Buff Orpingtons are very good layers of large light brown eggs.
They go broody often and make excellent mother hens. My Orpington hens have hatched chicks, ducklings, poults, and keets with very high hatch rates (100% is not uncommon). The Orpington's large size and profuse feathering allow them to incubate many eggs at once.
Contrary to what I've read, my hatchery Buff Orpingtons have proven to be my best foragers, voluntarily foraging widely in search of bugs and seeds and other tasty tidbits, thereby cutting down on feed costs and producing healthier eggs compared to hens fed a higher percentage of grain. I've seen them foraging as far as a 1/3 of a mile away from their coop, though typically they're not more than five hundred feet away from their coop.
They do well in many climates with their heavy feathering and light coloring.
They don't have feathered legs, which can track mud and dirt into the nest boxes, dirtying the eggs. They also don't have crests, which can limit a chicken's vision and their ability to free range.
Extra roosters grow out very well for meat, Orpingtons are one of the biggest and meatiest of the dual purpose breeds.
Buff Orpingtons do have white skin, instead of the traditional yellow skinned chickens Americans are accustomed to seeing at the grocery store. This doesn't bother me, but for those who want a traditional-looking chicken, this may be a negative. Then again, a butchered Orpington will never look like a Cornish franken-chicken anyway.
Buff Orpingtons are also fairly common and easy to find, with many hatcheries selling them at an economical price.
As an extra bonus, Buff Orpingtons are also beautiful, with their large size, glistening golden plumage and big fluffy butts!
They go broody often and make excellent mother hens. My Orpington hens have hatched chicks, ducklings, poults, and keets with very high hatch rates (100% is not uncommon). The Orpington's large size and profuse feathering allow them to incubate many eggs at once.
Contrary to what I've read, my hatchery Buff Orpingtons have proven to be my best foragers, voluntarily foraging widely in search of bugs and seeds and other tasty tidbits, thereby cutting down on feed costs and producing healthier eggs compared to hens fed a higher percentage of grain. I've seen them foraging as far as a 1/3 of a mile away from their coop, though typically they're not more than five hundred feet away from their coop.
They do well in many climates with their heavy feathering and light coloring.
They don't have feathered legs, which can track mud and dirt into the nest boxes, dirtying the eggs. They also don't have crests, which can limit a chicken's vision and their ability to free range.
Extra roosters grow out very well for meat, Orpingtons are one of the biggest and meatiest of the dual purpose breeds.
Buff Orpingtons do have white skin, instead of the traditional yellow skinned chickens Americans are accustomed to seeing at the grocery store. This doesn't bother me, but for those who want a traditional-looking chicken, this may be a negative. Then again, a butchered Orpington will never look like a Cornish franken-chicken anyway.
Buff Orpingtons are also fairly common and easy to find, with many hatcheries selling them at an economical price.
As an extra bonus, Buff Orpingtons are also beautiful, with their large size, glistening golden plumage and big fluffy butts!
