First outing for our Buff Orpington chicks
Over at Peanut Butter Etouffe, they're asking for takers for a food bloggers pet of the month. There's a wonderful photo of a fluffy white dog. Somewhere else (sorry, can't give you a link) there's weekend cat blogging.
Here at Joanna's Food, I'm starting a poultry fanciers' corner ... just look at our buff Orpington chicks (hatched last Sunday and Monday) on their first jaunt round the garden, both broodies now in full-on maternal mode, with the cockerel leading them out. Wonderful.
Posts
16 comments:
That is just too cute!
I love the proud papa strutting his stuff!
Yes, he's very proud now - he was looking fairly forlorn when the hens were both sitting on the eggs, wandering about the garden with no-one to boss about ... now you'd never know, as he takes them about and looks out for danger.
We're just hoping the chicks turn out to be hens!
Joanna
Great to see the chicks doing so well. Would you recommend this breed of poultry? Do they have any quirky traits?
Sara from farmingfriends
Wow! Those are beautiful birds and sweet little chicks.
I just love the colours of the whole ensemble!
Orpingtons are lovely birds, and the buffs are the most beautiful. They are quite big, so if your housing is for six birds, four is probably enough. They are very docile, so easy to handle and therefore good for beginners, or people with young children. (You could think of them as the golden labradors of the poultry world.) They are fairly good layers - perhaps four eggs a week starting in the early spring, but they go off lay in the winter. And we've found that they go broody readily, which might or might not be a disadvantage to you. But it means that if you get a trio, as we did this time (cockerel from different stock), you'll probably get chicks. And they seem to be good mothers - but I'll keep you posted on that!
They are my favourite of all the hens I've kept over the years - black rock, Rhode Island red, silver grey Dorkings (lovely but terminally stupid), and others I'm ashamed to say I can't now remember.
Joanna
They're beautiful, joanna. How exciting to have the chicks! Love you description of Buff Orps as Golden Labradors - spot on! We had one called "Fergie" who was the biggest, friendlist hen ever.
Celia
Ah - how lovely!
Thise are some very looking chickens. You're very lucky to be able to keep them. I know so many people who've had to get rid of their pet chickens because of the noise.
SO sad, Ros ... Orpingtons are fairly quiet, they seem to cluck contentedly most of the time. And you don't have to have a cockerel, if noise is an issue (although, personally, I love the sound of crowing in the morning, even at this time of year, when it's well before five!) ... but we are lucky enough to be in the countryside, with country folk for neighbours within earshot.
Joanna
These are fabulous photos Joanna. I love Buff Orpingtons. A friend of mine had a pet Orpington cockerel and if he got caught in the rain he would come into the kitchen to have his feathers dried. She used a hairdryer.
I am so interested to read about all these indulged Orpingtons. Ours are not taking to the rain at all - they used to be fine before the chicks hatched, but now they just stand out in the rain, the chicks sheltering under the hens, until they are all drenched, and ready to be carried back to their house. I can see that I haven't been doing the right thing at all - I will bring the hairdryer down first thing tomorrow morning, and put matters right. Only the cockerel probably won't like it ...
Joanna
Oh how cute are those chicks! And so funny about the rain! I would love some chickens one day, yours are gorgeous.
Hi! I found your blog via the Buff Orpingtons! I just hatched out a Buff chick here at home. I noticed you mentioned "heart attacks" and eating well. Let me tell you about an awesome and helpful website by a doctor who isn't trying to sell anything! www.doctoryourself.com. He highly advocates using mega dosing of vitamin C for a variety of health issues. If you think about it, the Garden of Eden was full of naturally-found vitamin C in most all that man/woman ate. No meat, no prepared or factory-canned foods. Hope you enjoy it and hope it helps!
Hi! I found your blog via the Buff Orpingtons! I just hatched out a Buff chick here at home. I noticed you mentioned "heart attacks" and eating well. Let me tell you about an awesome and helpful website by a doctor who isn't trying to sell anything! www.doctoryourself.com. He highly advocates using mega dosing of vitamin C for a variety of health issues. If you think about it, the Garden of Eden was full of naturally-found vitamin C in most all that man/woman ate. No meat, no prepared or factory-canned foods. Hope you enjoy it and hope it helps!
Hi! I found your blog via the Buff Orpingtons! I just hatched out a Buff chick here at home. I noticed you mentioned "heart attacks" and eating well. Let me tell you about an awesome and helpful website by a doctor who isn't trying to sell anything! www.doctoryourself.com. He highly advocates using mega dosing of vitamin C for a variety of health issues. If you think about it, the Garden of Eden was full of naturally-found vitamin C in most all that man/woman ate. No meat, no prepared or factory-canned foods. Hope you enjoy it and hope it helps!
Post a Comment