What color rooster over purebred BO hen makes buff colored chicks?

[Debbienmousey]

Well, in May of '08 we were watching our friends farm for them while they were in Germany and they let us hatch some eggs from their purebred Buff Orpingtons. Lucky us because we got a rooster and a hen, they were a beautiful pair but since we free-range our birds the rooster was eaten at around 5 months old. Now we have just the hen, who has started many undesirable habits. She is snotty, lays only occasionally, is not a pretty bird to look at because she's messy, hides in the nest boxes all day, and is just a wimp. The main reason I call her a wimp is because we have another hen, one much smaller than this Buff, which doesn't lay, looks scraggly, whines all the time, sleeps in the nesting boxes, but at least this hen is smart enough to go outside and hang with KJ during the day.

Anyway, our Buff hen has pretty much earned herself a one-way ticket to the stew pot as soon as Dad gets done with the roosters. The main thing is, she is our only BO and our friends are not breeding them anymore. I love the BO's color and their temperament is normally good so I would like more. (even if they were mixes) I am wondering what color rooster, if any, might produce buff colored chicks with this BO hen? The only thing I do like about this hen is her shape. She is not fat and as fluffy as our friends BO's. She has a moderate amount of fluff, but not too much. So I want to either get some buff chicks out of her before she goes, or somehow fix her habits and keep her. I have her separated currently so she can't mess up the laying boxes.

Any help would be really appreciated!!

 

[Sillystunt]

http://www.breedbook.org/?action=geneticscalculator&tab=CHICKEN

 

[Mahonri]

Go to MPC and order 6 straight run BOs.

 

[Debbienmousey]

Sillystunt, thank you for that link but I'm afraid I'm not very good at figuring out what color patterns my roosters have. I know I have some Columbian patterned roos, which the calculator is saying I would get some golden or silver Columbian chicks..Not exactly what I want but they might be nice birds. I also think I have a red rooster (I know that his color is red, but not sure that his pattern is red). That is saying if I bred him with my buff hen I would get buff Columbian chicks..They would be pretty. I might try this although I know my red rooster won't like being cooped up, although I hear that he would probably only need to be with her for a day or less, and then she would be "covered" for almost a month. (The trick will be getting her to lay eggs, lol.)

Mahonri, thank you for the suggestion but I was hoping I could get some buff colored chicks without having to order some. You can be sure that next time I place an order with a hatchery I will probably get some BOs.

Thank you both.

 

[lux_interior]

a white rooster. White rocks or leghorns will give you mixes that will look like BOs.

 

[Debbienmousey]

Thank you lux!!

 

[chickNjake]

Red may give you buff-ish offspring, not sure though.
It sound kinda like your hen may be sick, I'd definitely look into that and make sure she doesn't infect the rest of your flock.

 

[nicalandia]

Just order some, you´ll get there faster...BUT if you still want to breed them, just pic a orpinton size rooster, a red one will be best as they are eb, ey or e+ based, and since BO are ewh and DI, Db Columbian Co, they will all look buffish...get the best buff roos and breed them back to their mom(F1xP1) your B1 roos should be nicer buff orps..just keep doing that till you like what you see...

 

[Goose and Fig]

A Rhode Island Red roo crossed with your orp will give you big pretty ginger colored chicks. They are great layers, and have a sweet disposition.
It sounds like your hen is either sick, broody, or just plain unhappy. Try putting an old ladder in you henhouse- on a slant obviously, and see if she'll perch out of the nest boxes. I had the same problem with my girls pooping in the boxes at night. I took an old wooded round-rung ladder, cut it in 3, and put them in the coop. The boxes went on the floor. No more dirty boxes!

 

[luvarabhorses]

Many many chickens will roost in the nest boxes if you give them the chance-don't give them the chance. Here is what I did, I made a heavy curtain that I drape across the next boxes around 5pm everyday, then hang it up when I open the door to let them out. Here it is hung up.

You can't see it in the pic, but there are three wires end, middle, end that connect to the middle wire and that to a string that allows you to hang the string and hold up the drape