The Buff Orpington Duck Thread

[HallFamilyFarm]

Quote:
The ones we got from Ideal could clear a 4' fence. Metzer's strain is a bit larger. Have not seen any fly over the 4'. They can clear a 3'. We sold all of our Ideal stock. Just not as nice as the Metzer Buffs.

Egg production is great. Well over 200+ eggs a year. They are a "medium" size duck. Big enough for Christmas Dinner, yet small enough to be productive. Extreemly friendly. Gentle. You will enjoy having Buff Ducks!

 

[MjChickens]

Thank You for all the good information.

 

[Duckandgoatlady]

I ordered some buffs from a local breeder about an hour away. My friend lived in the area and she picked them up from me. To my surprise and dismay when she brought them in to work to me the next day I had a solid blue one amongst the bunch. We named her Oddball. I thought I had mixed ducklings. I scoured the internet for any Orpington information I could. I came across a very interesting article from The Poultry Club of Great Britain. Oddball is by far my favorite and gorgeously different.

Orpington


The Orpington Ducks were developed by William Cook of Kent, who also bred Orpington chickens in the late nineteenth century. The Buff and Blue versions are likely to have emerged sometime after 1894, and were being advertised for sale in 1898. These ducks were believed to be the result of cross-breeding Indian Runners to Aylesburys, Rouens and Cayugas. The Buffs were standardized in 1910, followed by the Blue variety in 1926. Black, White and Chocolate Orpingtons were also developed but these were not standardized.
The Standard Buff Orpington is an attractive but unstable colour form. Standard birds are impure for blue dilution and produce three colour forms, the first of which is the standard:
Buff. Intermediate head colour in the males (seal brown), a dark grey brown colour. There is very slight indication of blue on the rump, and the females, like the males, have an overall even buff body colour with little evidence of pencilling.
Blond. Pale buff with a light grey brown head (in the case of the drake) and possibly more blue on the rump. The females are paler than the Buffs and there is even less chance of pencilling.
Brown. Light khaki pencilled plumage on the females; brown heads and rumps on the males; no evidence of blue at all.

 

[chicken_boy_Kurt]

I dont have much input on this thread other than my favorite duck of all time was my first hen and only Buff Duck Road Runner

FULL of personality, WONDERFUL mother, and the boss , lol. She was always talkative and just the life of the flock. I rescued her with a mallard drake from a family that had them living in their back yard and didnt want them anymore so she was going to release them onto one of the rivers around here. They were only 4 1/2 weeks old =/

Other than that I dont have any good info on the breed. My Gal was a pet and we didnt breed for quality.


Her and her son, She got a litt bit of blue in her feathers during winter, but im pretty sure she is pure since i know the guy that she was originally bought from.

Those are Saxonies. Which are another great breed.
Sorry... *off topic*

*on topic again*
I don't personally own Buffs, but they are one of my favorite breeds and one day when I have more money and time, I'd like to set up a breeding program for SQ Buffs...

 

[jbourget]

Here is a buff duck hen i had last spring raise a whole mess of babies, both buff and swedish and a few cayuga for me!

 

[TheChicknGarden]

so now i'm wondering what breed my two ducks are, my husband brougth them home frome the feed store in january and when they were little i thought they were runners but now they are about 9 weeks old and i have no clue... thinking buff but heck i really dont know too much about breeds other then they are ducks

.... any ideas? & can any one tell me by looking at them their sex. i think just from how nosey it is the one up front (brown bill) is female & the one behind her with the white band around it's neck is male... but again i dont know .

 

[Ally Rose]

Hi,
I was thinking about getting 2 duck eggs to hatch as a hobby this summer. I wanted to get them from Metzer farms because they seemed to have beautiful ducks there. I don't know if they allow you to order only 2, but I noticed that you can order as few as 2 ducklings. Does anyone know if you can order 2 duck eggs there? Also, I want some advice on what kinds to get. Buff ducks seem great! But I wanted some variety, so what other kind should I get that are available at Metzer Farms? Or should I just stick with all Buffs? I'd be so happy if someone could answer my questions! THANKS!!!

 

[ducklover700]

You won't be able to buy only two eggs, and also, if you did only buy two you'd have a pretty bad chance of having them both hatch. You want to order in bigger numbers so that if any are no good, you still have the others to work with.

Personally, If you're going to order from metzers I would start with ordering ducklings, and selling your extras. That way you can make sure you have the right sexes.

 

[ducklover700]

Well, I ended up with too many drakes,and had to sell them so I now have one lonely Swedish duckling who is about five weeks old. She spends a lot of time following me around, and being social; but I feel so bad that she's alone a lot. I do currently have eleven Ancona eggs in the incubator, but they're only on day two...SO I'm placing an order for four or five Buffs on Monday from Metzer. I'd like to add a Welsh Harlequin to the group, but if they don't have any this week, I'll be adding another swedish or cayuga instead. yay!

I've been waiting, and dreaming about these Buffs!

 

[John B]

Howdy,

I just found this thread tonight looking for information about Buffs. We hatched Easter Egger chicks last year and had great luck with our incubator -- 7 out of 7. This year my wife wanted to try ducks and we liked the appearance of the buffs. We ordered our eggs from Metzer and they shipped quickly to Florida. We hatched two eggs out of the seven eggs placed in the incubator. It is amazing how fast these critters grow. Now they are 8 weeks and look full size. At this point, I am feeding them poultry feed which they devour with relish. Should I wean them off and let them fend for themselves or it is better to keep feeding regularly like a pet. The ducks are certainly more friendly than the chickens. At this age, they will still sit in my 6 year old daughter's lap and put up with petting. It appears that we have one male and one female. They are inseperable. Will two ducks suffice as a "backyard" flock? What do the eggs taste like?

John B.
Pace, Florida