 inches of snow).

As for their egg laying, I can say that I am fairly unimpressed. Some reviews say that they are great layers, and some say they are average. I would fall into the average column. My orpingtons took the longest to start laying...two began at 24 weeks, and one began at a few days ago, at roughly 8-9 months. Two lay a medium-sized egg, and one lays a large/XL egg. They lay anywhere between 3-4 eggs per week, and usually drop an extra day in the winter. I was under the impression that they were more prolific layers (and my expectations were high as I have RIR and Sex Links that produce a ton of eggs), but I would classify them as average layers. I believe that the egg size will increase as they get older, but I highly doubt that the production out of them will increase. The one orpington lays a freckled egg, which is an added bonus though!

One of the cons (which is easily fixed) is their identical appearance. Now I know many chicken breeds can look identical, especially the sex links, however these birds are just incredibly similar. Their personalities, shapes, and habits are all identical. I call mine the triplets, because naming them would be a lost cause. I will put legbands on them in the spring and officially assign their names to them. This is more of a petty concern, and not a strike against the birds. I would love a flock of only orpingtons one day, because they are easy to own, relatively productive, and really fun to handle and watch!

I like Orpington birds easy to keep, very friendly specially for my family..... My rooster was aggressive, but he's calm down now.

I would like to get more birds, I have 5

Orpingtons are beautiful birds! I have some Buff Orpingtons and they are lovely. One is very talkative, lol! They are both sweeties! I don't have any but I personally think Lavender Orpingtons are beautiful!!!! If you are just starting with chickens or not I request this breed! They are wonderful! Just 100% GREAT chickens!

You can't go wrong with these birds!!!! I've got the buff variety. They are about 1 1/2 and they lay double yolk eggs!!!!! They eggs are a beautiful brown. I your looking for an amazing show bird, I highly recommend these birds! I won 2 first prizes with this breed!!! While the other chickens flopped around wildly my chicken just sat there!!!! I was nervous before because I felt I didn't work with her enough, but I guess they're naturally tame!!!!! I love this breed!!!!

I have three they are fun but very dumb. Don't eat that much. Nice yellow color

I received one BOrp through an assorted heavy mix at MM. Boy was that the best surprise!

Big Mama is the best! She came with two Buff Rocks but the differences are very noticeable. She is the friendliest bird in the flock. I can't speak for other BO's but she is a consistent layer of big oval PEACHY-PINK eggs!
I adore this bird! She may not be the top of the pecking order but she holds her own, and is definitely at the top of my list!

I have about 10 different breeds and I have to say, my 2 orpingtons are my worst. There are many breeds that are better layers than them, better broodies than them, more active and fun to be with than them, better thinkers than them, more disease resistant than them, eat less than them and much better all rounders than them. They are just boring, Sure if you want something you can pick up and give a cuddle to, then get orpingtons, that's all they are good for. My orpingtons have given me more trouble and problems than the rest of my flock put together (even though I've had them for less than 2 months).

I have one Buff Orpington hen about 8 months old. Last Sept. she prolapsed when she layed her first egg. It took five days for the prolapse to stay in her. The whole while we treated her she was very calm and didn't struggle which was VERY nice Since then she has been fin and lays about three eggs a week. She can be quite bossy, especially with my Marans (which is funny because my Marans are almost twice as big as her). I am really hoping that she goes broody next year.

I have five Buff Orpingtons, and I absolutely love them. They are very sweet birds, and so beautiful. Three of my Orpingtons are going on 6 years old, and two of them still lay eggs 4-5 times per week. My other two are six months old and I get 6 eggs every week from each of them. If I was only allowed to have one breed, it would definitely be Buff Orpingtons. I would recommend them to anyone.

My orp is a fluffy, friendly bird who appears neutral in the pecking order--I have never seen her peck and she rarely gets pecked. She is just a big marshmallow, and will cuddle with you--very soft and friendly. She started laying late and couldn't get it through her head that nestboxes were for eggs, but eventually figured it out. She is a great bird!

We originally got our Orpingtons about three years ago. Five unsexed chicks in that awkward lanky teen stage. Three turned out to be roosters and we had to get rid of the first two that matured because they were large and mean. More than once was I attacked by our most beautiful rooster and when he grabbed onto my upper arm while I was giving food I decided he had to go. We currently have one rooster and two hens from that litter and they're great. Not as tame as I want but that's completely my fault as I haven't socialised them as much as I wanted. They're great with my kids and wonderful layers.

Beautiful large medium/dark brown eggs if it's 39 or -20(with a heat lamp) out! Love these birds and would love to get more if we expand our flock.

She is a great layer, pretty, and funny/ fresh/ trouble maker. Only thing is that she does not like to sit in my lap or be picked up. A good breed though.

I LOVE these birds. They are just a wonderful addition to your life. They are not mean or aggressive that I've seen. The roosters are even gentle. Hens are not inclined to be fighters at all.

This is an excellent family birds if you have the room. Mine are very large birds. They need more room than most. The roosters are incredibly large, and when they go to garden, they can tear up a lot of it quickly with their large feet.

Mine lay a smaller egg than I would like for such huge chickens. They are consistent layers, laying even into the fall (so far into October). They seem to have more body so are able to keep warmer and lay longer. They do not lay every day--maybe 3-4 a week. Interesting to me, the eggs vary in color from medium brown to very light brown.

Roos are just amazingly big and beautiful. I want to have these birds forever. They are really beautiful with their solid gold color. They all look the same so you get very similar color, shape and actions out of them.

The roos are so big that I worry sometimes about the hens. I notice that the hens are not anxious to be bred by the huge roosters too often. But the roosters don't seem to be hard on the hens when breeding, and they are not mean or rough. They are just huge.

I love this breed. I hope to always have some.

I love my Buff Orpingtons! They are the most friendly chicken that I know. They love to get on my lap to cuddle and be petted. They follow me around the whole hard seeing what I'm up to. They love children (which is one of the biggest reasons I wanted buffs). I can't get enough of my buffs!