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
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.
Orpington hen with chick
Orpington chick
Orpington hen
Orpington juvenile
Orpington rooster
For more about Orpingtons and their breeders's and owners' experiences with them, see our breed discussion here:
My orpington has the softest feathers ever and I love the color of the feathers too, she is big and cuddly. She is VERY hard to catch and hates me and the new chicks I introduced to the flock, though.
How 'bout at least telling us why you thinks what you posted? What if I had a flock of Orientals (I don't but I greatly admire them)...how would the Orpington fit in? Just looking for some sound reasoning on the part of a reviewer.
I love mine! I started with just four Orpingtons and when we expanded the flock, we got 2 more Orpingtons and 3 other chicks from different breeds. They are the sweetest chickens ever. Even the one who turned out to be a roo. He is my favorite little partner in crime!
Well....with due respect, if a kid can't be absolutely be strong enough to handle a bird, chances of either the kid or the bird being harmed shouldn't be taken.
I'm not a real fan of Orpingtons but with this kind of review, it might make one like me take another look!!! I have a friend who raises wonderful and successful conformation Buff Orpingtons and she too is a great 'CHAMPION' of the breed in her own right.
Our Buffs are great birds. The hens are sweet natured and gentle but can be a bit flighty at times and not want to be held. Our three roosters are good flock masters but hard on one another. They also do not tolerate other rooster breeds very well which is contrary to what the breed description says. We chose Buffs because of their tolerance to hot and cold conditions that we can have in north eastern MO and because of their tendency to go broody.
I wouldn't advise strangers/children to try and hold our birds under any conditions. Having strangers handle birds stresses the animal and a stressed animal will act out to protect itself from what it perceives as danger resulting in somebody getting hurt. Suggest an owner hold a bird and allow children to pet it to avoid a disaster.
That's fine in theory, microchick but I've concluded from long experience that for all concerned, the best policy is for them to look all they like but do NOT touch. There's no advantage that I can see for strangers touching chickens of others. If for no other reason, especially now...BioSecurity.
No argument here on that hellbender, but children are curious creatures by nature. Little ones especially. To deny them contact is sad. It is also a chance to educate as well as entertain. Hand sanitizer can be used before and after contact especially if the chickens are free ranging. I agree with you about allowing visitors into coops or pens, but yesterday I was visiting an Amish neighbor and had the privilege of watching three broody hens with chicks and a duck with ducklings wandering around the place acting like happy fowl. Biosecurity? Nah. Problems with sick birds? Not that I can see. Common sense is always a good option when dealing with kids and animals so both are protected. I'm glad your policy works for you as I imagine chick-adee's policy works for them. Safety for all involved is my policy, whether animal, bird or human.
I hatched some B/B/S and they are my favorite chickens! There personalities are so sweet, they are so friendly...they actually remind me of puppies. They come running to me when they hear my voice and stand on my shoes and let me pick them up. They are so soft and fluffy. I just LOVE these birds!
I love my 2 Buff Orpingtons. They love to be held and pet. Daisy is my BYC avitar. Sunny is my other BO. Whenever I go into the coop they both run up to me and just sit in hopes that I'll pick them up and stroke their feathers, as I always do. They're my babies. I only wish I had a bigger coop and run for them and I also wish I could allow them to free range but unfortunately, I live in the city in the suburbs. I have a fenced in backyard but limited space. So I try to spend lots of time with them and offer them a lot of love. I also have 2 RIRs.
Hi, we have some buff orpingtons, they are about 4 months old and they do run up to you, sit in your lap, are friendly. Please can I ask, what is a snuggle buddy ?
Our snuggle buddies are one or more of our hens who want to sit in your lap for your attention and either be petted, relax or take a nap. In some cases I have had 2 and even 3 in my lap at once. In some instances even watch TV.
Beautiful stated! I've enjoyed this article! keep up the great work! Love all the Orpingtons....keep it going! more should be said about many other Orpingtons!
