I bought 9 Orpington chicks from TSC. . .hopefully? Please confirm. . .

[OfficialChickButtWiper]

My husband and I bought nine baby chicks from a local Tractor Supply Co. While we know nothing about chickens, we were advised that Buff Orpingtons are great, calm, good for meat and for eggs. So while I had no real good planning, I did know what kind I wanted. They were only labeled Orpington in the store but they were in a big cage where only employees can enter. Each type was in a big bin so they can't be wrong. I must just have White Orpingtons; which is fine.

So my question is, for people who know, please tell me I have white orpingtons and that they will lay a bunch of eggs, please! Okay, that didn't come out like a question. Are these orpingtons?

Details:

• I bought them on May 13, 2020. I was told they were about a week old when they arrived at the store and I bought them the day they arrived.
• The cardboard box is from when they were in the house about 3 nights till my husband built a wood brooder in the garage.
• Butt wipe is the chick on the towel. He had a dirty butt problem and I had to wash him 4 times untill I read about the Vaseline trick. (Hence my username )
• Date of pic with 4 chicks by the water is May 29th so they are ~3 and half weeks old.
• Date of pic with 1 chick in new coop with water is June 12th so ~1 month and a week old.
• We stopped feeding them so much. We would just keep refilling their feeders like the bag says. Now we feed them in the morning and a little more late afternoon. Their crops are huge.

We think we have four roosters out of the 9. We will eat two of them and keep the other two. My main worry is that I bought a type of chicken that doesn't last long - life span wise. I'm hoping I'm worrying for no reason.

I appreciate any help and advice you can give. Thank you.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Those are Cornish X.
Meat birds.
These are Buff Orpingtons.

 

[Crestcrazy2]

Yeah those are Cornish x , sorry .

 

[NxthiTsab]

By the pictures they look like a Cornish cross. They grow quickly and eat all day. Ready to butcher in like 6-8 weeks? Not Orpingtons.

 

[OfficialChickButtWiper]

I quickly googled the cornish cross. Doesn't seem like good egg layers or that they live long without health problems.

I will call TSC tomorrow and see what they say. Its a little sad to start over but we are better prepared now.

Thank you for your answers even though its not what I was hoping for.

Side question:

They also don’t like to roost. Seem to prefer the ground. They move a little better since we put them on a diet. But is that just the way they are bred to not move much?

 

[Rose Quartz]

yes. Cornish cross are bred to eat eat eat, and barely move. Their weight keeps them pretty much earth bound. It would hurt I imagine to be hopping around with all that weight.

 

[Eggscaping]

What a sh*tty thing to have happen to you! Yes, they are little, doomed butterballs, bred only to eat, gain weight, and die. I would give whichever employee did that to you a piece of my mind. We have a BO, Amelia, and she's a lovely hen. Sure doesn't look like your Frankenchickens, though. So sorry that happened to you! And they are bred to die before they get to egg-laying age, so no...no eggs.

 

[keesmom]

TIme to get yourself a freezer if you don't have one yet. They're ready for processing any time now.

 

[OfficialChickButtWiper]

Thank everyone for your replies.

Update:
I called TSC this morning. They only have 3 breeds left and one of them are Cornish Rocks. None of them are Orpingtons.

She asked what I would like; I said I would like 9 orpingtons and a big bag of chick feed to make up for our loss of time.

I have to call back on Monday to talk to a manager (she said this nicely).

Problem is this: it seems to order online chicks, it needs to be done months in advance. That’s one of the reasons I bought them at TSC is b/c online showed months wait and the store had them right away in stock.

So now if I order them, I won’t have them until September and then we will still have to wait for them to grow up.

 

[Folly's place]

Welcome!
I'm sorry for your disappointment, and it's sadly not rare for the folks at the feed stores (any of them!) to really have no idea about poultry. At least you have lots of nice dinners in your future! Locate a small poultry processor nearby NOW, before these birds start failing. It certainly can be done at home, but it's messy, and if you do, watch those videos and get advice first!
Shopping for chicks at feed stores takes some advanced planning and ;homework', so you have an idea about how different breed chicks look. Buff Orphington chicks are not the same color as those white birds, from day one!
If there's a hatchery within driving distance, call and see if you can order and pick up new chicks soon instead. I order chicks and have them shipped, and it USUALLY works out fine, but not always. In extremely cold or hot weather, especially, delayed deliveries can mean dead chicks. The hatchery will make good on this, but that doesn't save those babies.
Your meat birds have had a very good, life, and appreciate them for who they are.
Mary