*Buff Orpington Thread!*

[QuirkySue]

Oh oh so that means I may have mostly boys since almost all of them look like that last photo. I hope they end up looking a little more girly next time I post pics!

 

[B2527]

I just purchased 4 buff orpington chicks are these types of chickens friendly, and good egg layers? How noisy do the hens become as they grow into adults? Thanks,

this is my first time raising chicks!

 

[QuirkySue]

They are supposed to be sweet natured, large beautiful feathered birds, and decent layers that like to go broody which is why I hatched some buff eggs! The one small hatchery bird I have is not very friendly and pecks me if I check beneath her for eggs but she was cage raised until I got her at about 4 months so I'm hoping eventually she comes around.

 

[alisonwaring]

I just got a buff and silver laced Wyandotte. We've started slowly introducing them to our flock of four. They're being picked on especially the SLW. I know they're just establishing the pecking order but I thought this was cute it looks like the SLW is being consoled by the buff. Such a sweet girl and so much softer than the others too.

 

[girlygears13]

Hi guys! I have a few questions about this breed, and I'm a noob so go easy lol. I'm not sure how they tolerate heat, I'm planning on buying property in northern Georgia within the next year and I was wondering how well they stand up to a hot/humid climate? Also, does their coloration make it harder to spot mite infestations? I know it's sort of an individual thing but how to do react around children? My boys are a bit rambunctious and I really don't want to stress them out too much! I understand they are a good dual purpose breed, and haven't been able to find much about average weights or egg production other than hatcheries catalogs. I feel that info might be just a bit biased! Thanks for any help or experiences!

 

[girlygears13]

Here are two of our Buff Orpingtons with Nicole and Jacob.

Wow. That is one huge bird!

 

[HallFamilyFarm]

Hi guys! I have a few questions about this breed, and I'm a noob so go easy lol. I'm not sure how they tolerate heat, I'm planning on buying property in northern Georgia within the next year and I was wondering how well they stand up to a hot/humid climate? Also, does their coloration make it harder to spot mite infestations? I know it's sort of an individual thing but how to do react around children? My boys are a bit rambunctious and I really don't want to stress them out too much! I understand they are a good dual purpose breed, and haven't been able to find much about average weights or egg production other than hatcheries catalogs. I feel that info might be just a bit biased! Thanks for any help or experiences!

Thedragonlady has hers in South Carolina and has no issues. Have heard of some in Georgia with success. We are in hot/humid southeast Arkansas and ours does great!

Quote:
We lost that big boy last fall. However, we have his grandson growing out. Junior, as the kids call him, will be bigger than Gent. Thanks for the compliment!

 

[ladyjey]

Thedragonlady has hers in South Carolina and has no issues. Have heard of some in Georgia with success. We are in hot/humid southeast Arkansas and ours does great!



We lost that big boy last fall. However, we have his grandson growing out. Junior, as the kids call him, will be bigger than Gent. Thanks for the compliment!

Hi Jim, you don't know me but a good friend of mine, knowing my love for the Buff Orpington, got me some hatching eggs from you last year as a birthday present. One of my BO hens hatched out 2; a hen and a roo, they are maybe your big boy's offspring? These pics do NOT do them justice (they felt strange standing on my kitchen table are holding their feathers tight, standing rather awkwardly and their feathers are mussed from me carrying them), they are HUGE and absolutely beautiful! I call the roo Gentleman Jim to honor the breeding that obviously went into him:




And even though I'm not usually one to name my chickens I call her Jane





I currently have a hen setting on 9 eggs sired by this guy, and I'm thinking 2 of them are out of Jane, due to hatch 3/31, can't wait to see the next generation. Hat's off to you Jim, you breed some extremely nice birds.

 

[thedragonlady]

Hi guys! I have a few questions about this breed, and I'm a noob so go easy lol. I'm not sure how they tolerate heat, I'm planning on buying property in northern Georgia within the next year and I was wondering how well they stand up to a hot/humid climate? Also, does their coloration make it harder to spot mite infestations? I know it's sort of an individual thing but how to do react around children? My boys are a bit rambunctious and I really don't want to stress them out too much! I understand they are a good dual purpose breed, and haven't been able to find much about average weights or egg production other than hatcheries catalogs. I feel that info might be just a bit biased! Thanks for any help or experiences!

North Georgia heat cannot compare to what we have here in mid S.C. in the sand. I know as I had a farm there for 21 years. My big buffs made it through last summer's awful heat here, just fine. They kept right on laying. They do need plenty of shade,cool water , and sometimes a fan though, when it gets to 100 degrees.

Hatchery Orps are a different breed of cat from SOP Orps. The hatchery birds do not have as nice a temperament as the SOP birds, particularly the Roos.SOP birds are MUCH larger, and quieter, and mine have kept laying since early last summer, through the heat, and the cold this winter. I just weighed my flock, so these weights are not a guess. My hens weighed between 8 3/4 - 10 lbs at a year. My cock bird weighs 15 1/2 lbs at just about a year, and he is a bit thin from being in the breeding pen all winter. The hatchery hens I've seen weigh about 5-6 lbs, and theRoos about 8. This is why I stress temperament so much. A 15 lb. Roo could hurt you if he were nasty.

No problem in spotting mites on Orps. They have white skin. No excuse for mites anyway, if you dust a few times a year, and keep a clean coop.

 

[justinelee]

Here are some new photos of the chicks I cant get over how fast they are growing! I am still guessing as to how many ladies and how many gents I have ;-)