I love my two Buff Orpingtons, they are both super sweet and gentle, and they have beautiful golden feathers!
About the breed
Buff Orpingtons are a dual-purpose breed meaning that they can be used for eggs and meat. If using for eggs you can expect to get 250 large brown eggs each year. There is nothing better than farm fresh eggs! If you don’t know how to store them properly then be sure to read here for more info on that.
If you are raising them for meat then they will be ready to harvest around 4-6 months when they weigh about 5-6 lbs. I have never raised them for meat before so if I got this timeline wrong then please let me know in the comments, but this is the usual time to harvest chickens that aren’t fast-growing. Did you know that Buff Orpingtons are known to go broody and are very great mothers? Sunshine has gone broody before but we didn’t allow her to hatch any of them and if we would have let her then I am sure that she would have made a great mother. If she decides to sit on eggs this year we will allow her to try and hatch them! I will be sure to let you know if she ends up hatching any. This was one of the first breeds I got, and they are great for beginners! Because of their sweet and gentle personality, they are also great with kids!
Update: We let Sunshine sit on the eggs and a little chick hatched! She was a great mom, and we didn’t even have to separate them from the rest of the flock!
Overall, this breed is one of my favorites! If you are a beginner or have kids then I would definitely recommend this breed for you.
Other articles that you may like:
- How much food does a chicken eat a day?
- Reasons your hens may not be laying eggs
- Common chick illnesses and injuries plus ways to treat them
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