Orpington Chicken
The Orpington is a heavy breed of Chickens, that got named after the town of Orpington, in the south-eastern part of England. Its large size and soft appearance, together with its rich colors and gentle contours, make it a very attractive chicken breed. As a result, Orpington’s popularity increased as a showy bird rather than a utility breed.
The original black Orpington was developed by crossing Minorcas, Croad Langshans and Plymouth Rocks. The White Orpington followed three years later, and was a cross between white Leghorns, black Hamburgs and White Dorkings. While, the Buff Orpington was introduced later as people wanted a buff color-variety for this chicken breed.
Orpingtons have red earlobes, and small to moderate-sized single combs and wattles, which helped to make them very cold hardy. The original color-varieties for this chicken breed are; black, white, buff, blue and splash, but there are many additional color-varieties that got recognized across the world today. Orpington hens are very good layers of light-brown eggs (175 – 200 eggs per year) and they often go broody and make great mothers. A bantam version is also available for this breed.
Place of origin | The UK |
Use | Dual-purpose and ornamental |
Weight | Standard, male: 4.5 kg female: 3.6 kg Bantam, male: 1.1 kg female: 965 g |
Comb type | Single comb |
Skin color | White |
Egg color | Light-brown |