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Orpington

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

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/

Latest reviews

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

Comments

I have 4 lavender orpington cockerals 3 months old, free to good home, would make good breeders, these are quality birds
I'm 20 miles west of Atlanta
Hi there! If you are trying to regime some birds you should start a thread here:
Copy this below and paste it in your browser to get to the correct page.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/#buy-sell-trade.67
 
Hi there, I think I'm in the minority here, but my 2YR old Buff Orpington is and has been such a big bully in my flock! She's very protective of me and gets very jealous if I pick up another chicken or another chicken sits on my lap instead of her. She'll attack and peck at other chickens if they get in her way or she sees them sitting on my lap. Other than the jealousy/protective issues, she is a sweet chicken to me and loves to sit on my lap, cuddle, and "talk" to me about her day. She also likes to "help" me in the garden (scratching at the dirt, eating worms/slugs, pruning plants, etc.) and she also likes to "help" my husband in the garage (she will sit on his work bench and watch him haha). Again, definitely in the minority here with her being a bit of a bully to other chickens, but she's a sweetie to me :)
 
We have 4 BOs and I am in love with them. Sweet, curious, quiet, and they love to be petted. My husband's a professional photographer and took some glamour shots or our newest two girls... They are adorable and hilarious.
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Individual personalities which remind me of returning souls my Buff Orps are hardy, smart and gentle full of charm. They are great with children and our dogs. We're full of admiration and love for them.:celebrate
 
My Molly just sadly died of sudden death. I will be missing her and looking forward to welcoming 2 sexlink pullets coming soon to our home. I love Buff Orpingtons and always will but in my area are hard to come by.
 

Item information

Category
Chicken Breeds
Added by
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Views
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Watchers
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Comments
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Reviews
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Last update
Rating
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