So what is the correct shade of Buff?

[Chris09]

Well if you go by definition as APA SOP it is-
Buff:
A medium shade of Orange-Yellow color with a rich golden cast; not so intense as to show a Reddish cast, nor so pale to appear Lemon or light Yellow. The term is generally used in refering to the plumage color of all Standard "Buff" varieties of poultry.
American Standard of Perfection

2001

I was told one time by a poultry judge the the "ideal" buff color would be the same shade as a good gold watch.

Chris

 

[Birch Run Farm]

From a bird I bought from Dan: Buff leghorn

He was a cockerel in the above photos.

Same guy, all sunbleached last fall.

Biddy leghorn momma from last summer with her purebred chicks, leghorn and araucana.

 

[HallFamilyFarm]

As the orginial poster of this thread I am going ask just one time and one time only!

DO NOT POST PHOTOS OF BUFF LEGHORN BANTAMS!

I have a sole RC Buff Leghorn Bantam hen for a Buff Chantecler project. We do not want any more Buff Leghorns. One is enough. Now my daughter thinks they are "nice". Anymore photos posted may cause me to purchase a male Buff Leghorn. That would start a breeding program that I may not recover from.

If you must post photos of Buff Leghorns, please only post photos of ugly, inferior culls!

We have almost too many breeds now. We do not need anymore!

Thank you for your consideration!

ETA: Our 4H club always accepts shipments of eggs!

 

[onthespot]

I've been wanting some Buff Leghorns since you first posted pics last year!

 

[ArieBLB]

Quote:
I was showing the photos of these birds to my wife, a school teacher with a Masters in English. I explained that Arie was from the Netherlands and that English was not his first language. She starting reading what Arie wrote and told me to tell Arie, "You write English better than anyone else on BYC." I think she was actually referring to my English! She also is trying to convince me that poultry comes in colors other than BUFF! Hmmm. Did anyone else know this? Poultry actually comes in colors other than pure Golden Buff? May have to check that out at a poultry show this season.

Hahaha your wife is right Jim, about the english language you are right. I did have one year english lessons at school but it was to difficult for me at that time. Now I use sometimes the internet for doing the translations. It helps me a little to conversate with you all and I have much respect for you all that you know what I am writing sometimes. If I use wrong words tell me pleasse may be I do it better next time.
Your wife is right about that poultry comes in colors other than BUFF......but BUFF is for me the most atractive color. A beatiful Buff colored bird looks like a golden bird???? Tell me who is not loving gold. Everyone loves gold and that's why Buff is so populair. Birds with full red faces and a golden Buff color that is shiny, what do you want more.
If I had the time I should take some lessons in english.LOL Thanks for loving my birds.

Jim, If you have the space and time give your daughter some nice Buff Leghorn bantams. They are so beautiful in type, vigor and such a nice golden color.
If you have some good ones she will win some shows with them. There are some beautifull animals in Texas. They are from Sam Brush. They came also from the strain of Burt Gaude.
Sorry for teasing you Jim.

Look here and see by yourselves

 

[HallFamilyFarm]

Didn't know there was anything good in Texas!

I am originally from Oklahoma!

Guess I should humble myself and ask Sam for a price on a good male Buff Leghorn bantam.

 

[rebecca100]

I just have to chime in on this one! It is a sore spot with me. I gave father-in-law a pure bred buff orphington roo for his hens. It was a beautiful golden color. A very showy and well built rooster. One of my favorites. He ate it. Called it a mutt. Then he went and bought a rooster, when he showed it to me, it was a pale washed out yellowish white color. He then informed me that was what a buff orphington was supposed to look like. Said he didn't know what that orange thing was that I gave him. Arrgghhh!

 

[HallFamilyFarm]

Years ago...about 1979....I had some really good exhibition quality Buff Orpingtons. My father relocated us to Evening Shade, Arkansas where he was an associate pastor. I gave the pastor some hatching eggs. he set them under a hen. All he had was barnyard mix chickens. When the males got large enough to start mating......He ATE them all!

He saved the pullets for layers. The next year all he had were mixed breed chickens. Had he ate the mixed breeds the first year, he would have had a nice flock of pure Buff Orpingtons. Each year he would go to the Ash Flat livestock sale and buy a bull. The cheapest he could find. He would then mate his cow. After mating he would either sale the bull at the auction or butcher it. After years of this action, he wondered why his replacement heifers did not give as much milk as the great-grandmother. Well, he had regressed his genetics to nothing more than a poor producing beef cow. It was even a small cow. Guess he just never learned. Dad tried to explain to him, but Robert just did not understand. He is gone now.

We helped him butcher a large boar hog once. Robert fed it under a shed. He walked up to the hog, pointed the rifle barrel through the log slats and shot! Then we had to drag the hog out. A dead hog is heavy! This hog was so gentle he ate from Robert's hand. Now why he did not call the hog out to the fire pit and shoot him there I will never know.

My father-in-law did not quite get the idea of us keeping roosters. Then when we started winning with our roosters, he has started to understand. He sells eggs for $1.50 dozen. We sell ours on eBay for $25+ dozen. That did get his attention. He is a business man, a very successful one. He now understands why we keep the roosters!

 

[DaveK]

Interesting that a flat or matte type of quality was mentioned. Years ago a friend and I worked cooperatively on an old line of buff Cochin largefowl. To him even in color meant that matte finish while to me they could be even but bright and lively from the shine that just seemed to accentuate the color. www.manorpoultry.com is the site of a British Orpington breeder. Those buffs show what my own opinion of good buff color is. They also show something that I would like some input on. Feather quality, substance and texture seems to me to affect the general tone and impression of the buff color. Anyone else have any thoughts on this? Our own Orps tend not to be the color of those and other British breds but the feather is different as well. Not the amount of feather but the quality of the individual feather. And we have some differences in the general impression the color makes, at least to me.

 

[DaveK]

Am hoping for some input from those experienced with buff color regarding the idea that feather texture and quality might affect the expression of buff color. Anyone with ideers here?