*Buff Orpington Thread!*

[Half Moon Ranch]

Weren't those the prettiest egg yolks?

That is what we had to do put our girls first. Our roo Leo was a big ole sweetie pie until the hormones really kicked in. Our three girls have always been the sweetest things since day 1 and I noticed that after several weeks of Leo's trying to mate them constantly they started staying in the coop to avoid him. Then for some reason he decided he didn't like it when I loved on his ladies so he started getting aggressive with me which was an incredible shock given his history of being a loving little guy. As soon as I would put them down, he would jump on them with a vengeance and not long after that the girls figured out if they avoided me they wouldn't have to deal with him and that just broke my heart. When I realized what was going on I knew he had to go as it was not worth them living in fear of him. Maybe if they had been older and were more receptive to his advances it would have turned out differently. Throughout this ordeal I got some wonderful advice from speckledhen and when he finally tried to flog me I knew it was time to let him go. After he was gone, it took about two days for our ladies to return to their normal sweet behavior and within two weeks they started laying. The people who gave him a new home have a flock large enough to keep him busy and they say he is a sweetie and is doing his rooster job very well. All in all everything worked out perfectly and everyone is happy now. Hopefully, your roo will be easy on your girls and you won't have to get rid of him or send him to freezer camp.

The yolks were beautiful!
We talked about it and opted to eat them over medium first, since we wanted to taste the eggs without adding other flavors to it.
They were delicious and I have to say that after all the trials and tribulations, hard work and way more money than I had envisioned, this made it all worth while.
After finding out that 4 of my 5 straight run Silkies were boys, I questioned whether the whole thing was worth it, but my Buff Orpington gals made it worth every dime.
Those were the most expensive eggs I have ever eaten.

 

[Peanutsmomma]

Thanks for the recommendation of the food. It looks like I can get it from many places locally. So after this batch of feed I'll try it if I can get it in small helpings since right now it is just
Pancake we are feeding. Next year we'll be adding more hens I hope. Hopefully we will get eggs after she has all her feathers.

You are welcome. I am so happy that you can get the S&P locally and jealous too!

 

[danieljblais]

Thank you. he thinks he's all that and more. I kept him him. Had 2 other for breeding and took them out. Rough on hens. He is much less aggressive and" mean " when breeding

 

[Ponyfeather]

You are welcome. I am so happy that you can get the S&P locally and jealous too!

I think it is all about demand, you should ask your local feed stores if they would think of carrying it. If there is enough demand for the product they might just start carrying it.

 

[Johnn]

Dolly and daisy

Bella and Henry

 

[speckledhen]

The crotchety old Nugget with her younger, ailing "sister" (they are from related lines), Hope. Nugget was threatening my broody BR hen outside her pen so you can see in the 3rd photo her dropped shoulder. Wish you could hear her growling, LOL. Nugget is going on 7 years old. The bantam Cochin is Xander, who tries his best to keep them in line. Epic fail! She's molting so her color is "patchy".

 

[Ponyfeather]

I have question, are dark tips permissible able on tail feathers? I know I heard/read somewhere it is and sometimes is needed to get back the right buff color if the flock starts to get a washed out look to deepen the shade. I was just curious about the in and out of it since a few on Pancakes tail feathers have an almost lace type look to it. Mostly dark centers with buff lacing around the edging. But the center isn't 100% dark they turn back to buff.

 

[Johnn]

Bella

 

[Half Moon Ranch]

How old is Bella and how long did it take her to fill out?
My girls are only about 23 weeks and they're getting big but nothing like her.

 

[BayBay Peepers]

My girls did not fully fill out until about a year. They got pretty big around 4-5 months, but by the next spring they really filled out.