Post Pics Of Orps/ Orpingtons HERE

[fowlman01]

Laying on a SQ buff will take time. They have to mature, no lights or high protein feed will make much difference. Or anyway on my guys it never has. Hatchery type orps will lay alot earlier, that is what they are bred to do. Once they start to lay my problem is getting the girls to fat. If I self feed my breeding pens the egg production goes down. I hand feed all my breeding pens and get along alot better. My guys get one cup of feed a day and lay pretty good. SQ orps will never lay like a hatchery bird. I always try and cull my hens if possible. Pullets just lay alot better. If you had a goal to raise better ones and was lucky you will have nice pullets. It will not always work, sometimes I will have a wreck. Breeders that tells you they always raise good ones might not be telling the truth.

.........anyone who says that is probably not a real breeder.

Walt

 

[thedragonlady]

Are the eggs from Mrs Pumphry? Some breeders do not like to hatch out young pullet eggs. To me, I do. I hate to loose a good bird before I get anything from them. That happened last fall. I had a nicer Black pullet pass on for no apparent reason. Could have been the male who I shown brought back something from a show I attended. This year I will be very careful. And bathe the birds after the show as well as before. I will not give the bird in a show any water unless I am infront of the bird while it drinks. Leaving nothing to chance.

These 9 eggs are not from Mrs. P. as her first 3 were not fertile. I have since done a bit of plucking. Hopefully the 4 I put in Wed. will be now. These are from my older pullets who are mostly Clevenger.

 

[zooweemama]

Laying on a SQ buff will take time. They have to mature, no lights or high protein feed will make much difference. Or anyway on my guys it never has. Hatchery type orps will lay alot earlier, that is what they are bred to do. Once they start to lay my problem is getting the girls to fat. If I self feed my breeding pens the egg production goes down. I hand feed all my breeding pens and get along alot better. My guys get one cup of feed a day and lay pretty good. SQ orps will never lay like a hatchery bird. I always try and cull my hens if possible. Pullets just lay alot better. If you had a goal to raise better ones and was lucky you will have nice pullets. It will not always work, sometimes I will have a wreck. Breeders that tells you they always raise good ones might not be telling the truth.

Woohoo! Hi Don!

I have just started letting them free range so I am getting them on a feeding schedule- at night I will be feeding them and they will run out at some point during the day and then they will have to wait for supper. I hope this encourages them to eat bugs, slugs and whatever yummy bits they like. I won't be using lights. I am not personally not comfortable tricking an animal into laying more for me like that (I don't judge those who do though). I know society generally wants more sooner, faster and heavier- but my reasons for getting a heritage breed like these gorgeous Buff Orps was to have a high quality yet sustainable backyard farm chicken (not needing to be dependent on incubators for hatching, electricity for forced laying- let's call it emergency preparedness lol). Some eggs, some meat in good time...as I need them.

I will be adding some Leghorns and Easter Eggers to help with getting us enough eggs for our table. (next Spring)
PLUS we also have ducks for eggs. So I don't need my Orpingtons to lay faster or heavier. The more I read- the more I think it might be fun to enter a show now and then too.

 

[Don Chandler]

Woohoo! Hi Don!

I have just started letting them free range so I am getting them on a feeding schedule- at night I will be feeding them and they will run out at some point during the day and then they will have to wait for supper. I hope this encourages them to eat bugs, slugs and whatever yummy bits they like. I won't be using lights. I am not personally not comfortable tricking an animal into laying more for me like that (I don't judge those who do though). I know society generally wants more sooner, faster and heavier- but my reasons for getting a heritage breed like these gorgeous Buff Orps was to have a high quality yet sustainable backyard farm chicken (not needing to be dependent on incubators for hatching, electricity for forced laying- let's call it emergency preparedness lol). Some eggs, some meat in good time...as I need them.

I will be adding some Leghorns and Easter Eggers to help with getting us enough eggs for our table. (next Spring)
PLUS we also have ducks for eggs. So I don't need my Orpingtons to lay faster or heavier. The more I read- the more I think it might be fun to enter a show now and then too.

Showing is fun, you meet alot of very nice people, and like everything else there is a few that are not. Most chicken folks will help you. Look at who is winning, and set your goal's in that directions. I'm sure Mr. Walt can tell you about the CA shows, I know we had a Orpington National out there 2 years ago I think.

 

[lildinkem]

Nice to hear that you are using your best to make some knock outs Dragon. I am sure you know that many UK Buff enthusiasts are now counting on you to make some more. Sorry to hear about Marc's losses with his Buff flock due to the heat. I am sure he will reload and be back. So protect your Mrs P from anything like predators and especially that heat till you get Monty going strong.
In the past I had 2 Deorr Buff Cochins. The first 20 or so eggs were all infertile. I never plucked or trimmed my hen's butt. And then my Buff Cochin male figured it out. After that he was a producing machine. Be patient and I am sure Monty will also figure it out. One thing I like to do is raise small numbers of my juvies with breeding pairs of adults. Sorta on the job training on how to be a producing chicken. And that has I believe helped my younger males get up to speed quickly. But this summer has knocked the egg production down alot with my Buffs and my, new to me, White trio.
I guess I am doing it all wrong guys. I keep the water buckets full with once a day fresh water. And the feeders full with layers blend feed. My oldest Black pen which came from the very same lady you mentioned Aveca that you talked with is where I got my best Blacks. And their all over 4 years old and I am still getting eggs from that pen. Outta 5 hens I collected 3 eggs yesterday and 5 the day before. Needless to say I am over flowing with Blacks. And still incubating. I am hoping for just one good Black male to be as a back up for my 2 Blacks cocks. Right now my #3 Black male is not really a Black. He is Harold the Brown Red. I have him in with 7 nice young pullets and one beefy Bamma Blue hen which did not come from UK lines. Or at least is mostly APA lines.
Hope everyone enjoys their babies.
ZOOWEEMAMA sounds like you did your home work and should be making great Buffs. And do what Don says and have fun.

 

[thedragonlady]

Nice to hear that you are using your best to make some knock outs Dragon. I am sure you know that many UK Buff enthusiasts are now counting on you to make some more. Sorry to hear about Marc's losses with his Buff flock due to the heat. I am sure he will reload and be back. So protect your Mrs P from anything like predators and especially that heat till you get Monty going strong.
In the past I had 2 Deorr Buff Cochins. The first 20 or so eggs were all infertile. I never plucked or trimmed my hen's butt. And then my Buff Cochin male figured it out. After that he was a producing machine. Be patient and I am sure Monty will also figure it out. One thing I like to do is raise small numbers of my juvies with breeding pairs of adults. Sorta on the job training on how to be a producing chicken. And that has I believe helped my younger males get up to speed quickly. But this summer has knocked the egg production down alot with my Buffs and my, new to me, White trio.
I guess I am doing it all wrong guys. I keep the water buckets full with once a day fresh water. And the feeders full with layers blend feed. My oldest Black pen which came from the very same lady you mentioned Aveca that you talked with is where I got my best Blacks. And their all over 4 years old and I am still getting eggs from that pen. Outta 5 hens I collected 3 eggs yesterday and 5 the day before. Needless to say I am over flowing with Blacks. And still incubating. I am hoping for just one good Black male to be as a back up for my 2 Blacks cocks. Right now my #3 Black male is not really a Black. He is Harold the Brown Red. I have him in with 7 nice young pullets and one beefy Bamma Blue hen which did not come from UK lines. Or at least is mostly APA lines.
Hope everyone enjoys their babies.
ZOOWEEMAMA sounds like you did your home work and should be making great Buffs. And do what Don says and have fun.

Not to worry. Mrs. P. lives in Stallag 19 with Monty and some of the older Ps, with fans running 24/7 in this heat. Monty has it figured out, but Mrs. P had a lot of very dense fluff on her derriere. I'll know on Wednesday. Babies are introduced to the big birds in a corner pen in the big covered run. After a week , they are allowed to go through their scat hole to forage with the big ones. They can always get into their pen, but the biggies can't. That way they can always eat without being run off.

 

[zooweemama]

Showing is fun, you meet alot of very nice people, and like everything else there is a few that are not. Most chicken folks will help you. Look at who is winning, and set your goal's in that directions. I'm sure Mr. Walt can tell you about the CA shows, I know we had a Orpington National out there 2 years ago I think.

Thanks! It will be fun to meet more 'chicken people'. I only have 2 friends that have chickens and they just keep a few hatchery stock for eggs- not really as interested as I am in chickens. I talk to myself a lot.

 

[AGAMMARELL]

Vickie / or Marc How Many of those Imported Buffs are out there now? I have one Male and I am really pleased with it.

 

[zooweemama]

Nice to hear that you are using your best to make some knock outs Dragon. I am sure you know that many UK Buff enthusiasts are now counting on you to make some more. Sorry to hear about Marc's losses with his Buff flock due to the heat. I am sure he will reload and be back. So protect your Mrs P from anything like predators and especially that heat till you get Monty going strong.
In the past I had 2 Deorr Buff Cochins. The first 20 or so eggs were all infertile. I never plucked or trimmed my hen's butt. And then my Buff Cochin male figured it out. After that he was a producing machine. Be patient and I am sure Monty will also figure it out. One thing I like to do is raise small numbers of my juvies with breeding pairs of adults. Sorta on the job training on how to be a producing chicken. And that has I believe helped my younger males get up to speed quickly. But this summer has knocked the egg production down alot with my Buffs and my, new to me, White trio.
I guess I am doing it all wrong guys. I keep the water buckets full with once a day fresh water. And the feeders full with layers blend feed. My oldest Black pen which came from the very same lady you mentioned Aveca that you talked with is where I got my best Blacks. And their all over 4 years old and I am still getting eggs from that pen. Outta 5 hens I collected 3 eggs yesterday and 5 the day before. Needless to say I am over flowing with Blacks. And still incubating. I am hoping for just one good Black male to be as a back up for my 2 Blacks cocks. Right now my #3 Black male is not really a Black. He is Harold the Brown Red. I have him in with 7 nice young pullets and one beefy Bamma Blue hen which did not come from UK lines. Or at least is mostly APA lines.
Hope everyone enjoys their babies.
ZOOWEEMAMA sounds like you did your home work and should be making great Buffs. And do what Don says and have fun.

I hope so. I look forward to learning the breed standards so I can keep my line beautiful AND functional. Next year I will be looking for some good stock Jubilees or Chocolates (I'd really like some English stock next year). Even if all I manage is a trio- that would be sweet!

 

[fowlman01]

Thanks! It will be fun to meet more 'chicken people'. I only have 2 friends that have chickens and they just keep a few hatchery stock for eggs- not really as interested as I am in chickens. I talk to myself a lot.

There are a lot of shows here in CA. Also lots of interest in Orps these days. I can send you a show schedule if you PM me. It is an attachment, so it has to go to an email addy. Most of the people here are nice folks and as Don says there is always an exception. You are not going to find the hardcore show people online...you may have more in your area than you thought. I'm in Sonoma County....Santa Rosa. There use to be a show in Red Bluff and there is an effort to start it up again. I am guessing that is near you. The big show is my clubs show in Stockton, the last weekend in Jan. This year it is going to be the ABA National, so we are expecting 3500+ birds. There will be a lot of Orps there. There are more Orp exhibitors now than when the Orp National was held here, so we expect a good showing.

Walt