We are committed to keeping only heritage breeds for our laying flock and added Buff Orpingtons over the Summer. These chickens have been very gentle natured and have the most amazing temperment. They seem to be very social and will easily come up and eat out of your hand and actually enjoy the attention of being pet. Our 3 year old granddaughter Mya loves to go out and pet the chickens!
In addition to being wonderfully calm and social, these beautiful hens lay plenty of tasty brown eggs! They are quiet and don't have the same tendency to squawk and peck at one another like some other more aggressive breeds such as Rhode Island Reds. We have had Rhode Island Reds in the past and our personal experience proved them to be more standoffish and the more dominant hens at the top of the pecking order had a tendency to "pick" on the other hens. Once a hen is injured and weak, the rest of the flock will start to join in bullying that chicken. It is difficult to save that hen unless you remove it and let it heal and sometimes you can rejoin it with the flock once it has recovered. We felt Rhode Island Reds had much more of a tendency toward this behavior. Especially when you try and mix them with other breeds of chickens.
The Buff Orpingtons seem to not only get along with each other, but also with other breeds. We actually mixed them with guineas and had no issues whatsoever. They are a beautiful shade of buff or deeper caramel with light brown eyes and bright red combs, excellent with small children and hearty during heat and cold. We have plans to try Black Australorps this coming Spring and I will let you know how it goes!
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