Best Guess as to Breed?

[redneck farmer]

Its feet look green from what little I can see of them from pics. That means your little one is probably an Easter Egger.
Nikki

Sorry Nikki but its feet just look green in the pic there actual color of the feet is purple that fade into orange some more purple than others

 

[ClareScifi]

How cold hardy are Orpingtons?

 

[redneck farmer]

I'm guessing pretty cold hardy... They got lots of feathers. More feathers= more cold hardy

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

They do very well in the cold. Mine had a hard time in the heat though, but some frozen melons/ice bottles in a shallow pan with just enough water for them to stand in/wet cool dirt for them to dust bathe in helped them get thru it. I had standard Cochins at that time too, and those fluffy monsters did not do well when it was hot. The Orps definitely did better.
Nikki

 

[ClareScifi]

My boy's comb got bad frostbite. We had days and days of temperatures below freezing, and some were below 0 F. Do Buff Orpington roosters or White Leghorn roosters have larger combs?

I found this link that shows the mating of Buff Orpingtons and White Leghorns produces golden chickens. Do you think my boy might be half white leghorn by comparing his body shape in the Avatar picture with these pictures, and that could explain why he got bad frostbite?

http://www.theleghornclub.com/TextBuff.htm

 

[ClareScifi]

Another interesting thought is that my avian vet said that with my boy I have to watch out for 'Piggy Syndrome' because he loves to eat and stuffs his crop. The doctor thought he had a genetic condition. And now I recall reading that Buff Orpingtons are the most likely of all the breeds to develop Pendulous Crop, so that would explain 'Baby's' condition, if he is, indeed, Buff Orpington. The vet said never to let him eat all he wants. So far his crop seems fine. I no longer feed the chickens scratch, and he seems to be doing a good job not overeating.

Anyone have trouble with your Orpingtons developing Pendulous Crop, and, if so, at what age do they tend to get it?

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

No, I don't see any Leghorn in that boy. Pretty much every breed I've ever had goes thru an awkward teenage phase. They look gangly for a while and then fill out as they should. Even if he were mixed with a white Leghorn, it has nothing to do with the blue. If the Leghorns were mated with buffs, and buff (golden) birds resulted, that because the white is recessive and probably had some buff in its past breeding history.
Don't take offense to what I'm about to write bc its not meant to be offensive...

Most vets-avian, livestock or otherwisr- don't know diddly squat about poultry :/ I've never had any breed of chicken with "piggy syndrome" or pendulous crop. IMO, free feeding is likely to help prevent crop issues rather than cause them. Think of it this way, if your rationing feed (which alot of folks do), your birds are staying hungry until you feed them. So, when you do put out feed they're going to gobble it up as fast as they can bc they'll have to wait until they're fed again. Gobbling the feed can result in problems like impacted or sour crops. BOs are big birds, big birds=more feed consumed. For the most part, I've always free fed my chickens. I had one little stint where I rationed and I had some issues with birds not getting enough food bc they were being bullied away from the feed so the bigger birds could eat as much as they wanted. Went back to free feed, problem solved
Nikki

 

[ClareScifi]

Yes, Nikki, I didn't take his advice too seriously, because I realized Piggy Boy had pigged out on wild birdseed, and it was a one-time thing. Now that he's confined to a run and coop, I let him eat as much as he wants.

When he was little, reared indoors all alone, I would play with him a lot. When it was time for me to leave him alone or go to bed, he would immediately turn to food as his solace and comfort and chow right down, to get over my leaving. It was so adorable. That was his distraction from loneliness-- eating-- and sharpening his evil beak on my solarium plants.

He is so cute. I think he looks quite healthy; don't you?

I do worry that my dear Barred Rock, Merry Easter, died of being too fat. That was before I knew better than to feed starchy nonnutritious treats like steamed rice, which she loved. She ate a lot of scratch before I knew it was bad for her. She loved sweet treats, watermelon, strawberries, blueberries, but her sister was a better eater, preferring greens and chicken food. They both snuck quite a bit of dry catfood when they free-ranged, which was bad for them. But the sister, Esther Mary, is now going on 3. Merry Easter turned broody, and I suspect it was because she was too fat to lay eggs. That was followed with feathers disappearing around her breast area, a sign of fatty liver disease, due to being too fat. Also longer than usual toenails. It is possible she got mites when she went broody under the house and stayed their several days (or parasites), but I suspect she was just too fat, Poor Girl. That is why I do worry. I think Esther Mary is as fat as Merry Easter, was, though, so perhaps Merry Easter did get parasites. Barred Rocks bought from a hatchery don't usually go broody, though, from what I have read. I did find a weird egg in the nest about a month or two before Merry Easter died, which is associated with an internal laying disorder. I will post a picture of it. I'm not sure whether it was just a one-time fluke, and I thought Esther Mary laid it, not Merry Easter, but I don't know for sure.

 

[ClareScifi]

This is the weird egg. A poultry Ph.D. told me something went wrong with ovulation. If it happened again, it could signal a disease. One time might just be a fluke. It didn't happen again, but a hen did die a few months after it was laid:

 

[ClareScifi]

The hen who died started missing more and more feathers on her breast: