Our First Flock - Five Buff Orpingtons

[lindseythefork]

Your chicks are probably about the same age as mine (we have three buff orps). We get to start making the coop next week. Good luck with yours!

 

[New adventure]

I'm so glad to see your pics. My chickies are 10 days old and I was wondering about the lightly barred wing feathers on some. Does anyone kow if these are the roos or just a darker variation?

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

The pictures are small, but I think they are Golden Sexlinks, or something similar. Buff Orpingtons are solid yellow as chicks and have solid buff feathers. In your picture I noticed on that has some brown in its wings.

 

[raroo]

Congratulations they are sooo cute. I plan on having buff orps as my first real flock, too.

Sigh, hopefully one day soon, I can't WAIT!

 

[South Hill Chickens]

Quote:
To be perfectly honest, I wouldn't be surprised if we have a little "surprise" in there. One has some brown barring on the wings and two had brilliant white wings - though they've both since grown brown feathers. BO's GS's or mutts, we still love 'em.

 

[Chickywicks]

Good pick! Buff orps are my favorite!
I only have 1 in my flock so far but she is the sweetest chicken i have ever seen!

nice pics!

 

[Rainie]

Your chickens are lovely! I've heard great things about Buff Orpingtons, I plan to get at least one in my backyard flock. Problem is I keep wanting all of these different breeds and there are only so many chickens I can have.

If you don't mind my asking, how did you manage to keep 5 in Spokane? How much of a pain was it to talk to city officials? I know in Spokane you're allowed to have 3 hens. I'm wondering this because I'm getting chickens soon, but they will be kept at my mother's house in Spokane Valley.

According to this article, people in Spokane Valley aren't allowed to raise/keep animals within the city limits, unless the animals existed on the property at the time of the city's incorporation. This sounds very questionable to me, as Spokane Valley has always had a more rural/agricultural bent than Spokane, which is one of the reasons we became our own city. My guess (more like my hope) is that "city limits" do not include the area where my mother lives. I will be calling around later today to find out more.

Do you have any tips on contacting the relevant officials? Anytime I've had to deal with government workers in the past they've had a reticent air of superiority and a woeful lack of knowledge.

I have a feeling I'm going to be bounced around a lot in order to get someone who honestly knows what they're talking about. I'm not looking forward to it.

ETA (edited to add): I have always been polite when dealing with government workers, which is one of the reasons I feel so miffed about how rude they've been. It's so irritating to have to jump through all of the hoops to make sure you're complying with city ordinances, only to have city officials give snide answers in response.

 

[Mandalina]

soooooooo purdy!

 

[South Hill Chickens]

Quote:
We have five now, but won't for long. The five are more for roo insurance. We'll either relocate or eat two of them eventually. The number of animals you're allowed to have is based on your lot size (I think it's one per 2,000 sq. ft.) with no more than three total.

Quote:
Unfortunately, Rainie, the best advice I can give is what you already know - be polite and considerate. The City staff in Spokane were generally very nice and even contactacted other departments to be sure they were giving us the right answer. Sadly, that's not always the case. Most city staff see answering questions from the public as an additional responsibility on top of their "real jobs". This often leads to a snide attitude. Also, while you're asking them for the first time, they may often have answered the same question ten times, falsely leading them to believe that you should know the answer already and resulting in more feelings that you're wasting their time.

Be prepared to be bounced around. Very VERY rarely does the counter person know everything that every department would care about. Just be nice and be patient. If you get someone that is truly rude (and I mean rude personally, not just someone that gives an answer you don't like) don't be shy about going to the next level up. Most director-level staff like to know when their staff aren't being considerate . . . . most.

P.S. I'm speaking of City staff in general (I have experience dealing with many in several cities). Like I said, the Spokane staff were wonderful.