Orpington

We have six Buff Orpington Hens and one Rooster. They are great egg layers even through the Winter months and are cold hardy. They also tolerant well excessive heat. They are extremely personable and friendly. They all have their unique personalities. The smallest of our Buffs is Suzie, but she actually rules the roost. She is extremely spoiled and likes to be placed in her special night time nesting box above the rest of the flock so that she can watch over them. They all come running when they see you and like to sit in your lap. I have a lot of snuggle buddies. We also have Rhode Island Reds which are a more aggressive breed and the Reds tend to pick on them. Thankfully they have plenty of room to get out of the way if the see a crazy red head coming their way. I love this breed. They are an extension of our family. We raise them for eggs. I would recommend this breed since they are super friendly and great egg layers.

I received my Orpington as a free bird in a shipment of Polish chickens. I'm starting to fall more for her than for the birds I've bought!! She's calm and easily adapted to being with a different breed. SHe hasn't layed yet, but I've heard Orpingtons are great layers! Reliable birds!

I have a flock of 7 different varieties and my Buff Orpington, Pecky is by far my favorite. She has so much personality and is a really funny friendly bird that lays the biggest eggs I have ever seen. She is also very consistent in her egg laying and I average 6 eggs a week many with double yolks! If I had to do it all over again I would only have Buff Orpingtons in my flock, they are truly a superior chicken in every way and a perfect choice for a backyard flock!!!

Bought our 1st Buff Orpington in spring 2013. I was amazed at how quickly she grew. She is a very good egg layer of light brown eggs. Very friendly and not aggressive. In 2014 we bought 2 more. They were purchased as 1 day old chicks from the feed store. One of the chicks died within a week. The ventilation in the brooder box (which was in the garage at the time) was not well ventilated. I did not lose any of the other chicks though, so may have just been an illness the chick had. I've had no other problems or issues with this breed.

They grow very quickly, so if you are looking for a dual purpose bird, I would definitely recommend the Buff Orpington.

This is a great all around bird, especially for a beginner. Friendly. VERY docile, can get picked on by more assertive hens, so I ordered my Buff's first to give them a two month head start on the others. They've been such a great influence on the 11 younger birds. Easy going and not flighty ( too heavy built). Great in a coop but enjoy free range as well. Very hardy and healthy. They lay a good sized egg consistently every couple days. Mine live in extreme dry summer heat and do fine with deep shade, great ventilation and plenty of cool water. I don't think they would fare well with heat + humidity in a stuffy coop. I have 3 Buff and 1 Lavender Orpington. Love this breed.

Now here we’ve got our hands on a fine docile breed! Named after the town of its origin, Orpington, Southern England, this breed has been one of the most famous English breeds across the world. This fluffy fowl first appeared in 1886 when the breeder William Cook decided to put his pure breeds of Minorcas, Langshans, and Plymouth Rocks into the work of forming a new hybrid chicken which he hoped would take a place at the top of the list in chicken breeds. The outcome was a black fluffy bird which he thought was perfect to hide the soot of London which covered his others, and when he was finally done completing the breed he brought it to the Madison Square Gardens in 1895 and, in an instance, his new bird went from a simple project to one of the most popular breeds on earth. Since then it has been bred into all sort of colors and sizes, primarily strands of white, buff, blue, lavender, and splash, the most popular in the continent of North America being the buff. The original appearance of the Buff Orpington is a heavy, broad body, with a low stance and a curvy shaped, stubby back, and white skin and legs. The facial features of the Orpington are a small red head with red ear lobes, a long thin beak, yellowy-buff colored eyes, with a small sized comb for the hens. The roosters have spikey feathers on the top of the head on either side of a large deep red crown. They are feathered in a very loose plumage which gives them the appearance of being very large, and have legs mostly covered by fluffy down. Being bred for a show bird more than a production bird, the Orpington only lays 175 to 200 eggs a year. This breed is amongst the most beautiful of chickens which is why it is a prize winner in the show!
I am breeding Buff and Lavender varieties along with some Barred Plymouth Rocks, Rhode Island Reds, Black Stars, Danish Brown Leghorn, and Black Australorps and this one sure is one of the most docile in the world! The roosters are exceptionally kind and add a great color to any flock. The cocks will offer you food and give little dances for you! The hens aren’t good egg layers but are very broody (My whole flock did!) and make good mothers! The overall is a very sweet, beautiful looking bird!

Summary of the Orpington

Conservation status: Recovering
Popular Names: Orps
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Use: Dual-Purpose, mainly Show
Personality: Docile to anything
Hardiness: Cold
Weight: Male: 10+ Pounds, Female: 7.5 Pounds
Feet Color: Pinkish
Skin Color: White
Egg Color: Light Brown to Buff
Comb Type: Medium Single
Plumage Pattern: Flat
Plumage: Several varieties, such as Buff, Lavender, Splash, Black, White, Laced, ect.
Broodiness: Often in the right condition

They were my loved companions, they would come up to me and eat from my hands. They were nice around kids and in fact the kids loved to hold and pet them

Blossom is two months old in this picture. She has always let us pet her, hold her, and she is always a pleasure!

I have two buff orpingtons and they are amazing! They are really friendly, and easy to take care of. They are fine in the summer and winter, and they really are beautiful. The only bad thing is they are hard for younger kids that come over to handle. They are heavy, and flap if they think they are going to drop them.

I had a Buff Orpington up until very recently.
She was always gorgeous, and very friendly. She wasn't the top of the pecking order, but she wasn't the bottom either. I never saw her bullying or getting bullied. She did tend to lay less regularly than the others, and the eggs were small.
However, the thing I really came to write about is what an amazing mother Ginger was. When she first went broody, we didn't have a rooster, therefore no fertilized eggs. We waited a couple days, to make sure she was dedicated, then got some hatching eggs from our neighbors. I had never hatched babies before, so it was all on Ginger. She left the nest only once during her entire hatching period. We supplied her food and water in the coop, and she just sat and sat. She was only sitting on 4 fertilized eggs, and she hatched all four. She hatched them with the other chickens, although we then moved her and the babies inside, to the downstairs bathtub. She was always incredibly careful with her babies, always watching us. She was never afraid to give us a peck while she was sitting, and when he messed with the chicks too much. We were able to reintroduce her and the chicks within a couple days, with absolutely no fear.
Ginger would peck the lead hen, who was very bossy, and Eagle understood exactly why. She would lead the babies to the food first, and stand in the middle of the dish with all of them around her, guarding. All those chicks grew up to become beautiful chickens, even though they looked nothing like her, and were all from different hens from the neighbor's house. One of them is my rooster today, George.
Unfortunately, Ginger passed away about a month ago. I'm still not sure why, but I miss her all the time. Later on, when we expand our flock, we plan on getting some Buff or Lavender Orpingtons.
My experience with them has been wonderful.

I LOVE these birds! They are great for familys. If you are wanting some chickens, I encourage you to get orpingtons.

My four orpingtons are buff and they are the sweetest things ever!!! orpingtons are sweet, docile birds with great personalities! I cannot say enough good things about them!!!! I would highly recommend them for any first time chickens owners! Orpingtons 4 life!!!!

I don't have much to say but, this is a must have breed for any flock!

Love my girl! She is the friendliest of the flock. When I sit with them she always wants to be pet and is good with the smaller children as well. she never gives me any problems! really a great bird!

We got a BO pullet from Meyer Hatchery the week before Easter. She was only with us six weeks before a freak accident took her. She was the sweetest chicken I have ever known. She didn't mind my kids picking her up all the time. Even my two year old could pick her up with very little protest. She was always the first to come over when you got near the brooder or coop. She also seemed to be the best forager of the three (we also have a barred rock and an Easter egger), even at six weeks she would eat june bugs the size of her head. We will defiantly get another in the future.

Hi all,

I bought three Buff Orpington chicks (all 3 1/2 weeks old) at Steven's Hay and Grain, and they seem to be doing great. My chicks (Puff, Chicksa, and Chicken Little) all have different personalities. One is very large and slow at figuring things out, but really docile (Puff). Chicksa is a little more on the temperamental side, but she is one of the most curious chicks that we have. She is the medium one, and she likes to dust-bathe more than all the others (Even on my hand!). Chicken Little is probably the smartest chick we have. Overall, Buff Orpington chicks are soft, docile, inquisitive, and nice.

I love my buffs, Tiny and Peep, naturally named by their description. Sweet birds, very calm when held, very submissive to the roos, but very aggressive with new chicks. From what I've observed, it appears the buffs feel they are lowest in the pecking order, although this isn't really the case. They seem to fight hard to keep their ranks. I have a flock of 12 overall (2 buffs, 2 RIR, 2 White Silkie Roos, 1 half cochin half EE, 1 full EE, 1 White EE, 1 Barred Rock, and 2 Silver Penciled Cochin Bantams-1 of which might be a frizzle). My buffs get along great with other hens and roos.

I am babysitting an Orpington, but it looks I will have her for a while. Oh, darn. I have three mutt chicks I hatched from her because she is one of the best chickens here. She is very sweet and perceptive, and I named her Whisper because she makes sweet, low noises and does not intrude much, but she is often very important and meaningful, like a whisper. Her best friend is a little Nankin hen named Penny who no one but her likes. They roost by themselves even though everyone likes Whisper because she will not leave Penny by herself. If anyone pecks Penny or shoves her out of the way, she gives them the smack down. You do not want to be anywhere near her if she sees you have brought a dog around her. She fluffs herself out to be huge and charges worse than any rooster I have had, like a big, fluffy, yellow bull. The dog is sorry! She is one of the boys' favorites, for sure. She does not love people, she tolerates them, but she had a bad past. Orpingtons would be great for the average person.

I like the Orpington. Is a really good docile and nice chicken! Good layer! Sometimes it gets pick on from other large chicken like RIR but not mine.