Pros: Very Friendly, Great Layer, Suitable For all Weather Conditions
We have a buff Orp hen named Stalker, because when she was a pullet she would follow us around making weird chicken noises. I started calling her a stalker and the name stuck. So she is Stalker.
Stalker is a weird hen, but not as weird as bantam Cochin.. Anyways. Stalker doesn't really like the other chickens, she just kinda stays in the barn while the others free range. When it is time to go to bed, she'll wander over to the chicken coop and snuggle up with another hen. She also has a thing with heights, at our old house, she would get herself roosted way up high, then refuse to jump down for a couple hours after the others left. At this house, she can just walk down the roosts until she is a few feet off the ground and make the jump.
Stalker lays a fair amount of light brown eggs. I think they are about AA Large, but we have 29 chickens total (mixed, with roos) so it's hard to tell who is laying what!
All in all, she is a great chicken, and I love her. She's really friendly, and likes to be pet and held. I think we just ended up with a weird one, LOL
I love her so much, I am going to be setting 18 BBS and Lavender Orpington eggs. I am hoping to get one or two like her so I can get her a special friend.
I would really recommend this chicken breed to anyone. They do great in diverse weather, (110-20 or colder) friendly, great layers, just great all around.
Cons: Heavy birds = just give them a soft landing from their roosts.
Great birds - of course they all have their own personalities ... but ours are excellent.
Fabulous size & beautiful to watch in the pasture -
haven't tried to leave the yard at all - very friendly.
Cold weather & short days didn't stop them from laying eggs.
My buff lays huge and darkish brown eggs - we feel so lucky to have her!
My blue lays smaller light tan eggs, and last year went broody alot - then became a wonderful mother hen.
We love our Orps!
Buff Orpingtons are a friendly, versatile breed. I have had two Buff Orpingtons for almost a year, and in the summer, they both lay large brown eggs all most everyday.
Whenever I go into the coop, Eggnog and Q come racing out so I can pet them. BO are relatively large birds, and I can barely pick Q up, because she weighs so much.
In the summer, we had two Buff Orpington roosters, and they were extremely sweet.
The only problem I had with them was chasing them around so i could pick them up. And once I got them, they peacefully snuggled into my arms.
A small part of the reason could have been because I raised them in my room, and had a lot of time to spend cuddling and playing with them.
I highly reccommend these lovely birds, and if I had the choice to buy them again, I would.
Cons: can gain wieght easily if not free-ranged :(... time for a diet
I love my orpingtons so much! I have two chicks and one adult who got attacked by a dog, but survived. she is such a good chicken and i love her so much!!! She is so loyal and i think she would be a great mommy chicken...you should get orpingtons because they lay lots of large eggs and are a gardeners's best friend. Although they can gain wieght easily if not free-ranged. Mine are free-ranged so i don't have a problem with them, except sometimes their too clingy with their mommy (me). I LOVE my Orpingtons!!!
Cons: broody, egg production not as good as I thought
Pros: My hen lays light brown eggs with white speckles, beautiful bird, looks bigger than she actually is. Slightly darker than most buff orps. She has a pleasant, smooth egg song. Egg production good.
Cons: She is broody, but not in the sense of sitting on the eggs, she doesn't like the other hens around *her* nest boxes. Not just one nest box, ALL of them! Her egg production wasn't as good as I was expecting, laying every other day sometimes every 2 days.
My four-month-old orpingtons were somewhat frightful at first, but they have been becoming more used to me lately. They have also been growing a lot, too! I cannot wait until they mature into big, fluffy adults!
I didn't like the Orpington much at first thinking it was ugly and scared, but as she feathered out she's one of the prettiest chickens I own. She also became more comfortable and very sweet. She's the only chicken who doesn't scare me.
Pros: Hens are good mother, friendly, and pretty. Also winter hardy.
Cons: Not high producers.
Have two buff opringtons, one hen and one rooster. The hen does not lay as many eggs as the barred rocks and red sex links. The eggs are also smaller. The hen is a sweety, I have never had a problem with her temperment. The rooster one the other hand is very protective and does not appreciated us stealing his eggs. Otherwise he generally leaves us alone when we go out into the coop. Usually I can sweephim away with a broom. I originally had two barred rock roos but the buff orpington roo is so much better to the hens. The barreds were just too rough and too aggressive. The orpingtons also are a great dual purpose bird and have large bodies. I would definatly refer this breed to people looking for good, mellow birds that make excellent parents.
Cons: not great foragers, not as productive as other breeds as far as eggs
I got 2 of these girls and one of them did not make it through the first summer. The other one that I have is wonderful. She still (after 2 years) crouches for me and will not allow my roo to breed her when I am present. She's a very loyal friend and I adore her! She lays about 4 eggs a week which is good but not nearly as productive as my other girls. They also seem to eat more and forage less than my other girls. Definitely pet worthy. I love watching them run because they're so big and fluffy. Looking forward to adding one or two more to my flock.
Cons: Long time to reach full size, can be hard to handle if you have back problems (heavy birds)
Buy from a reputable breeder and you will be amazed at the size. Buy from a hatchery or a breeder that is breeding them too small and they are no bigger than a large plymouth rock. Big beautiful eyes, great setters but not outstanding mothers so let them incubate lots of eggs and then take them to brood them or keep them in a brooder box with the mother. Lay very large eggs and lots of meat on them but they do take a long time to fully mature, so don't expect much from them in terms of finesse their first year they are akward teenagers. Big birds so eat more than smaller framed birds but if you want XXL eggs they're worth it!
She is not tame. She is clean and wonderful! Lays great! And is friendly to other hens. I would recommend this chicken to anyone. My best friend Mablegirl has a buff orpington who is SO tame though. So it depends if u decide 2 tame it or not.
Cons: Skittish, queen hen/head of pecking order (mean to other birds)
Not the friendliest bird to other hens, pulls out others feathers when food is around. Nice eggs. Caught her eating the egg of another hen before. Overall a good bird though.