Improving English Buff Orpingtons

[jjrj254]

I have noticed a lot of Breeders in the US that breed English Orpington have different imported Orpington colors with great “English” type. But the Buff Orpingtons don’t seem to have as good “type” as the rest, they seem to be smaller than the other color varieties in my opinion. I’ve been working on improving the Imported Buff Orps but I haven’t quite gotten them to where I would like them to be. I saw this video on YouTube a few days ago and I fell in love with these (pictures from video above ) and I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on how to breed towards a bird that would look like that, I’ve thought about crossing a standard Buff Cochin for the size (buff cochin was used in the original development of the Orpington) but I think it would take a few generations to get rid of the feathered legs. Any thoughts?

 

[Poultrybreeder]

For size, I would feed them turkey feed as babies. I did that with my Buff rooster, and he is 11 pounds! Maybe over time the size would start to affect the chick's size too.

 

[Poultrybreeder]

And by babies I mean starting at 1 month old. Not baby babies.

 

[pipermark]

View attachment 1144751 View attachment 1144752 View attachment 1144753 View attachment 1144754 View attachment 1144751 I have noticed a lot of Breeders in the US that breed English Orpington have different imported Orpington colors with great “English” type. But the Buff Orpingtons don’t seem to have as good “type” as the rest, they seem to be smaller than the other color varieties in my opinion. I’ve been working on improving the Imported Buff Orps but I haven’t quite gotten them to where I would like them to be. I saw this video on YouTube a few days ago and I fell in love with these (pictures from video above ) and I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on how to breed towards a bird that would look like that, I’ve thought about crossing a standard Buff Cochin for the size (buff cochin was used in the original development of the Orpington) but I think it would take a few generations to get rid of the feathered legs. Any thoughts?

Only way to do it would be to start from the beginning like you suggested or see if you can find any breeders in the US with the type of bird you like. Be aware that many US show breeders bred to looks not egg production and most show birds do not produce the size or qty of eggs the original breeder was trying for. (PS go to an APA approved show I have seen very nice Orphingtons at them)

 

[gojira]

If you want a large bird of english type, you have two main challenges. Very few, if any, Orpingtons in the US actually have the english type. I have American type Buff Orpingtons, and had a cock that weighed 15 lbs. Is that still too small?

 

[Poultrybreeder]

I saw a few weeks ago someone selling English Buff Orpingtons on www.rarebreedauctions.com. Maybe they will sell some more soon.

 

[jjrj254]

I’ve fed turkey feed before hoping it would help size and I did get some very large roosters but the hens would remain average sized, I do have my own line of imported English orpingtons that oven aquired over the years from different breeders that have been imported but I’ve noticed that of all the imported orpingtons the Buff ones lack the English’s type, I’ve also noticed that many breeders have interbred them with American lines and I think that has taken a toll on the type as well

 

[gojira]

I have not seen the English type on any Orpinton in the US. Some are closer than others. I would not say Buffs are the farthest from that. Then again, why are you wanting English type?

 

[jjrj254]

I’ve always liked the type of the English birds better, my first Chicken ever had very good type unfortunately she was really old and not laying when I found her

 

[gojira]

You like the looks of the birds that meet the UK standard, or the birds that were imported into the US? There is a difference.