thepick4uchicks
Songster
What gorgeous ladies! I have Black:Lavender Orpingtons-3 of them 14 weeks old. They are beauts! They have a purple green sheen to their feathers which is simply awesome if I do say so for them! They are tanks in the making for sure. They are also the watch dogs in my party of nine with no rooster among them. I already know that my roost board which hubby built about 40” off the coop floor is just right and doesn’t need to go any higher for them to be able to make it up on as adult hens. I will have to make sure I put an additional way up for them so that they don’t sprain an ankle or thigh muscle on their flight up at night. They are always the last ones to perch at night and the first ones down to get to the door for breakfast in the mornings for sure. My Swedish Flower Hens are the three Queen Bees and my Creme Legbars are the nice calm mediocre non trouble makers in the bunch. The Orpingtons keep it all protected and interesting. They are the bug catchers, puppy pokers- we have two small dogs which they grew up in the house with that know there is big trouble if you harass the babies- the Orpingtons poke their noses quite promptly with no prompting if the dogs even sniff in the direction of their run when they are outside doing their potty business and they are usually just being sure that the babies are okay in reality. They run other wildlife off from the yard and run to protect their babies also. Especially my little Schnauzer who is 11 years old. She knows who the lead hen is too by name. Amazing how intelligent they all are. Chickens are not dumb people. I will be getting a real Buff Orpington next time to see if their temperament is more easy going like the Golden Retrievers is to a dogs like I have read. That is because I believe the Black and Lavender Orpingtons have more personality and are less docile for sure. I have attached a picture of my flock. All nine of my girls are dark colored birds except for one or two depending on how you look at them. My SFH are lighter and mixed feathering but two are very dark black also. The very black are the Orps. I love all your beautiful pictures of your beautiful birds. I wish you all the best with your chicks and your family!
