I've had hens come and go. A donated some of my older hens to a working farm that was trying to get up and running. They needed some animals to keep their status as a working farm. I donated Huff and Puff, Squirt, Peach Freeze and the two Buff Orpingtons left from the coyote slaughter at my neighbor's flock. Huff and Puff turned out to be one of the noisiest hens ever. She also had rooster-like spurs on her legs, leading me to wonder if she really was a her.
The Buff Orpingtons, being such a docile breed, starred in a video at work, along with Nina Totenberg. Since they all look alike, the idea was to substitute in one for the other throughout the filming process, so none of them would get overly stressed.
The idea - not mine, but one of the director's idea of a jokey sales incentive video to recreate a scene in which Rocky chases a chicken as part of his training regimen - was that the CEO of our company tosses down a chicken for the President of our company to chase around.
What happened, though, was that the Buff Orpingtons were so happy in the arms of our CEO that when they'd get tossed down, they'd just sort of stand there wishing they could be back in his arms.
We got it to work, but ended up never running the video. CEO's decision.
It was a fun way to spend a work day, though. Who knew a year ago that I'd be bringing hens to work and handing them to our CEO.
And from a breed choice standpoint, if you're looking for a calm breed, a Buff Orpington is definitely the way to go.
