Should I get a buff Orpington?

[Chicken teen618]

I’ve heard them described as the lapdogs of the chicken world, do they allow you to pick them up?

 

[Aunt Angus]

I’ve heard them described as the lapdogs of the chicken world, do they allow you to pick them up?

Mine does, but begrudgingly. She does sometimes jump in my lap.

I thought Silkies were the lap dog of the chicken world....

 

[Mrs. K]

I am not one much to handle my birds, but I do like having a BO in the flock. One raised several clutches for me right in the flock.

Mrs K

 

[HenHouse4Life]

I’ve heard them described as the lapdogs of the chicken world, do they allow you to pick them up?

Mine do, they were my original flock and now they expect the cuddles. Out of my 6 BO's I only had one go broody and hatch chicks. They're not the most abundant egg layers but when they do lay they do it very well. The eggs are a nice size and one of mine lays a blush colored egg. Mine are all calm and friendly and I can't imagine not having them in my flock. If you do choose a buff I don't think you'll be disappointed however if you're searching for more eggs per year you may want to research other breeds.
Good luck!

 

[Biddybot]

I got buff Orpingtons for the first time last year...seven three-month-old chicklets that turned out to be two males and five females. Naturally tamest purebreds I've ever dealt with. The breeder only handled the chicks once, to put them out in their growing pen, then I came along several months later and the breeder and I went in the pen and scooped them up to put them in cat carriers which I used to bring them to a couple of larger crates in the car. I remember that one of the little pullets made a break for it through a door to the outside and I grabbed her and held her with one hand against my waist while I kept catching others with my other hand...she squirmed maybe ten seconds, peeped once, then relaxed and accepted her fate. By the time I popped her into one of the carriers herself, she was completely calm and seemed quite interested in what was going on. Pretty good for an unhandled chicklet.

As near-adults, they continue to be very tame, are easy to catch anytime, and naturally formed themselves into a mini-flock apart from the other non-buffs...they seem rather clannish that way. Love to be out foraging and are always the last chickens to go in in the evenings. Kind of dim, though, and clumsy compared to the other chickens. Tend to stop and gawk at danger rather than running for cover. Not good about taking shelter in bad weather. I'm hoping this will improve once they're fully mature and gain more experience.

One of the cockerals is a good fellow and a promising flock leader. The other is oversized in my opinion, more like a broad little turkey than a chicken in his proportions, and has become completely useless when it comes to hens and mating...such an awkward twit that he falls over when he tries and frankly doesn't seem all that interested anyway. Far more eager about his food...greediest chicken I've ever seen and jumps up and down with excitement when I bring him a fresh bowl of feed. I keep him as a pet bachelor by himself now and he seems happier, although he still enjoys socializing with all the other chickens through the wire, and he likes to strut around and spar with the other bachelors when they're all outside together. Can't fly up to his perch anymore, he's gotten so heavy. I had to put in a shelf at about three feet, which he uses en route to get to his perch (a sturdy 2 X 2 with rounded edges). The pullets and the other cockeral likewise would have trouble flying up to their perches directly, but manage by flying up on top of the nest boxes first and then from there to the perches. They are definitely not good flyers, that's for sure!

The five pullets began laying pretty much on schedule for a heritage breed, but their eggs were puny at first, barely pee wee size. They're a bit bigger now, mostly smalls, but both the olive-eggers and brown-egg-layers lay noticeably larger eggs, which seems odd considering that the buffs are the bigger birds. They lay well, though, regardless of the cold and lack of light. Have already shown signs of wanting to go broody, but I'm concerned about their clumsiness and lack of predator saavy. I'll probably use one of the olive-egger hens instead...sorry, buffs.

Still, all in all, very likeable birds. Their ease of handling alone makes them good beginner chickens. And of course they're very pretty!