Orpingtons-- Buffs vs Other Colors?

[Iceblink]

I love all the pictures of your blue, black and splash Orpingtons! So beautiful.

Maybe someday, when I can have more I will get some.

But in the meantime, I have some questions;

Are the other colors as sweet and friendly as the Buffs?

Do they lay through the winter as well?

Are there any other differences besides the coloring?

I've heard that Aracaunas have a low hatching rate, do any other breeds have something like that? Are Orpingtons a good type of egg for a first time hatcher?

 

[EweSheep]

Yes all my Orps are sweet and docile. Sometimes they can be real PIGS when its chow time or they will snatch the bread or treats off your hands before you can blink twice.

They are good layers as well. BIG eggs too!

Excellent choice for first time hatcher but shipping eggs give you alot of variables in success in hatching.

Enjoy them!

 

[speckledhen]

Mine are very sweet, but they took a bit more handling at the beginning than my Buffs did. Still, my big Suede is a sweetie. I don't find that they eat anymore than my other birds; in fact, my Speckled Sussex girl chows down enough to put the Blue Orps to shame, LOL! They are good layers, but mine are young still, so their eggs are still in the medium to barely large stages.
The ones I've hatched here from my own girls have been good, hatched well; one shipped bunch did well, while a second set didn't do so well, but shipping means all bets are off anyway. This is my first winter with my Blue Orps, so I can't say about the laying through cold weather. So far, they're doing very well.

 

[kstaven]

Realistically color should make no difference. It is the breeding, handling and family lines that make the difference.

Araucanas are not high production layers by any means. They also lay a smaller egg. having said that and the weird year we are having egg wise, the Araucana here are laying up a storm and the Orpingtons are off there normal winter levels.

 

[speckledhen]

You would think the Blues are not different than the Buffs, just different colors, but I have found consistently that they act differently as chicks from the start. I have no idea why that is, but the Buffs are like puppies and the Blues, even from different sources, have been much more skittish as babies. Later, they get better, but it's always been that way here.
My Ameraucanas are laying like gangbusters, too, while my Buff Orps have slowed down. However, they are older than the Ameraucanas, to be fair. If I was going on my Ameraucanas' laying prowess as a guage for all Ameraucanas, I'd be calling them better than RIRs! They've been excellent layers since they started.

 

[kstaven]

A few years ago I got some new ameraucana bloodlines to supplement mine. Since that point all the new chicks have been very poor layers. They are well on the standard for structure, but I am annoyed that I lost the laying abilities in the mix. So back to the drawing boards to bring that back into the line.

With the Orpingtons I have had the best of both worlds. They have the structure and the laying abilities. At least until this season.

Even my sexlinks are way off the mark and laying poorly right now.

My blue Orpingtons that where stolen where just as friendly as the buffs. Maybe I was just lucky?

 

[IHeartChickens]

Quote:
Someone stole your chickens? That is just awful. Did they take them from your property or from a show? I'm sorry that happened.

 

[kstaven]

Yup ... it happened early this year. Only the Blue Orpingtons where stolen. I have many other breeds here that have a lot more monetary value, yet they where not touched.

 

[speckledhen]

Maybe I better put a lock on the Suede-inator's coop! Sorry about your stolen Orps; I remember you telling us that awhile back. You do tend to lose laying ability sometimes when you breed for conformation. My Ameraucanas have some really good blood on one side of the family, but their mother was not so royal and she's a great layer. Maybe they got it from her.

 

[hoosierhen]

I really love Buff Orpingtons, but didn't get any from Meyer hatchery when I ordered because they weren't available at the time. If I get some chicks in the spring, and raise them in a separate coop until they gain some size, do you think I would be able to integrate them into the rest of my flock?