Chicken Breed Focus - Orpington

[Grandmas Coop]

March 2014 baby Orphington's
March 2016 Happy , Porch sitting Orphington's
A happy Mamma Orphington raising 4 Barred Rocks, 1.5 weeks old
My buddy 1 year old
2 of the 4/ 2 week old Barred Rocks,,
Porch sit'n

 

[Mountain Peeps]

I absolutely adore my Buff Orpingtons! They are, by far, my favorite breed. Their friendly, affectionate, curious and sweet dispositions are my selling point.

I have three (Sunny, Daisy and Gracie) currently with hopes to get many more one day. Sunny is loud, curious, very soft and very friendly. Daisy is curious, friendly and very goofy. Gracie, my absolute favorite, is affectionate, sweet and every kind of friendly...towards me at least. When I reach to pet a chicken that isn't her, she runs over, gives them a swift peck on the head and jumps in my arms. She's not very fond of being held by others, so she definitely is her mama's girl. I love her to bits! I recommend Buff Orpingtons to every chicken owner looking for a hardy, friendly bird who will lay many eggs.
Gracie


Sunny


Daisy

 

[quackquack2014]

[/B ]My Buff Orpington (Bufft) is the sweetest of all my breeds.. She is my favorite

 

[Ren2014]

I'm new to Orps. I choose this breed because they are so friendly. I have two buff pullets and 3 lavender cockerels. LOVE my pullets. They are the sweetest and most affectionate of all our chickens. And such personalities. They love to be held and have a routine of sitting with me before they are locked up tight at night. I'm beginning to question the lavenders though. My cockerels are huge and I worry about my girls... EE's, BR and the buffs. I recently had to cull one of the cockerels because he was violently jumping the girls and grabbing their heads. He apparently wounded one BR girl during the day and once the flock saw blood, they destroyed her head. She's recovering in my bathtub. I once saw a video of a really mean lavender rooster. Could it be the color or just a coincidence??

 

[fullerfamfarm]

- we purchased buff orpingtons because we were told by friends that they were very docile. We have children so this was very important to us! For the most part they are, though our rooster gets a bit pecky from time to time

-We purchased our buffs for egg laying purposes.

-I like the temperament of our orpingtons, they are the most easy going of all our flock.

-I can attest to the flying abilities of orpingtons... they seem to grow their flying feathers back at a faster rate than our other breeds. Our buff rooster has a HUGE wing span, he seems to be half eagle!

2 of our Orpington ladies gossiping in the yard

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Our resident chicken whisperer


Our Orpington rooster, King Aragorn


The King again

​

 

[machinfarm]

I already submitted pictures but I just wanted to also show off my two roosters who, we were told when we got them, were twins from the same egg! I can't verify it but it's a good story and they sure do get along oddly well for two grown roosters.

 

[percoco13]

We have a single lavender hen in our flock and she's just gorgeous and so sweet! I'd love to have more at some point- the breed is just fantastic!

 

[Mountain Peeps]

We have a single lavender hen in our flock and she's just gorgeous and so sweet! I'd love to have more at some point- the breed is just fantastic!

Lavender is my favorite color of all in Orps. (Besides Buff.

) She is beautiful!

 

[mcbrown7513]

I love Orpingtons! I currently have two Black pullets, two Blue pullets, a Jubilee pullet, a Partridge pullet, four Buff pullets. I also have a Splash rooster and a 1/4 Buff 3/4 Splash rooster.

They are by far some of the friendliest chickens I've ever had, they weren't even handled that much as chicks yet they still come up to me and a few like to get the occasional pat. The boys are massive too!  They aren't aggressive(knock on wood) and always give me my space. I'm hoping to hatch some chicks from them this year, but in a pen full of black chickens that lay brown eggs it might be hard to figure out parentage.

He is the only Orpington that I have. I want to get more. Levi is by far the friendliest bird in my flock. He likes to be carried around. Lazy? Not quite sure.

 

[RezChamp]

I just found out the original was black. cool

I've owned Orps for a few years now. Unfortunately only the Buff coloration. I would love to have maybe a cpl cocks and a dzn hens in every available color of the standard size.
Reason is because of all the chickens I've had the Orps have got to have the sweetest temperament. Yes there are other breeds that are personable, heavier/meatier, better layers, rousers when foraging for themselves, colorful(physically and characteristically speaking), but my Buff Orpinigtons have spoiled me. They are such good moms, good layers of good sized eggs right up till -20*C, gentle, friendly, seemingly intelligent, tec. If I am digging in the garden or picking up old staw and poop to make a smudge for the horses or raking at the wood pile or..or... they are the first to come running looking for Earthworms and other tasty morsels. They show the other chickens I am not a hazard to be around and actually quite benifitial to their digestive tract. The roosters are also gentle although not quite a trusting as the hens. Their combs aren't so very big thusly making these guys a bit more cold hardy than say an Australorp or RIR much less a Minorca or Leghorn. I've seen the Orp cocks are not as big on defending their harems as the RIR tho. But a nice carcass and easy to clean even though they have lots of feathers. And the color of these Buff Orpington cocks is gorgeous in the morning sun.....and the noon sun.........and the sunset... That almost metallic gold shimmer...gleam....sheen.. shine
So... anyways... if the other colors of Orps have the same "chicken"ality as mine then I want them all.

Play with me here...Imagine a 2 story house on a 200 yard diameter, 8ft high hill, in a bluff of new (60yrs)growth (mixed hardwoods, flowers, berry bushes of all kinds all sorts of shrubbery(all endemic species to Central Manitoba)) in the middle of a 1/2mile by 3/4 mile meadow surrounded by low grassland/sloughs bordered by mixed softwood& hardwood forest on 270degrees with an old(now drained) swamp stretching 10 miles on 90degrees..throw in a floorless, tin-roofed, log housing structure(on skids) in the middle a fenced area of about 7or8 acres of afore mentioned landscape filled with a veritable flower garden of free-range Orps.

This is so do-able but dang that's a lot of chicken fence...

Yes definitely something to consider.