*Buff Orpington Thread!*

[sphinxface]

She seems fine to me! Actually a little more skiddish than normal actually. I wonder if she got bumped down on the pecking order or if it's just a burst of energy like "yay! I'm all better!"

No eggs yet but I don't doubt it takes time to recover from a nutritional deficiency. Will look into some vitamins this weekend~

 

[lizardandchicks]

Hey all. I have a little Buff Orpington (8 and a half weeks old) named Buffy (named by 8 year old). I believe Buffy is a girl, but I could be wrong. She has a slightly pink comb, still small, and what worries me most, thick legs. Buffy is a pullet, right? Thanks in advance!

 

[sphinxface]

Hey all. I have a little Buff Orpington (8 and a half weeks old) named Buffy (named by 8 year old). I believe Buffy is a girl, but I could be wrong. She has a slightly pink comb, still small, and what worries me most, thick legs. Buffy is a pullet, right? Thanks in advance!

Have you had a buff before? My buff hen has thicker legs than the rest of my girls. I also know squat about sexing them as they grow

 

[lizardandchicks]

Have you had a buff before? My buff hen has thicker legs than the rest of my girls. I also know squat about sexing them as they grow

Yes, I have had 2 others. Both died due to stupid dogs. I never noticed it before, but maybe they did and I didn't realize it until now because I was actually looking for it. That is very comforting, thank you.

 

[microchick]

Roos feather out slower than hens as a rule. They start getting combs and wattles. Their color is a richer buff/gold than the hens. But there are exceptions to the rules. I have a 12 week old Buff that has kept us guessing until today. It feathered out first, even before the other hens and its color was a nice buff without the gold. Then much to our dismay the combs and wattles appeared over night and were immediately bright red. We still hoped it was a hen and just an early bloomer so to speak. Here is Big Red at about 4 weeks of age:



Well today the 'what is it?' question was answered. Big Red puffed up his chest, flapped his wings and choaked out his first crow. The chick that was supposed to be a girl, is a boy and a beautiful one at that. At this point, he isn't alpha although his size and bulk he could be.So I wound up with three Buff Orpington Roosters when I was supposed to have two and two Welsummer roos when I was supposed to have 0. They are going to have to work it out between them but right now it looks like one of the original Buff boys is heading up the rooster squad.

I'd keep an eye on that little comb,Lizardandchicks. What ever it is, I hope it's the gender you want.

 

[TheSpiceGirls]

Hey all. I have a little Buff Orpington (8 and a half weeks old) named Buffy (named by 8 year old). I believe Buffy is a girl, but I could be wrong. She has a slightly pink comb, still small, and what worries me most, thick legs. Buffy is a pullet, right? Thanks in advance!

I'd say you have a hen. Each time I've raised BO's I always had one and thought, oh no, I have a roo. And EVERY TIME she turned out to be a hen.

 

[TheSpiceGirls]

I've got a broody question for you.

I have a BO who's just over a year old. She's been showing signs of going broody. But she doesn't seem totally committed to me. I wouldn't trust her to sit on eggs. But I'm thinking she would be a good mama if I let her do this for 2-3 weeks and then gave her live chicks.

Anyone have any more experience with this or have some advice?

I think she'd be a good mama because she's screams and does Turkey Mom pose if any of the other three hens get near her. And I could separate her from the other three to let her raise her babies.

I'm just not sure if I should trust her.

 

[BayBay Peepers]

It's a gamble, but you can try it. Let her sit a while and then at night try to slowly put in the chicks. You'll definitely want day old chicks because you'll have the greatest chance for a successful bond. I did this with my hen a few months ago and she's still hanging out with her little babies. Not all hens will be accepting of this so you'll want to keep a very close eye on her for a bit. It would be a good idea to have a backup plan in case she doesn't care for them.

 

[TheSpiceGirls]

It's a gamble, but you can try it. Let her sit a while and then at night try to slowly put in the chicks. You'll definitely want day old chicks because you'll have the greatest chance for a successful bond. I did this with my hen a few months ago and she's still hanging out with her little babies. Not all hens will be accepting of this so you'll want to keep a very close eye on her for a bit. It would be a good idea to have a backup plan in case she doesn't care for them.

Thanks. I think I'll let her settle through the weekend and next week and watch her. My local feed store gets chicks in on Wednesdays and sells them on Friday so if she's looking good and they get BO's in, then I'll give it a try.

 

[BayBay Peepers]

I wish you the best of luck.

You never know unless you try just make sure to have a quick back up. And of course we'll want to see some pictures