*Buff Orpington Thread!*

[Wyorp Rock]

I am these are the breeds: 2 silkies, 2 mille fleurs, 1 australorp, and 2 cuckoo marans.
I'm still trying to figure out how much of each breed to get, because I don't have that much more space in my coop
How much coop and run space do you have (sq.ft. of each)?
How many chickens do you already have - what breed?

The Australorp and Cuckoo Marans will be a fair size. So general rule of thumb is 4 sq.ft. of coop space for each bird and 10 sq.ft. of run space for each bird. More is better

To be honest, some people do keep a mix of bantam and large fowl together (girls), but I'm not sure if that would be a good idea if you have a large fowl rooster. A bantam size rooster would probably be fine. If you free range and have lots of space, then have a LF rooster might be o.k. if there's places for the bantam girls to get under/away.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I keep my bantam separate from the large fowl as they can be bullied by the bigger breeds. I do keep bantam rooster with my large breeds, but the hens can be very submissive. Silkies are a really bad choice to mix with large breeds due to their crests, and that they sometimes act odd. I always recommend to pick big or small, or keep two separate flocks.

 

[henmania]

Yes, she walks around making the mama hen chuck, chuck, chuck sound. 

Just an update:

Today after clucking very loudly for a few days I thought it might be because she was cold so bought her in the house, filled a small tub with warm water and put her in there and massaged her. (Around 11am). I came home now (8pm) and found this outside on the grass in the middle of the garden

Poor girl

Are first eggs always this soft?

 

[Mak24456]

Just an update:

Today after clucking very loudly for a few days I thought it might be because she was cold so bought her in the house, filled a small tub with warm water and put her in there and massaged her. (Around 11am). I came home now (8pm) and found this outside on the grass in the middle of the garden



Poor girl

Are first eggs always this soft?

Poor thing! Was she eggbound? The first eggs from all 3 of mine were completely normal, though a bit on the smaller size.

 

[henmania]

Poor thing! Was she eggbound? The first eggs from all 3 of mine were completely normal, though a bit on the smaller size. 

Seems like it . It was her first egg too and she's way over 6 months. Some have said she needs more calcium in her diet even though she's on layer pellets.

Hopefully she feels better in the morning now that it's out.

 

[TheSpiceGirls]

Just an update:

Today after clucking very loudly for a few days I thought it might be because she was cold so bought her in the house, filled a small tub with warm water and put her in there and massaged her. (Around 11am). I came home now (8pm) and found this outside on the grass in the middle of the garden



Poor girl

Are first eggs always this soft?

Poor thing. Is she on a Layer Ration w/ calcium?

 

[henmania]

Poor thing.  Is she on a Layer Ration w/ calcium?

Yep. I try mix up her diet. So one day organic layer pellets, another wheat and layer pellets, rice and pellets or sunflower seeds. She gets kitchen scraps too mostly salads, rice and bread. Got a tip to mix her layer pellets with milk so they seemed to eat that up today.

Here she was today after her bath and blowdry treatment.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Your hen isn't getting a balanced diet with all that extra stuff. It's recommended to feed layer ration as the only feed or else you will dilute down the protein too much. If you want to add extras you need to feed a higher protein ration.

Many hens lay soft shelled eggs when beginning. It's usually from a glitch or from stress from the whole experience. Calcium deficiency is usually seen as brittle shells, or egg eating.

Most buff Orpingtons begin to lay between 5-7 months of age.

 

[TheSpiceGirls]

Yep. I try mix up her diet. So one day organic layer pellets, another wheat and layer pellets, rice and pellets or sunflower seeds. She gets kitchen scraps too mostly salads, rice and bread. Got a tip to mix her layer pellets with milk so they seemed to eat that up today.

Here she was today after her bath and blowdry treatment.

I'd recommend that 95% of her diet be her layer pellets/crumbles. Keep treats to a minimum. A very light minimum. Treats don't typically contain the necessary protein, calcium, vitamins and minerals a hen needs to make an egg. Even healthy treats need to be doled out sparingly. Or you upset their sensitive digestive system and she may not make nice eggs w/ hard shells.

 

[henmania]

Your hen isn't getting a balanced diet with all that extra stuff. It's recommended to feed layer ration as the only feed or else you will dilute down the protein too much. If you want to add extras you need to feed a higher protein ration.

Many hens lay soft shelled eggs when beginning. It's usually from a glitch or from stress from the whole experience. Calcium deficiency is usually seen as brittle shells, or egg eating.

Most buff Orpingtons begin to lay between 5-7 months of age.

I'd recommend that 95% of her diet be her layer pellets/crumbles.  Keep treats to a minimum.  A very light minimum.  Treats don't typically contain the necessary protein, calcium, vitamins and minerals a hen needs to make an egg.  Even healthy treats need to be doled out sparingly.  Or you upset their sensitive digestive system and she may not make nice eggs w/ hard shells.

Oh ok. I started doing that because they never went to their pellets that much but from now I'll cut it down to mostly layer pellets. Thanks for help

Today she feels a lot better too. Running around again