The BANTAM ORPINGTON Thread

[PioneerChicks]

Let's get this thread active again!

I have two pullet bantam Orpingtons, mixed colors. Alex is a chocolate brown and Falcon is a pretty gray. Here is a couple pictures of them attempting to have a sleepover on the roof of their coop.




I am wondering, how good of layers would you say bantam Orps are, and how big are their eggs?

 

[Faraday40]

My "Cookie" is six years. Her eggs are pretty thin or soft-shelled now due to age. However, when she was young she layed daily for 2-4 weeks, then went broody & raised chicks (no eggs) for a few months, then back to laying daily. This cycle happened about 5 times per year.

She's here because of her personality, charm, beauty, and broodiness - not eggs. Now that's she's older, I prefer that she not lay eggs and put her energy into mothering. She's the best broody hen around. She can hatch up to 7-8 eggs but can care for up to 35 chicks. When broody, it's common for her to adopt any & all of the chicks we have. If it peeps, it's hers! She's raised chicks, quail, ducks, and turkeys with ease and is very serious when it comes to her chicks. I can even add young poultry of different ages. She keeps them all in line so the little ones don't get harmed. She doesn't peck or attack us when broody, but she does have a very good banshee scream while sitting on eggs.

I Love the way Cookie moves across the grass. Her little feet can't be seen under all the fluff as she walks, so it looks like she simply glides. Unless she's running . That's when a little sway is added which makes her look like a funny waddling toy. She's very friendly and has earned her status of a flock matriarch.

I'd love to find another bantam orp, but just can't seem to find any. I don't think they're a very popular breed. Many cochins around in all kinds of colors & sizes, but no bantam orps.

Here's a pic of Cookie a couple months ago. The breeder had imported English bloodlines. Unfortunately, she had some severe predator losses and decided to sell off her remaining stock. I wish I still knew someone who could ship me some fertile eggs.

Shortly after that pic was taken, Cookie went broody and mothered a dozen poults and almost 2 dozen full size orps. They sold out quickly.

We let her keep 3 poults and 1 chick.

Even when her "babies" grow larger than her, she still cared for them. Cookie just started laying again last week, so I expect she's planning on going broody again before the end of July.

 

[Faraday40]

After complaining about Cookie's poor quality eggs, she laid a normal one today. LOL

 

[PioneerChicks]

Does anybody have any pictures of Orpington Bantams they would be willing to let me use for a BYC review I made? I only have mixed colors but would like some purebred pictures in there. You would get credit.

 

[Faraday40]

Here's our spoiled chicken Cookie. She's a black bantam Orp and came from imported English bloodlines. If none of these pics work, I can take another for you.

"Girls Just Want to Have Fun!"

Not a pretty background but one of the few pics where we can see her feet.

Here she is puffed up & broody. She reminds me of a little hot air balloon.

Cookie is the BEST broody hen around. If it peeps, it's HERS. She has adopted and raised many chicks over the years..... including some ducks, quail, and turkey poults.

 

[LadiesAndJane]

Let's get this thread active again!

I have two pullet bantam Orpingtons, mixed colors. Alex is a chocolate brown and Falcon is a pretty gray. Here is a couple pictures of them attempting to have a sleepover on the roof of their coop.
View attachment 2226455
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I am wondering, how good of layers would you say bantam Orps are, and how big are their eggs?

Hi @PioneerChicks!
Just found this thread. How is it going with your bantams? I found a source for the chocolate bantam english orps and am seriously thinking about getting some! How are yours doing here 6 months later? How is their egg laying ability? Any info you would like to share would be appreciated!

 

[PioneerChicks]

Hi @PioneerChicks!
Just found this thread. How is it going with your bantams? I found a source for the chocolate bantam english orps and am seriously thinking about getting some! How are yours doing here 6 months later? How is their egg laying ability? Any info you would like to share would be appreciated!

Hi!

I love my bantam orps! They are curious and friendly. They are medium-large for bantams, and are so pretty!

They have been doing great so far this winter, except that they molted late. They have both gone broody a couple times (I didn't let them hatch), and other than that and molting they have been great layers! In fact, one is molting right now but is laying throughout!

On the average I think I get about 5-6 eggs per week from each, occasionally 4. They have been great layers overall, and have definitely proven themselves as winter layers!

So yes, I recommend this breed! Go for them!

 

[LadiesAndJane]

Hi!

I love my bantam orps! They are curious and friendly. They are medium-large for bantams, and are so pretty!

They have been doing great so far this winter, except that they molted late. They have both gone broody a couple times (I didn't let them hatch), and other than that and molting they have been great layers! In fact, one is molting right now but is laying throughout!

On the average I think I get about 5-6 eggs per week from each, occasionally 4. They have been great layers overall, and have definitely proven themselves as winter layers!

So yes, I recommend this breed! Go for them!

Thanks! Helps alot! I found a breeder of English Orpington bantams that will ship to Hawaii. This is no small feat, believe me! Only has the chocolate and descibes them as more "mid size" as well! They look stunning in the photos. So happy to hear you are pleased with them. I am going to order them right now for a May shipment, so excited!
Thanks again!

 

[Faraday40]

Anyone know of an English bantam orp breeder.... who has BBS? I've found plenty of buff bantam orps (via hatchery or online), but none seem to have the English body type that I adore.
I really love the extra fluff!

 

[Faraday40]

With great sadness I must announce that my dear sweet bantam Orpington hen, Cookie, passed away on Sunday. She was the queen of all broody hens and mother to most of my flock.

For the 1st few years of her life, Cookie was my only bantam. She hatched along with full-sized orps and could hold her own. She knew how to use her size and speed to dash in & under the others to steal all the best treats. Cookie earned the nickname, "the bantam menace," because of her stealthy actions (and our Star Wars theme).

Cookie was an adorable ball of feathers and looked like a mini hot air balloon when broody. She could also pancake herself to accommodate up to 8-9 large fowl eggs. We called her "Cookie Monster" when broody. Because our roos were always large English Orpingtons, Cookie never had any biological offspring, but that never seemed to bother her. Going broody early & often was her mode of operandi . Her motto was, "If it peeps, it's MINE!" She never seemed to quit. She could scream like a banshee but was never "pecky" toward my fingers.

Cookie earned the title of Queen Broody not because of her large spread or hatching ability but for her multiple adoptions. She raised bantams, large fowl chicks, ducklings, turkeys, and quail. If it peeped, Cookie would care for it. Because she was small, it was easier for us to add Cookie to the big brooder and just let her adopt all the chicks. Her record was over 3 dozen! She happened to go broody about 3-4 days before a big hatch was due. I pulled one egg out at lockdown and slipped it under her..... then added the incubator chicks a few at a time as they hatched. She must have thought she was "SuperHen." She sat on ONE egg for 3 days and hatched over 3 dozen chicks! Thankfully Cookie couldn't count, so as some chicks were sold, more were added the following week. She could easily handle chicks of different ages and species. (I certainly wouldn't try that with any other hen.) To Cookie, learning how to scratch was the most important lesson for her chicks. It didn't matter if there was a full bowl of chick feed. Cookie would tidbit to her babies and go into a scratching frenzy - spreading food everywhere and sometimes even sending an unlucky chick flying across the brooder. LOL

Last summer Cookie started laying soft shelled eggs. Extra calcium didn't help. I felt relieved when she was broody because it paused her egg production. She never really laid another normal egg and I knew she had some type of reproduction disorder. About 2 months ago, Cookie started slowing down and losing weight. A lump under her vent began to grow. She ate and drank and hung out with my laced orps, but she no longer "ran around" like she used to. She would come when called - but at a walking pace. Like a true orpington, she never lost her desire to eat. After she passed, I did a necropsy and found a large lash egg. (Salpingitis) My only good news is that she is no longer in pain.

RIP My Sweet Little Cookie
April 22, 2013 - March 28, 2021
This is how I will always remember her:

Inflation

Hot chicks in cars. (My daughter actually played with Cookie like a baby doll, so seeing her driving around the bedroom with Barbie wasn't unusual.)

Cookie asking herself, "Why did I want to go broody again?"

"No Cookie! Stop trying to incubate that!"

A rare sight - Cookie without chicks

Spring 2020 hatch (Yes, most are turkey poults)

Cookie and her baby turkeys

Don't you just love a good broody scowl?!

Forgive me for being long, but many people know of my beloved Cookie. She will be forever remembered as a wonderful chicken, mother, special pet, and family member.