Orpington

Looks how to spot one

Soft, loose, abundant feathering

A big, rounded bird that looks even larger thanks to its fluffy, loosely held plumage. It has a deep breast, a gently curved back, short legs with thighs hidden under thick feathers, a medium single comb, red wattles, white earlobes and white skin. Hens lay brown eggs.41

Personality what they are like

Placid, gentle and sociable. Orpingtons are generally relaxed around people, tolerate handling well and are often described as patient with children and happy to sit on a lap. Because they are so mild-mannered, they settle best in a flock of similarly calm breeds.4753

Daily activity how busy a day looks

Moderate. They are steady rather than flighty, but still need daily time in a run to scratch, forage and dust bathe.84

Grooming and care the hands-on bits

Chickens look after their own feathers by preening and dust bathing, so the key job is providing a dry dust-bath area and keeping bedding clean and dry, which matters for such a thickly feathered breed. Do daily checks of the flock, collect eggs regularly, and expect broody spells when hens stop laying to sit on eggs. Laying typically starts at around 5 to 6 months.845

Home where they are happiest

A secure, draught-free but well-ventilated coop with a roomy outdoor run. The RSPCA suggests around 1 m² of indoor space per bird where possible (no more than three birds per m² if space is tight); veterinary husbandry guidance gives 0.37 m² per large bird as an absolute minimum, and Oregon State University advises about 0.28 m² (3 sq ft) per bird when there is a run, or 0.75 to 0.9 m² (8 to 10 sq ft) without outdoor access. Allow 15 cm of perch per bird at minimum, with large breeds more comfortable at 23 to 25 cm, and roughly one nest box (about 30 x 30 x 30 cm) for every four hens. A comfortable coop range is about 10 to 24 °C, kept as dry as possible, and the run should include a patch of dry soil for dust bathing.869

Food basics what goes in the bowl

Complete commercial feed is the base: chick starter to about 10 weeks, a lower-calcium grower (pullet) ration until laying begins at roughly 20 to 24 weeks, then a layer ration. An adult typically eats about 120 g of layers pellets a day, rising to around 180 g in winter. Offer insoluble grit for digestion and oyster shell as an extra calcium source for laying hens, plus constant clean water set at about shoulder height. In the UK, feeding kitchen scraps to poultry is not permitted.86

Company who they like around

Chickens are flock birds that forage, roost and dust bathe together, so keep at least three hens that get along.8

The story where it all began

The Orpington was created in the 1880s by William Cook, a coachman who kept poultry at Orpington in Kent. He wanted a practical dual-purpose bird for both eggs and meat and blended Minorca, Black Plymouth Rock and clean-legged Langshan stock. His first variety was black, a colour picked partly because it would not show the soot of nearby London. The black was launched in 1886 and shown at the Dairy Show in Islington that year, a club for the breed followed in 1887, and Cook added the white in 1889 and the buff in 1894; his son-in-law A. C. Gilbert later developed further colours. Exhibition breeders soon crossed in Langshan and Cochin blood to create ever larger, fluffier birds, and in Britain the breed became mainly a show fowl. Orpingtons had reached America by 1891, and Cook brought over a large importation himself in 1903. The American Poultry Association accepted the buff in 1902, black and white in 1905 and blue in 1923. Black Orpingtons exported to Australia became the foundation of the Australorp, and a bantam buff was bred in Germany around 1900. After a period on The Livestock Conservancy's priority list, the breed graduated in 2016.1234710

Recognised by the official bits

The Poultry Club of Great Britain

Standardised breed, classed as a soft feather heavy breed. Large fowl colours listed in the British standard include black, blue, buff, cuckoo, jubilee, spangled and white; bantams in black, blue, buff and white.2

American Poultry Association (Standard of Perfection)

Buff admitted in 1902, Black and White in 1905, Blue in 1923.3

The Livestock Conservancy

Graduated from the Conservation Priority List in 2016 and is no longer considered endangered.3