Welcome to BYC! Glad you decided to join our flock. Buff Orpingtons are a great breed; very cold hardy, calm and gentle, and good layers of large brown eggs. Statistically, a straight run normally should be about 50/50, but over the years, far too often I've seen straight runs with way too many roosters to be coincidence. I know for a fact that hatcheries always have an excess of roosters and I'm convinced that they pull some of the pullets from the straight run hatches to fill pullet orders, which leaves an excess of roosters that are shipped in the straight run orders. This is why for two or three decades, I haven't ordered anything but pullets, with the exception of some Cornish cross to put in the freezer. Even with pullet orders, I usually end up with a rooster or two unless it's a sex link order. I would suggest that you order Buff Orpington pullets, and if you want a few roosters for the freezer, you can always tack some Cornish cross onto the order. It's the most efficient way to get meat birds anyway as Cornish cross grow superfast and are ready to butcher at 8 weeks. I don't know how many BO pullets you want, but if the minimum order from a hatchery is more than you want, you shouldn't have any trouble selling off the extra pullets and recouping your money. I have done just that many times. Please feel free to ask any more questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Good luck in getting your Buff Orpingtons.
and Welcome To BYC!
) Alaska Backyard Chickens has an excellent article on recommended breeds for Alaska at 
