Orpington (chicken)

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The Orpington is a breed of chicken named after the village of Orpington in Kent county England, which was made famous in part by this breed. Belonging to the English class of chickens, it was bred to be an excellent layer with good meat quality. Their large size and soft appearance together with their rich color and gentle contours make them very attractive, and as such its popularity has grown as a show bird rather than a utility breed. Being rather heavy, they are unable to fly, so they work well as backyard birds. Due to their build they do well in very cold climates. The fluff of their feathers allow rain water to penetrate their feathers, so they must be kept out of the rain.

History

The original Black Orpington was bred by William Cook in 1886 by crossing Minorcas, Langshans and Plymouth Rocks to create a new hybrid bird. Cook selected a black bird that would exhibit well by hiding the dirt and soot of London. The first Orpingtons looked very much like the Langshan. According to the British Poultry Standards, the White was bred in 1889, the Buff in 1894, and the Blue in 1905. When the breed was shown in Madison Square Gardens in 1895, its popularity soared.

Besides the original colors (black, white, buff, blue), many other varieties exist today, such as porcelain (Jubilee, speckled), red, mottled and birchen. Although there are many additional varieties recognized throughout the world, only the original colors are recognized by the American Standard, and the Buff is the most common. In the beginning of the twentieth Century Herman Kuhn of Germany developed a Bantam variety. The Bantam retains the large appearance, but in a smaller size. Like the Standard varieties, there is a large variety of colors in the Bantam version (i.e. black, blue laced, white, buff, red, buff black laced, barred, buff columbian, and birchen.) The Bantam retains the friendly personality of the Standard breed, and seldom or never flies, so it too makes for a good backyard breed.

Appearance

The Orpington has a heavy, broad body with a low stance, and the down from their body covers most of their legs.

Some characteristics of an Orpington are:

• Heavy weight (7 to 10 pounds),
• Soft, profuse feathering, which almost hides the legs of the bird,
• Curvy shape with a short back and U-shaped underline,
• A small head with a medium single comb.
• Large and usually easily tamed
• Fluffy feathers making it look distinctively large.

Productivity

Orpingtons lay about 200 medium to large light-brown eggs a year. They do not stop laying in the winter.

It was said to at one time lay as many as 340 eggs per year. This decline in production was due to breeders selecting for looks over utility

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