Buff Orpingtons

[Patch&Phoebe]

Could someone please post some "standards" for Buff Orpingtons, I'm desparately trying to figure out if we have males or females. For example, do females in this breed have spurs? Thanks!

 

[speckledhen]

Spurs? Not usually. How old are they? If one has spurs, actual spurs, not just bumps on the legs, the bird should be of an age that if you have a rooster, it would be pretty obvious. If you can post pics, we can tell you if they're hens or roosters.

 

[Patch&Phoebe]

They are posted under What Breed / Gender is this & the title is can a teenage hen crow, or something similar. Right at the top. Thanks for your help!

& no - not true spurs yet on any of them - not even my little crower...

 

[Buff Hooligans]

I have Buff Orpingtons. I ordered only pullets, but one was slower than the others to grow wing feathers and tail feathers. He still doesn't have as much of a tail as the pullets (at 7 weeks).

Also, at three weeks, his wattles (jowls) started to turn pink, then a week later, his comb started to turn pink. The pullets' wattles and combs are still yellow.

I didn't notice any behavioral difference between him and the girls, though.

 

[speckledhen]

Went back and looked at your picture-you have a sweet baby roo. My Buff Orps didn't get pink combs for months.

 

[Patch&Phoebe]

So all 3 are roo's then... it's really disappointing, we can't keep roo's (by ordinance) where we live. My son's already sad about having to give up just the one that's crowing. I think we need to get some lovely ladies who are a bit more mature, I can't keep taking chances like this. Thanks for your help.

 

[Whirlwind]

I don't think you have 3 roo's at all. I think just the one. The other 2 look like pullets to me. Only one is crowing? I would not get rid of the other 2 yet for sure. If you only want pullets and can't have a roo and want babies I would recomend Sex-links. Black or Red you can tell at hatch what sex they are by the color so there are not 2 many mistakes. I love the red sex-links I have 2 and they are great egg layers and super friendly.

 

[Patch&Phoebe]

Thanks, it's encouraging, and confusing! I will look into the sex links. We got these b/c we were told they were very sweet and gentle around kids and did not mind being handled often, which ours definitely are. They jump in our hands and on our arms and are very sweet.