Buff Orpington or something else?

[OwlandBear]

I bought these chicks during Tractor Supply's Chick Days in April this year. They are supposed to be Buff Orpingtons, which is what I wanted so any roos I got (and I got two) could breed with the Buff ladies I already have. Half of the "Buffs" turned out to be red sex links (gotta love it) and I think these kids are look too darker/red from what I'm used to seeing. They are now approximately 15 weeks old.




Do you think these are just a darker shade of Buff or was the fact I bought these on April Fool's Day a joke on me?

 

[Basskids08]

It's a BO cockerel. Hatcheries breed for quantity not quality.

 

[donrae]

Can you get pics in better lighting?

What color are the legs? In the pic they look grey, but I'm not sure how accurate that is. If they're really a slate/grey, I have no idea what the bird would be. I'd say a mixed breed, but hatchery birds usually fit some breed, kinda sorta. If the legs are pink/white, I'm going to say you have Orpingtons, just funky colored. Maybe they added in something production red to the breeding line recently to boost production, and should have waited another generation to sell chicks.

 

[OwlandBear]

Their legs are white/pink. And I was looking at two of my two year old BO hens (also bought from TSC) and they are sorta reddish in the head and neck regions, so maybe your suggestions of a production red in the woodshed are valid.

Here's Randy the Rooster in somewhat better light:

 

[Michael OShay]

Looking at the bottom picture (in better light), it looks just like a hatchery grade Buff Orpington rooster to me.

 

[Basskids08]

Their legs are white/pink. And I was looking at two of my two year old BO hens (also bought from TSC) and they are sorta reddish in the head and neck regions, so maybe your suggestions of a production red in the woodshed are valid. Here's Randy the Rooster in somewhat better light:

That pic is not a production red, that's a BO

 

[donrae]

Looking at the bottom picture (in better light), it looks just like a hatchery grade Buff Orpington rooster to me.

Yep, better pics make all the difference

. Agree he's a buff Orp.

 

[OwlandBear]

Thanks for the confirmation. I have these 5 now integrated with my hens, and it's, um, interesting trying to count all the noggins when I get them in the pen after their morning constitution (I now have 13 buff orpingtons, 5 red sex links, 2 Rhode Island Reds and a buff-rir mix that all look pretty much the same). The 2 Barred Rocks and 4 Partridge Rocks are easier to tell apart.

 

[OwlandBear]

I will say one thing, that one of these new pullets may end up in the stew pot this year--- the **** thing keeps biting me, and I mean HARD! I don't need that kind of aggravation!