*Buff Orpington Thread!*

[Matt M]

I live in PA and are looking for BO hens.

 

[jboisvert]

I have a question...

Who here has kept both Buff Orpingtons & Americaunas?

How does the temperament of each of these breeds compare to each other?

I have both. In my experience, the temperment is actually quite similar. BOs tend to go broody more often...that's about it in my experiences with the two.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

I had two Buffs in my small flock that would go broody, ALL THE TIME!!

 

[WyandotteLove1]

None of mine crow and none seem to have any trace of spur, either.

So then how do you know it's a cock?

 

[Mosey2003]

So then how do you know it's a cock?

Bigger redder comb and wattles faster. Saddle feathers. Curled over tail tip. Thick legs. Unless it's a VERY manly pullet, I'm pretty sure it's just a slow-maturing cockerel. It has become more apparent over the last couple weeks that these two are NOT like the rest.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

The Development of a Buff Orpington Cockerel

The upper image is the cockerel, the lower image is the pullet. The cockerel's comb is ever so slightly more developed than the pullet, you almost need to be holding one in each hand to tell. Once you develop an eye for it, the difference becomes readily apparent. There is just a hint of redness beginning to appear in the cockerel's comb.

Mostly, you will notice a fearlessness in the behavior of the cockerel. He will be the first to great you. He'll run right up to you, putting himself between you and the rest of the flock, he did when the upper image was taken...then sorta give you a, "Why did I just do that?" kind of look. In the above images, they are at what I call the Raggamuffin Stage, about 4 to 5 weeks of age.

The lead bird in this image is the cockerel. His comb is redder and more developed than the pullets. 7 to 8 weeks in age.

In this image the cockerel again has the redder more developed comb at 8 to 9 weeks of age.

Once his hackles started coming in, it was pretty easy to tell which was the Cockerel. Also look at his tail feathers as compared to the pullets in this photo. They are right around 12 to 13 weeks in this image.

And the dead give away is when the Cockerel starts making weird raspy chortling noises as he is learning how to Crow. He is right around 13 to 14 weeks in this image.


...his name was Pecker, by the way.

 

[Kaylin]

The lead bird in this image is the cockerel. His comb is redder and more developed than the pullets.

In this image the cockerel again has the redder more developed comb

Once his hackles started coming in, it was pretty easy to tell which was the rooster. Also look at his tail feathers as compared to the pullets in this photo

And the dead give away is when he starts making weird raspy chortling noises as he is learning how to Crow.


...his name was Pecker, by the way.

Sorry if i missed it earlier somewhere but how old are they in these photos? When did you see hackles coming in?

 

[Rock Home Isle]

Sorry for the oversite, I went back to the original post, updated a few images and added the approximate ages to each image. Estimating age by when they were posted in my Coop Project, I should be within a week or so.

These were taken in the spring of 2012-ish.

 

[Kaylin]

Sorry for the oversite, I went back to the original post, updated a few images and added the approximate ages to each image. Estimating age by when they were posted in my Coop Project, I should be within a week or so.

These were taken in the spring of 2012-ish.

Thanks! Very helpful.

 

[WyandotteLove1]

Bigger redder comb and wattles faster. Saddle feathers. Curled over tail tip. Thick legs. Unless it's a VERY manly pullet, I'm pretty sure it's just a slow-maturing cockerel. It has become more apparent over the last couple weeks that these two are NOT like the rest.

Okay, thanks for the info. I think that my buff is a pullet then, because she doesn't have a ton of those traits. I think It's just a VERY manly pullet.