308cc963_900x600px-LL-e69b2074_IMG_6870.jpeg

Orpington

The original Orpington, the Black, was developed in England in 1886 and brought to the US in...

General Information

Breed Purpose
Dual Purpose
Comb
Single
Broodiness
Frequent
Climate Tolerance
All Climates
Egg Productivity
Medium
Egg Size
Large
Egg Color
Light Brown
Breed Temperament
Friendly, Easily handled, Calm, Bears confinement well, Quiet, Docile
Breed Colors/Varieties
USA APA: Buff, Black, White, BlueSplash in not recognized at this time.Also there are a few other colors of Orpington Projects under way in the USA as of today.
Breed Size
Large Fowl
APA/ABA Class
English
Color
The original breed colours/varieties are black, white, buff, blue and splash
bbee3a71_IMG_0942.jpeg

The popular Orpington breed originated from the town of Orpington, Kent, in south-east England, where the original black Orpington was bred by William Cook in 1886. (Mr Cook also created the Orpington duck breed). Mr Cook crossed Minorcas, Langshans and Plymouth Rocks to create a new hybrid breed, from which he selected to breed a black bird, that would also exhibit well, by hiding the dirt and soot of London.
The breed was shown in Madison Square Gardens in 1895 and its popularity soared. Its large size and soft appearance together with its beautiful colours make it very attractive breed and as such its popularity has grown as a show bird rather than a utility breed. Hens are fairly often broody and are good mothers. Although rather heavy, they are able to fly small distances but rarely do so.
The original breed colours/varieties are black, white, buff, blue and splash. Although there are many additional varieties recognised throughout the world, for example the Jubilee Orpington, only the original colours are recognised by the American Standard, the Buff being the most common colour. In the beginning of the twentieth century, Herman Kuhn of Germany developed a Bantam variety of Orpingtons and the Bantam retains the appearance of the LF Orpingtons, but in a smaller size. There is a large variety of colours in the Bantam version, including black, blue laced, white, buff, red, buff black laced, barred, buff Columbian, and birchen.

700.jpg
Orpington hen with chick

b4d5ef5e_IMG_8688.jpeg
Orpington chick

63214432_100_8039.jpeg
Orpington hen

bf3b8030_IMG_2057.jpeg
Orpington juvenile

75934c49_Orpington.jpeg
Orpington rooster

For more about Orpingtons and their breeders's and owners' experiences with them, see our breed discussion here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/chicken-breed-focus-orpington.1088559/

Latest reviews

Pros: Sweet, good for families, love people, calm and cuddly, good egg layers.
Cons: Sometimes get bullied. Also prone to get overweight easily.
Very sweet and gentle.
Orpington
Pros: THEIR SO CUTE! and other stuff people mentioned lol
Cons: THEIR ARE NONE! lol same as other people
I love them especially the Buff Orpington they are very nice and they learn well!
I wanted to do this because i LOVE them.
Purchase Price
.......
Purchase Date
........
Great Friendly Chickens!
Pros: Friendly and easy to handle
Calm and quiet temperament
Cons: Medium egg productivity
ok broodiness for hatching chicks
I really like my Orpingtons! They’re super friendly and easy to deal with—great if you’re new to chickens. They’re also really calm and quiet, so no annoying noise, which is nice if you live somewhere a little tighter. They lay decent-sized brown eggs, though not a ton of them. I love how they look. they are pretty birds with lots of color options. They’re on the heavier side, but they can still fly short distances if they want to. All in all, I definitely recommend them!
Purchase Price
got 6 for $5.95 each
Purchase Date
don't remember, lol

Comments

I have 3 buff Orpington and they are certainly the most docile birds I have. Bless them. I lost 3 to a fox in one afternoon when they were free ranging and all my hens are now behind 6 foot fences. I also have a few Marans, Welsummers and Jersey Giants. Fourteen overall so not a massive flock.
 
The only issue with Orpington is their "low clearance"... keep it clean around the coop or they start dragging dingleberries easily... they're kinda furr-bally lol... part of their charm.

Personality wise, borderline annoying :).... I have to tippy toe opening the patio door or I get rushed but said furrballs... not joking... tried to work outside today, hard to type with a Buff-O sitting on your laptop for "attention"....
 
The only issue with Orpington is their "low clearance"... keep it clean around the coop or they start dragging dingleberries easily... they're kinda furr-bally lol... part of their charm.

Personality wise, borderline annoying :).... I have to tippy toe opening the patio door or I get rushed but said furrballs... not joking... tried to work outside today, hard to type with a Buff-O sitting on your laptop for "attention"....
I know what you mean. They are really bad about getting under foot when I’m working in the pen. They stop and squat so fast that I have to be careful not to step on them or trip over them.
 
The only issue with Orpington is their "low clearance"... keep it clean around the coop or they start dragging dingleberries easily... they're kinda furr-bally lol... part of their charm.

Personality wise, borderline annoying :).... I have to tippy toe opening the patio door or I get rushed but said furrballs... not joking... tried to work outside today, hard to type with a Buff-O sitting on your laptop for "attention"....
Lol yes @dunnmom... I have to tippy toe daily especially if they’re hungry... but it doesn’t end there... few days ago, I was in the pool, shallow end, enjoying... the “crew” walks by... someone farted and/or a leaf hit the ground... doesn’t matter a nothing got them to disperse and one of the buff though it was a good ideas to fly to my shoulder.... what do you do with a chicken on your shoulder while in the pool.. lol... Buffs... not the smartest but maybe the cutest :)
 
I have 3 Orpington chicks. They are about 2 weeks old now. I am going to have them for eggs and pets though. :lol:
 
Orpingtons do well in my part of AZ. I allow them to free range in my fenced back yard--which, aside from some fenced in raised bed gardens and fruit trees is mostly rock and dirt. Their buff coloration helps them blend into the ground and keeps them safer from Hawks than other breeds. I agree they are reliable layers and quite friendly--a great bird for beginners.
 
I have a single RIR hen, almost a year old. I want to add a few friends for her so when our coop and run is finished and she is moved from the garage she won’t be alone. I was thinking of getting one more Red and two Buffs.
I’ve heard they are docile, but will they be too docile for my Red? I thought be having two of each it would balance the personalities. Any thoughts, recommendations will be appreciated. My Red is very sweet, hasn’t shown any agressive behavior towards us or our dogs.
 
I have 3 buff Orpington and they are certainly the most docile birds I have. Bless them. I lost 3 to a fox in one afternoon when they were free ranging and all my hens are now behind 6 foot fences. I also have a few Marans, Welsummers and Jersey Giants. Fourteen overall so not a massive flock.
Any ideas what might have happened to one of my buff orpingtons? She gets knocked over if the others are crowding round but can't get up be herself. If I stand her up she walks off as if nothing has happened. She is eating well.
 
I love Buff Orpingtons. I have one BO rooster and a BO hen and three BO mixes. My favorite BO we had was a Roo we used to have but ended up missing one day. :( He had splade leg syndrome when he was a couple day old chick because his mother stepped on him and caused it. We put a split on both legs for 24 hrs and he was able to walk!!! He was a funny and SWEET SWEET Rooster!!
 
I love Buff Orpingtons. I have one BO rooster and a BO hen and three BO mixes. My favorite BO we had was a Roo we used to have but ended up missing one day. :( He had splade leg syndrome when he was a couple day old chick because his mother stepped on him and caused it. We put a split on both legs for 24 hrs and he was able to walk!!! He was a funny and SWEET SWEET Rooster!!
Nice!
 
My Orpingtons are a little more than 5 weeks now! I love them a lot! Their names are: Fighter Jet, Marshy, and Kiwi.
 
Love Love Love my buff Orps! They are the first to greet me and they follow me everywhere around the farm! super sweet birds that like to be pet!
One of mine, kiwi, really loves to be petted! When ever I enter the pen she runs up to me (with the others, of course,) and cheeps "Give me my massage!!" I guess she still remembers when she was a little chick. She loved to be held.
 

Item information

Category
Chicken Breeds
Added by
Super Admin
Views
194,499
Watchers
100
Comments
710
Reviews
542
Last update
Rating
4.49 star(s) 561 ratings

More in Chicken Breeds

More from Super Admin

Share this item

Back
Top Bottom