WHAT is going on with gold sex-links?!?! I have a ROO, too!

[marcym]

You will love the Buff Orpingtons I am sure. Consider yourself lucky.They might have all been BO roosters!

That's what happened to me. All 12 will be chicken noodles come fall. They are friendlier than the red sex links that I have, and follow me all over the farm. I've already ordered another group of PULLETS from a different source so I hope I have better luck!​

 

[ElizabethinNY]

That's what happened to me. All 12 will be chicken noodles come fall. They are friendlier than the red sex links that I have, and follow me all over the farm. I've already ordered another group of PULLETS from a different source so I hope I have better luck!

Me too, Marcy. All five of my Orps are roosters.

 

[Shesapip]

Cambriagardener, you are so right about the okay odds!

4 out of 5 Buff Orpingtons turning out to be hens is pretty good...much better than when 4 out of 4 RIR pullets turned out to be roosters, or Marcy's 12 out of 12 BOs, or Elizabeth's 5 out of 5 BOs.

I have someone who's interested in the BO rooster for his two BO hens. That makes me happy. If that doesn't work out, the fellow who sold him to me will trade him for two younger pullets of a different breed.

It was sad to have my four Production Red roosters "processed" yesterday for $4 each. But the feed store never answered their phone and had no answering machine or voicemail. They also didn't answer my email about the roosters, although they did reply when I was inquiring about buying chickens three months ago.
Counting the $10 I paid for them (chicken prices are high here in Oregon), those are $14 chicken dinners.I'll have to make them into an extra-special dish, or pretend they're lobsters.

Marcy and Elizabeth, you couldn't return your roosters, or had you bought them "straight run" and just had bad luck?

Thanks for all your input!

 

[marcym]

I bought them from a man up the road. He said that they were pullets to begin with, then when I picked them up he said he wasn't sure but thought some of them were roo's. Being the positive thinker that I am, and new to chickens, I held out hope so paid the $3 per head for twelve - seven week old chicks. Processing will now be another $2.25 each.

In hindsight, I now understand what he meant when he sold me the week old sex links the following week and said they would be laying before the BO's would.

Moral of my story? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. I doubt I'll be doing business with him again.

 

[Shesapip]

Yes, Marcy, that guy obviously knew what was going on from the beginning. Not someone you'd want to do business with again.

At least you'll be eating $5.25 chickens when you harvest them.

Seems more reasonable than $14. I paid $10 for each of my 8-week-olds.

All but one of the roos I had processed were really scrawny - but maybe that's because production reds aren't dual purpose, just egg production birds (I don't know).

We're getting our education, we newbies!

 

[thewarriorchild]

Quote:
If it makes you feel any better... for 8 wk olds you most likely did not have to pay for light/electric and did not have to clean up after them or feed and water them....

 

[Shesapip]

thewarriorchild wrote

If it makes you feel any better... for 8 wk olds you most likely did not have to pay for light/electric and did not have to clean up after them or feed and water them....

You are so right!

I know my limits, and caring for chickens from 0-6 weeks is outside them.

I got to keep them in the back yard, not in the house.

That was why I was willing to pay $10. Plus, had they been hens, I would have been two months closer to getting eggs.

With ten chickens, I go through about 50 pounds of feed in a month. I suppose from that you could figure that each bird got 5 pounds of feed per month. If you don't take into account their age, 4 roosters fed for 3 months is 60 pounds of feed at a cost of about $19. So I'm only out about $75 for being misinformed about the sex of the chicks I bought.

The good news is:
- I can now tell (I think) a rooster from a hen at eight weeks of age
- I've had some wonderful conversations with a lot of great BYCers
- I have Buff Orpingtons to enjoy, a breed I would never have met
- I bought more 6-weekers, RIRs, to boost my future egg count
- I'm living and learning and loving chickens!

 

[Shesapip]

I am LOVING these Buff Orpingtons!

These birds are fabulous! So quiet, so calm, so smart! And that palomino gold is a treat for the eyes.

I already have them out with my big girls and there is next to none of the drama that went on when I let my production reds out at a slightly older age. They are a dream bird, and I wish I could keep them all! The rooster hasn't crowed once since that first time and I'm hoping he stays quiet for a long time. This group almost never vocalizes! So different from my other gals, who talk, coo, chuckle, and cluck almost constantly.

As I said, even my older chickens seem to like them! They are amazing!
One of the hens has gold legs, but the roo and the other three have very pale pink legs. They all have names: Duke (of Orpington), Goldisocks, Buffy, Buffy, and Buffy (can't tell the last three apart).

 

[Mahonri]

So glad I opened this thread.

I needed some entertainment!

THANKS!!!

And congrats on the Buff Orpingtons.... I have a REAL hard time calling them BO's anymore.