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Orpington

The original Orpington, the Black, was developed in England in 1886 and brought to the US in...
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General Information

Breed Purpose
Dual Purpose
Comb
Single
Broodiness
Frequent
Climate Tolerance
All Climates
Egg Productivity
Medium
Egg Size
Large
Egg Color
Light Brown
Breed Temperament
Friendly, Easily handled, Calm, Bears confinement well, Quiet, Docile
Breed Colors/Varieties
USA APA: Buff, Black, White, BlueSplash in not recognized at this time.Also there are a few other colors of Orpington Projects under way in the USA as of today.
Breed Size
Large Fowl
APA/ABA Class
English
Color
The original breed colours/varieties are black, white, buff, blue and splash
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The popular Orpington breed originated from the town of Orpington, Kent, in south-east England, where the original black Orpington was bred by William Cook in 1886. (Mr Cook also created the Orpington duck breed). Mr Cook crossed Minorcas, Langshans and Plymouth Rocks to create a new hybrid breed, from which he selected to breed a black bird, that would also exhibit well, by hiding the dirt and soot of London.
The breed was shown in Madison Square Gardens in 1895 and its popularity soared. Its large size and soft appearance together with its beautiful colours make it very attractive breed and as such its popularity has grown as a show bird rather than a utility breed. Hens are fairly often broody and are good mothers. Although rather heavy, they are able to fly small distances but rarely do so.
The original breed colours/varieties are black, white, buff, blue and splash. Although there are many additional varieties recognised throughout the world, for example the Jubilee Orpington, only the original colours are recognised by the American Standard, the Buff being the most common colour. In the beginning of the twentieth century, Herman Kuhn of Germany developed a Bantam variety of Orpingtons and the Bantam retains the appearance of the LF Orpingtons, but in a smaller size. There is a large variety of colours in the Bantam version, including black, blue laced, white, buff, red, buff black laced, barred, buff Columbian, and birchen.

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Orpington hen with chick

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Orpington chick

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Orpington hen

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Orpington juvenile

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Orpington rooster

For more about Orpingtons and their breeders's and owners' experiences with them, see our breed discussion here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/chicken-breed-focus-orpington.1088559/
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Latest reviews

The Welch Chickens
Pros: Adorable and fluffy; easy to pick up and cuddle! Cold tolerant, pretty good layers. Calm and kind to their flockmates. Middle-bottom of the pecking order.
Cons: Prone to obesity and poopy butt feathers.
I have two Lavender Orpington hens. They are so sweet and pretty! They are big girls, though. Not overweight (though that happens often with Orpingtons), but a bit chunky! Lots of fluffy feathers. They are friendly (they love cameras and shoes!), and let us pick them up for cuddles. (One of mine is pecking at my boots as I speak!)

One con is that their fluffy butts often get dirty and need trimming or cleaning. Not too big of a problem if you don’t mind that, though.

Overall, a great breed (the Lavenders are, at least); I would recommend them!
Purchase Date
April 2023

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Jenbirdee
English chocolates are super floofy smart and sweet
Pros: sweet &friendly, good with kids, cold hardy, large eggs, smart, brave
Cons: so poofy floofy they get dirty easily (floof drags on ground, and poop can get on butt feathers) &not too great in very hot weather.
whats funny about my chocolate orps is how they boss my ducks around. only 2 hens and they chase off all 12 ducks. they are brave.
they understand duck-speak. when there are treats theres a special quack to call the ducks ,,and the chickens actually come running so fast theyre the first ones there., they are smart.
They are very sweet and friendly, even jump up on my lap sometimes. and gentle with children.
so super floofy - they look round like beach balls! beach balls with feet lol. I have to really watch and check them often for bugs because their floof feathers practically drag on the ground. they also need bottom baths every few months . theres just too much floooof for the poops to make it over and out without sometimes getting on those butt feathers,
Purchase Price
$40 ea for poults at pol
Purchase Date
summer of 22

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GirlsHuntToo
Great article!
I love Buff Orpingtons and own 7 of them, very friendly and calm.
Great layers too!
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Comments

Allieharmon
I have 2 Buffs and one is already broody at the age of 7 months. It's driving me crazy. Otherwise they are both gentle, sweet birds. The broodiness might drive me nuts tho.
 
Tough Old Bird
Oh boy....! I guess I knew this was part of the deal, but I can't say I'm looking forward to that part. What have you tried to discourage the broodiness? Good luck staying sane!
 
clairi
Yes these sound like mine, hate being picked up and run like hell if they think im going to...mine are 21 weeks now, hoping they will get better with age, but I am surprised. Also they are still cheeping...do they ever cluck!!!
 
lovie chick
I agree with you. I have two Buffs named Lucy and Izzy. Lucy is very friendly and sometimes stays in my lap for over an hour. Izzy is more standoffish but the Buffs are definitely my favorites though I do love all my girls.
 
plund
I'm so sorry about Doodle. I have 4 Buffs and they are all friendly and all different (although I seem to be the only one that can tell them apart). They all know their names and if someone is missing & I call them, the other girls run looking. My neighbor tells everyone that "every other chicken I've ever seen runs away from people, her chickens run to her. They're lap chickens." I will always have Buffs, I also have a Chocolate Bantam Orp & just rehomed a lovely Black Bantam Orp Roo to a great 4-H show home. They are all loving and friendly.
 
mommahen64
Interesting! Mine do eat a lot but are pretty good layers as well. They are friendly and are good with my other birds (RIRs, bantams, aracaunas). Sorry your luck wasn't good with them.
 
Lady of McCamley
You nailed my experience with Orpingtons...very pretty, large fluffy hens and very big eaters. Way more grain went in than eggs came out (only mediocre output). Mine were not flighty but not super duper friendly as so many report. The biggest one was very aggressive with other birds too. I too sold all of mine. I did miss the pretty gold feathers out on the lawn, so I replaced them with Buff Wyandottes....much better layers and keepers.
 
bobbi michelle
I just love the Orps English and American too, but prefer the fancy waddling of the English! I have more chickens then I need eggs and for me its not about how many eggs vs grain I am feeding. It is a true hobby and slightly closer to a hunting dog or a cat that mouses. I want the benefits but wouldn't have the animal if it did not provide value by just being So now that you know my bias or perspective. Here are my thoughts about the Orp.
I love the Orp personality. Each one must be different but my three have been sweet. Why they are just like happy go lucky English labs. They are friendlier then the Breda's which tend to be aloof (which has its own charm) and sweeter and gentler then the Sussex which tend to be bossy but industrious.
All three breeds lay pretty well with the Sussex coming out a little ahead however all three have medium-large eggs vs extra large or jumbo like at the grocery store. Your normal chicks at the feed store each spring lay more eggs and they are bigger too! lots of Rhode Island Reds, Wyandottes and Aracaunas to be had there.
I think raising chickens of any kind has to be both fun and rewarding and there are just so many to chose from finding the right one for you is just a matter of time and who knows the ones you maybe given up might just make someone else terribly happy!
 
bobbi michelle
I figure most folks who get into chickens at least start off wanting eggs. Which leads us to feed store chickens: There is a reason the feed store stock and sell so many Rhode Island Reds, Wyandottes and Aracaunas each spring. They are proven winners when it comes to raising them and getting eggs, lots of big eggs in fact!
As for me I should probably start with my bias or my perspective. I have chickens and I like getting eggs but I have more chickens then I need eggs. :) My chickens also do a great job of hunting. They are expert killers, of insects. Why we almost never see a snail around here anymore. For me raising chickens is like having a hunting dog (which I do) or a cat that “mouses”. I would not have the animal if I did not also like having (and supporting) it just because it was in itself lovely. …A lovely dog that also hunted, a lovely cat that also control rodents, and lovely chicken that also laid eggs. but that is me. No shame in my utility requirements but I do remind myself in a short amount of time even my hens won’t lay eggs and none of my roosters lay any eggs at all! So there you have it my perspective on the value required.
As for Orps I have only owned three and none were yellow or golden. A rooster we named Puffy Daddy, a hen named Dutches and a Hen named Duckie (that name was stolen from another hen but it stuck). Anyway all though each chicken is unique, I find my three which are 50%/50% American English Orp crosses are similar. They are sweeter than my Speckled Sussex, ah but the assertive Sussex are ever so industrious and teach the other chickens how to be chickens! And the Orps are friendlier then the Breda. The Breda are almost haunt with their aloof disposition as if they are truly dressed up for cocktail hour and don’t want to be bothered until then.
All three of my breeds lay eggs regularly and in our mild weather most of the year. The Sussex beat out the other two by just a little bit but I would say all three lay only medium to medium large eggs. They do not lay extra large or jumbo eggs like you can buy at the grocery store. But they lay plenty enough for my needs. And, assuming I can keep the predators and the pests away, they will have a home when they don’t lay any more.
There are just so many types and varieties of chickens from mix experiments, novel new breeds to old heritage breeds. Some people have bred for meat, or their heartiness, or ability to forage, or endure the cold, or for their pretty feathers, disposition….and when we think of eggs: frequency might be important to some but to others its size, and others want thicker shells, still other what egg color…be it a green shell or a plumber orange-er yolk!
Luckily there are chickens for all of us! Glad you have found ones that keep you in eggs and chickens :)
 
Beekissed
I agree 100%...'nuff said. I wouldn't take a BO if someone gave me one. Couldn't afford to keep it and it wouldn't have enough meat on it for eating.
 
TaraBellaBirds
I ordered a heavy assorted mix from Murray McMurray and received one buff orpington pullet. She wasn't too friendly at first, but now that she is laying she follows me around grumbling at me waiting for treats! She lays the BIGGEST almost pink colored eggs. She is also my best layer giving me an egg 6 days a week! I adore her, and plan to get more Orps in the Spring
 
PandoraChick
Yes! My buff orps and very sweet and gentle with other chickens..even ones they werent raised from beginning with...only con I can see is that it takes them a bit longer to start laying...but thats not really a con. My buff orp rooster is very friendly...though he is blind. He comes when I call him like a puppy!
 
okiegirl47
I have one buff orp and she is the sweetest girl! She's not happy until we let her into the house and she has to roost on me or my son and loves to be petted. She would be very happy living in the house with us if we would let her. I made her a diaper but she doesn't like to wear it and usually will pick at t and flop around until it comes off, otherwise we would have her inside a lot more. The only complaint I have about her is that when we sit down to eat she jumps up and tries to get out food off our plates! We are very happy with her and the funny thing is we didn't even know what breed she was when we got her. We just got lucky!
 

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