Famous Chicken Breeds The Orpington | Chicken Coop Joke
Famous Chicken Breeds The Orpington
The original Orpington (the Black) was developed in 1886 by William Cook. He crossed Minorcas, Langshans and Plymouth Rocks to create the new hybrid bird. Cook named the breed after his home town in Kent. The first Orpingtons looked very much like the Langshan and were black. Between 1889 and 1905, Cook also created white, buff and blue colored Orpingtons. The Orpington was bred as a dual-purpose breed (meat production and eggs), but its popularity grew as a show bird rather than a utility breed. Their large size and soft appearance together with their rich color and gentle contours make them very attractive.
Besides the original colors (black, white, buff, blue), lots of other varieties exist today, e.g. porcelain, red, mottled and birchen. The original colors are still the most widely bred varieties.
Photo by Jack Bennett of his prize Rooster Goliath
Orpingtons lay between 110 and 160 eggs a year.
Below is a little video footage of some Buff Orpington Hens, and Cockerel.
The above text about Orpingtons is licensed under the
GNU Free Documentation License.
Famous Chicken Breeds The Orpington
