The Orpington breed of chicken was originally bred in England in 1886. It was named “Orpington” after the town of Orpington, Kent, in south east England. It was designed primarily to be an excellent layer with good meat quality.
Now Orpington chickens are wonderful dual purpose birds and one of the best options for small farms as they are docile, gentle and grow well.
They lay eggs and produce tasty meat, and chickens breed easily. You can create a natural environment for Orpington chickens where they will breed and last for generations.
This breed of chicken is also very hardy and produces eggs well during cold winters and short dark days.
Currently, the Orpington chicken is a popular and attractive breed, mainly due to its large size, soft appearance, rich color and delicate outlines. It is also popular as a show bird.
Characteristics of Chicken Orpington
Orpington hens are heavy, but with loose plumage and appear massive. They have better plumage than some other breeds and their plumage allows them to withstand low temperatures. They are very cold-hardy birds. There are two similar but different standards for Orpington hens.
The first requires the UK Poultry Club to weigh between 3.6 kg and 4.55 kg for males and between 2.7 and 3.6 kg for hens. They also call for either a broad body with a low stance, heavy and with fluffy feathers that make it tall (the body fluff covers most of the legs).
Other characteristics of their Orpington hens include a curvaceous body with a short back and a U-shaped underline, as well as a small head with a medium comb.
The skin color of the Orpington chicken is white. Chickens lay larger, light brown eggs. They are very good laying hens and the hens lay an average of about 3-4 eggs per week. Maturation is reached earlier.
On average, male Orpington chickens weigh 3.6-4.55 kg, and females 2.7-3.6 kg. Buff, black, white and blue Orpingtons are the recognized color varieties of this chicken breed.
Behaviour/Temperament
Orpington chickens are good birds. They are gentle and obedient, calm and patient. They are also great with children.
| Breed name | Orpington |
| another name | everything |
| Purpose of the breed | dual purpose |
| Broad temperament | Easygoing, friendly, tolerates shutter well, easy to handle, obedient, pretty |
| Breed size | Heavy (2.7kg – 4.55kg) |
| sullen instinct | frequent |
| comb | A |
| climatic tolerance | All weather conditions (very frost resistant) |
| egg color | light brown |
| Egg size | big |
| Egg performance | Good (about 3-4 eggs per week) |
| feathered feet | Not |
| scarcity | Buff is common (others rare) |
| Varieties | Buff, black, white and blue |
Good
- Beautiful
- take it easy
- obedient
- Soft
- A patient
- very friendly
- Fluffy
- good diapers
- Go mother hen, and hens are excellent mothers
- Good with children
- lay larger light brown eggs
- Not noisy
- winter hardy
Wrong
- Many of them look alike (hard to tell apart without leg bands)
- Can be beaten by more bossy girls
Is Chicken Orpington healthy for you?
Orpington chickens are good for you if you…….
- Dual purpose chicken ready for rearing.
- I want to have beautiful hens with a good temperament.
- Have children and raise friendly chickens.
- You want to produce large eggs and tasty, good quality meat.
- Look for chicks that are also excellent mothers.
- Look for larger birds for your garden or small farm.
- Live somewhere in cold regions and look for hardy chickens.
