*Buff Orpington Thread!*

[speckledhen]

Temperament is so important in breeding Buff Orps. Hatcheries do not breed for temperament, and most hatchery Buffs have Leghorn crossed in. Breeders of really good, large Buffs know how important temperament is , and won't tolerate aggressive cock birds. This guy weighs 15-16
lbs. Monty is as gentle as a kitten.


.

Nice male there. I have not owned a Buff male but my Blue Orpington was sweet as pie. I miss Suede so darn much. He died in Sept 2012 at almost 6 years of age, just passed on of old age, not ill. He died in my arms, my best buddy to the end, not a human aggressive bone in his body. That is the temperament you want in any super large rooster. Suede was 14 lb in his prime. You certainly don't want one of those hitting the back of your legs with that much force behind him!

 

[HWittridge]

Oh Wow Buff thread! My first chicks I am raising by hand are Buffs. I got them when they were 3 days old, they are about 8 weeks now. Thanks for the tip on the colour of combs helping with sex determination, going to go have a look right now...

 

[PineSummit]

A nice flock. What line are they from ?

Thank you!

I know that the English half is from Greenfire Farms, but I never asked the breeder about the American half.

 

[hildar]

Temperament is so important in breeding Buff Orps. Hatcheries do not breed for temperament, and most hatchery Buffs have Leghorn crossed in. Breeders of really good, large Buffs know how important temperament is , and won't tolerate aggressive cock birds. This guy weighs 15-16
lbs. Monty is as gentle as a kitten.


.

We breed all of ours for temperament as well as looks. I look for show qualities in all of my birds, but if they are in the slightest aggressive they get culled. I can't have any aggressive behavior at all. The rooster that we had I don't believe was a 100% pure bred, he never got to be that heavy and any breeders that I talk to tell me they should be that heavy. Ours weighed in at about 6 pounds at 9 months of age. this is why I now only buy from good breeders, and no longer get eggs from many hatcheries, because they don't have the quality I am looking for. Now I go and check every single hen and rooster, and get eggs only from the best breeders that I can find. I figure that if you are planning on showing a rooster they need to be held, if they are aggressive then they are not show able.

 

[OwlandBear]

Goodness! That's a huge bird! What a stunning rooster.

 

[thedragonlady]

Goodness! That's a huge bird! What a stunning rooster.

Thank you. My girls run 10-11 lbs as hens too.

 

[speckledhen]

Interestingly enough, the Standard of Perfection says they should not be that heavy. I know Suede was 13-14 lb until the last six months of his life, but when you go to that size, you are really over standard, though they do look impressive. The standard is 10 lbs for cock birds in this breed. I think the blues in the British standard are slightly heavier, I recall reading years ago, maybe it was 10-12 lbs? I may be misremembering something here, but I know neither standard allows for 15 lb roosters, gorgeous though they may be roaming our backyards. Of course, Orpingtons are always an English-originated breed, no mater which standard you are using.

The male pictured is that "just right" shade of gold, IMO. Love that pocket watch gold color.

 

[thedragonlady]

Interestingly enough, the Standard of Perfection says they should not be that heavy. I know Suede was 13-14 lb until the last six months of his life, but when you go to that size, you are really over standard, though they do look impressive. The standard is 10 lbs for cock birds in this breed. I think the blues in the British standard are slightly heavier, I recall reading years ago, maybe it was 10-12 lbs? I may be misremembering something here, but I know neither standard allows for 15 lb roosters, gorgeous though they may be roaming our backyards. Of course, Orpingtons are always an English-originated breed, no mater which standard you are using.

The male pictured is that "just right" shade of gold, IMO. Love that pocket watch gold color.

It is a huge controversy that most winning Cochins, Rocks, and Orpingtons are way over standard weight. An 11 lb cock bird will rarely make it to Champions' Row. Until the weights are enforced by the judges, and stop putting up oversize birds, this will not change.

 

[speckledhen]

It is a huge controversy that most winning Cochins, Rocks, and Orpingtons are way over standard weight. An 11 lb cock bird will rarely make it to Champions' Row. Until the weights are enforced by the judges, and stop putting up oversize birds, this will not change.

I agree with you completely. Oversize is just as much out of standard as undersize. Yes, they are handsome and statuesque and I do love the big guys, but if I was showing, I would have to cut down the size to fit the rules of the breed. They either need to quit allowing the oversized, not to standard birds to win these shows or they need to change the standard. It's really not fair to keep allowing it, but the big ones sure can dazzle, I guess.

 

[hildar]

I agree with you completely. Oversize is just as much out of standard as undersize. Yes, they are handsome and statuesque and I do love the big guys, but if I was showing, I would have to cut down the size to fit the rules of the breed. They either need to quit allowing the oversized, not to standard birds to win these shows or they need to change the standard. It's really not fair to keep allowing it, but the big ones sure can dazzle, I guess.

I fully agree with that. They need to stick with the standards. I noticed last year that they had a Rhode Island red that was 5 pounds of the standard weight win at the fair, to me that was just so wrong. I guess the bigger they are the more the judges like them. I can see the overweight birds being in a category by themselves. However if someone wants a huge meat bird the bigger the better I guess. However when it comes down to the real standards they need to stick to the rules. Many of us are trying to stick with standards just so we can breed true, and then they break the rules.