Orpington production traits

[Bluberry]

For those who are breeding orpingtons, Do you tally the number of eggs hens are producing and are you tracking weight gain/table qualities? I've been told that these birds are slow to mature. Is that a new trait that has been bred in? Some resources states orpingtons were originally reocgnized for a fast growth rate, what does that mean in today's standards?

 

[AprilWC]

So I can't speak personally about Orpingtons, but many old fashioned / heritage breeds were popular for home meat, egg, or dual purpose use. As people moved away from home food production they relied more on commercial producers. These breeds, on a commercial scale, can't keep up with the industry standard broilers (CornishX).

As a result, many of those older breeds are still around, but mainly as backyard layers or in exhibition flocks. Their production traits aren't always selected for. Size decreases, growth over time slows, egg laying decreases because for the backyard flock those traits don't matter. Some exhibition breeders don't care about production as long as they bird sometimes lays and meets the SOP.