Body Shape of Orpingtons ???

[J's Orpingtons]

Im a breeder of Show Orpingtons, and I just discovered that they are two Body Shapes of Orpingtons !
The first one is basically round and fluffy heres a picture:

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ABOVE IS NOT MY OWN HEN

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ABOVE IS MY OWN BO COCKEREL

See what I mean !! Im now trying to breed my BO Cockerel that is above with one of the big fluffy Orpingtons, and see what is the result. Have you noticed this ?
I think it might be different top breeders of Orpingtons my Orp cockerel is from William Burdett. And also the big ones are mostly found in Black Orpingotons...

 

[Ducks and Banny hens]

Okay, the reason blacks are the fluffiest, fattest variety of Orpi is because, way back in the hen fever years, Black Orpingtons were hugely popular, and the fluffiest and fattest ones were most very popular at the time. Much to Mr. Cook's chagrin. He foresaw that this body type would eventually degrade the variety he had worked so hard to make 'good'. Meanwhile, in Australia, the poultrymen were keeping alive a 'useful' strain of Black Orps. This is the Australorp. (The Australorp, now thought of as a different breed, is actually more Orpi - like than the Black orpington. Go figure).

 

[extraordinaryfowl]

Quote:
Very cool - never knew that is how Australorps came about.

 

[galanie]

The ones bred to American standard are longer than the one bred to UK standards also. Course since you're in Ireland, you'd expect to have UK types. There are round, short backed UK type buffs but most are longer as the one you pictured is. Also the original Orps were black and share no bloodlines at all with the original buffs! I don't know about Mr Cook being displeased about his birds being fluffy, but I do know that the American standard Orpington is somewhere between the UK and Australorp. I have read that Australians simply bred Orpingtons with other breeds to make better layers and closer to what they wanted there. So you end up with three different types, and two different "breeds." To me, an Australorp just looks like an Orpington mutt. Sorry, I know people love them but that's what they look like to me.