*Buff Orpington Thread!*

[Chaneys Ranch]

Hello All,


I am fairly new to raising chickens. Here is one my rooster "Big Bird" . He is a pure BO. I have had him since November 21st. The guy that I got him from said that he is pretty big. There were four of them total all brothers and he said he is by far the biggest of them all. I would like some of you all's input. He is around 7 or 8 months old. Here are a few pictures. I would really appreciate any input.

Lovely! I am no expert, he has good build.

 

[3goodeggs]

He is a nice looking roo. How is how is his personality?
I am hatching out some eggs now and hopefully there will be at least one roo out of the 21 eggs.
,,,,I know that's funny, isn't it? But my luck goes that way.

 

[choptank330]

He is a nice looking roo. How is how is his personality?
I am hatching out some eggs now and hopefully there will be at least one roo out of the 21 eggs.
,,,,I know that's funny, isn't it? But my luck goes that way.

Thank You!! He is very nice and friendly. But does sometimes get easily spooked

 

[OleMissChic]

I was wondering if anyone can tell if my new rescued BO is laying age or if she is old? I've never had a BO before and the other one I have is in the brooder now so I can't compare.
The skin on her legs is pretty smooth but she's missing a toenail. Any thoughts?



Here she is next to my little Marans

 

[3goodeggs]

The comb gets much bigger and redder as they age. from what I can see she is still young. A closer picture could help.

 

[galanie]

She looks to be of laying age to me but if the legs are pretty smooth and evenly colored, probably she is pretty young.

 

[OleMissChic]

I tried to get better pictures just now. It's so overcast out and she moves away from me but here is what I was able to get:
Young? Laying age?

 

[OleMissChic]

Not sure if this helps or not but her comb and wattle seemed more pink a week ago when I picked her up and now seems more red. I don't know if they pale some when they are unhappy and cramped or if having good quality feed and a little time has helped? All 5 birds rescued seem to be fairly healthy, I just can't tell the age on this one. Thank you for your input!

 

[3goodeggs]

Have you wormed her? She could have been anemic.
Thinking back, I did have one mature hen that had small pale comb and wattles. She was always small compared to the rest her age.
Mine started laying after their combs were much larger and bright red, but it could be a nutritional stunting on your hen. Her feathers seem healthy and full, Mine are still recovering from their molt, but our daylight hours may be different than yours. Ours molted their second year. I do not know if that helps you any. They are either clues or red herrings! Good luck figuring it all out!

 

[Arielle]

Many hens have recently taken a break to molt. We are still decreasing daylight in December so perhaps your girl just needs more light to kick her laying hormones into gear. Do you use lights to stimulate your hens to lay during the winter?

You will know when she is laying by looking at her butt, it will be moist and wet looking and wide. Look now so you can compare in 7 days, and another 7 days. I found this easier than looking at the comb when I first had hens. I didn't understand Pink v. red !