British chickens Orpington

Chickens Orpington is an English breed that belongs to the meat-producing direction. It was bred in the century before last and quickly spread to European countries. Now this breed, like Brahma, has lost its position in industrial breeding. More productive varieties appeared that crowded out British birds. But in private farms, chickens are still bred, including because of decorative qualities.

Hens Orpington

Description of the breed

The breed was bred in England for more than 30 years and was created by William Cook, who did not live to see the final approval of the standard. One of the breeding trends was obtaining birds with white skin, which was more appreciated by aristocrats. In addition, the purpose of breeding was to obtain universal birds with good weight, tasty meat and enough eggs.

Finally, the standard was approved for Orpington chickens in 1894. They began to spread throughout Europe. In Germany, birds with red feathers were received from them.In 1989, Orpington was crossed with Leggorn , resulting in white individuals. Here’s what modern Orpington chickens look like:

• The shape of the body is square.
• The head is small, rounded.
• “The face” is covered with a thin skin.
• The comb of cocks and hens is leaf-shaped, stands straight, has 5-6 teeth.
• The earrings are medium, rounded.
• The beak is large and strong.
• Eyes are mediocre, from orange to black, depending on the color of the feathers.
• The body is massive, large, wide and low set.
• The neck is mediocre, densely covered with feathers, slightly inclined forward.
• G the fishing rod is voluminous, extended and lowered down.
• The back is extended and shortened.
• The tail is short and extended, with a large number of feathers.
• The line connecting the neck, back and tail, form a curve in the shape of a flat arc.
• The wings are small, firmly pressed to the body.
• The hips are plentifully covered with feathers, powerful.
• The legs are medium, without plumage.
• The skin is white.
• The types and colors of plumage are different.

The main disadvantages of the breed of chickens Orpington:

• • Slim body.
  • Elongated or shortened legs.

Flat breast.

• Elongated and sprawling tail.
• White coating on earrings or scallops.
• Yellowish skin.
• Color mismatch beak and legs with a hint of plumage.

Hens are more stocky than males. Their back is longer, the tummy is better rounded, and the tail is shorter and wider. The scallop is small, but also stands straight, has up to 5 cloves. In more detail, the external signs of birds can be seen in the photo and video.

Product characteristics

When choosing domestic chickens, it is important to evaluate their food quality. Orpington is considered a universal meat-and-egg breed, like Cokhinhin , Wyandotte or Brahma . Here is his brief description:

• Roosters weigh 4.5-5 kg, hens – 3.5-4 kg.
• Egg production – 160-180 pieces per year.
• The weight of one egg is 55-65 g.
• The eggshell is yellow-brown, strong.
• The survival rate of chickens is 93%.

Chicken meat is tasty, juicy, and is highly appreciated by culinary experts. Chickens grow slowly, because now they can not stand the competition with broilers. Birds begin to hatch at 6-7 months.

Pros and cons of the breed

Orpington chickens, like any other breed, have their own advantages and disadvantages. Advantages include:

• high weight;
• tasty meat;
• the ability to carry eggs in sufficient quantities after two years of life;
• calm and peaceful nature;
• developed maternal instinct for mother hens.

Unfortunately, the Orpingtons have a number of shortcomings that prevent birds from occupying leading positions in agriculture .The minuses of the breed include:

• Gluttony and slow weight gain by chickens, which significantly reduces the profitability when breeding birds.
• Low egg production.

Orpington breed in private households. For breeding in conditions of industrial farms, her product indicators are too low. Chickens get good reviews from the owners, as they are unpretentious, allow you to get both tasty meat and eggs. The breed can be safely recommended for beginner poultry breeders.

Species of the breed

In the course of many years of selection, which continued not only in Britain but also in other countries, several species were bred breed Orpington. They differ among themselves in the color of plumage, paws, eye and beaks. The body structure and product characteristics are similar. Below are the most common species and a description of their appearance.

Black Orpington

Black Orpington are the first original representatives of the breed. Feathers have an intense black color with a green tint. They shine and shimmer in the sun. The down, beak and metatarsals on the legs are also black, the skin is exclusively white, the eyes are brown or black. Defects are colors with a purple and bronze tint, lack of shine of plumage. Also, birds with speckles on feathers, light beaks, belly and metatarsus, yellow skin, red eyes are rejected.

White Orpington

The white type of Orpington is the exact opposite of black. Its plumage is snow-white, without the slightest inclusions. Metatarsus, beak and fringe are white. Eyes are orange-red. The disadvantage is yellowness, which most often appears on the back and wings. The variety was obtained by crossing Leghorn and black Hamburg roosters . White Dorking and Kokhinkhin took part in the selection.

Golden Orpington

This chicken species has a golden, black-edged color. The rooster has a red-brown head with a golden collar, covered with expressive dark touches. The back, chest, shoulders, pigtails on the tail, steering feather golden brown. The edge of each feather is bordered with a black border. The tummy is black, with brown or golden inclusions. The beak and tarsi are white or light horn, the eyes are orange-red. The chickens on the neck do not have such a magnificent collar as the males.

Fawn Orpington

Fawn Orpingtons are sometimes called yellow. The plumage in their color resembles old gold. The down of the birds is also golden, as are the feather rods. The color on the body is evenly distributed, the fawn cock can stand out only with the enhanced shine of the collar and back. Beaks are bright, paws are white, eyes are orange with red. The appearance of spots, other colors on the body, except yellow.Also metatarsus and beak of a different color than the standard are considered disadvantages.

Blue Orpington

Blue Orpington have a beautiful color resembling silver. It is desirable that the bluish-blue tone does not have any impurities. The edge of the feather, bordered by a dark border, looks very impressive. The collar and lower back of both the female and the male are black-blue, the down and tail are pure blue. Beak and lower legs are slate or black, brown eyes or black. A defect is considered to be color deviation from the main blue hue, lack of dark bordering, speckles on feathers, light beak or metatarsus, orange or red eyes.

Calico Orpington

Calico Orpington it is also called porcelain, tricolor or chapel. The basic shade in birds is red-brown. At the tip of all the feathers you can see a black speck with a white dot at the outer edge, which resembles a pearl. Pigtails on the tail and steering feather on the wings are black, their tops are white. The color of the beak and legs is white or horny, the eyes are orange with red. The disadvantage is the intense white or black shade of the feathers in the wrong places, scattering of dots throughout the body, and not just at the tips of the feathers.

Red orpington

The species was bred in Germany one of the first. The color of the feathers of chickens and roosters is red with chestnut, absolutely evenly distributed throughout the body.The stems of the feathers are red, the beak and paws are white, the eyes are orange with a reddish tint. Blotches of any other color or low tide, spots on the plumage are not recognized.

Striped Orpington

Striped color is often called hawk, as it resembles the color of the feathers of this wild predator. The main tone of the plumage is black. All feathers have wide white lines, the tips of the feathers are black. The pattern is the same on all parts of the body. Paws and beaks of white or horn color, eyes red-orange. The disadvantage of this variety of Orpington is a fuzzy pattern, its absence at the edge, blotches or reflux of a different color than white and black. Let’s say green tide.

Marble Orpington

Marble Orpingtons are black and white. The main tone of the pen is black with a green tint. On the tip of the feathers there are little white specks in the form of the Latin letter V with clearly defined boundaries. The pattern evenly covers the whole body of hens and cocks. The eyes of birds are red with orange, metatarsus light. A brown tint, yellow or red spots on the feathers are considered a disadvantage.

Partridge Orpington

This species of birds is very rare, males and females have different tone of plumage. The grouper cock of the breed Orpington has a red-brown head, from which a golden collar descends with black vertical strokes.The back and shoulders are chocolate-golden, the tummy, breast and lower legs are black with a barely noticeable brown trim. The tail with braids is gold-fringed, as are the feathers of feathers.

The main color of the plumage of the hens is golden brown. Along each feather there is a three-row edging of black color. Stripes go strictly parallel to each other. Both sexes have orange-red eyes, light metatarsals with a beak. The disadvantage is the white tone in the plumage, a fuzzy pattern, blotches of other colors not shown in the description.

Lavender Orpington

Lavender, or cuckoo, Orpington is a very beautiful bird , deduced relatively recently. The plumage color is silver, with a slight pink or purple hue, like mountain lavender. Roosters and hens have the same color, equally distributed throughout the body. In addition to lavender, cuckoo species can be lemon yellow. It is very important to find a clean line of these birds, as crossbreeds often have impurities of other colors. To better understand what purebred lavender Orpingtones look like, you can look at the photos and videos.

Content Features

At home The keeping of the Orpington chickens has its own peculiarities.Do not forget that these are large birds, therefore they need a spacious chicken coop . For 1 sq. m, you should not keep more than 3-4 individuals. The room should be well ventilated, especially in winter, when hens cannot walk freely in the fresh air. In the summer, a corral with a walking area of ​​2-3 square meters is equipped for livestock. m per bird.

The chicken coop should have the correct litter . It can be made non-replaceable, removing only the top layer as necessary. A layer of slaked lime should be poured on the floor: it effectively fights bacteria and absorbs excess moisture.Then you need to lay 15-20 cm of sawdust, peat, shavings, straw or other improvised material. The moisture content of the coating should not exceed 25%. Once every six months, the house should be cleared and the entire litter completely changed. The same thing is done when an infection has flared up among the livestock.

In the chicken coop, perches of large size, 30 × 40 cm, are equipped. They can be made of boards or thick plywood. feeders make 2 types: metal for wet food and wooden for grain. Drinking bowls are also better to put out of metal, plastic is poorly washed, chickens can easily turn such bowls. The maintenance of chickens of this breed does not provide for heating in the barn. But during very cold winters in the region, it is better to make a heating indoors.

Feeding birds

Feeding chickens Orpington has its own characteristics. These birds are voracious and prone to obesity. Excess weight is bad for the egg production of females and the fertilization of an egg by roosters. Weight gain is more often observed in winter, because during this period you need to especially monitor the diet.

Feed the birds twice a day, the last time they are given food at 15-16 hours. The diet includes:

• grain (wheat, corn, barley);
• herbal flour;
• wet mixes with the inclusion of fresh kitchen waste;
• boiled potatoes;
• meat and bone meal ;
• table salt;
• chalk, shells, other mineral and vitamin supplements.

To prevent chickens from recovering, they reduce the amount of potatoes and high-calorie grains (oats, corn). Also, do not abuse meal from malipnykh plants. In the spring, before starting to breed chickens, you can give the premix to the hens. Protein supplements are also useful: reverse, crushed peas, meat broths.

In the summer, hens spend a lot of time on free pasture. In their diet there is green grass, plant tops. You can give zucchini, pumpkin, watermelon and other vegetables to the birds at this time. Regularly need to change the water in the drinkers. A bowl of pebbles or coarse sand should always be near the feeder, which the birds need to grind coarse grain in the goiter.

Breeding chickens

It is better to grow chickens of the Orpington breed separately . Then there will be an opportunity to keep the breed clean. The family consists of 1 rooster and 10 chickens. Some owners leave another 2-3 spare males. For breeding, the best and healthiest specimens that fully meet the standard are selected. The parent flock is updated every year by 15-20%. The productivity of chickens lasts 2-3 years.

Layers of this breed are excellent brood hens, because most owners breed them naturally. An incubation egg must be checked under an ovoscope. Orpington insemination of eggs reaches 80%. Breeding of chickens in the incubator is also possible, the incubation rules are standard.

The hatchability and survival rate of chickens is high.Daily chicks are active, eat well. You can feed them with special compound feed or self-prepared blenders . Give porridge or steamed crushed grain (oats, corn, barley). A boiled egg, cottage cheese and chopped greens are added to it. The two-week-old chicks begin to go outside, and the monthly chickens are already walking all day and they themselves get their own food.

How much do Orpington hens cost and where can I buy them? You can go for the chicks in the Krasnodar Territory, there are specialized farms. The breed is bred in the suburbs, Energodar and other regions of Russia. Weekly chickens Orpington cost 300 rubles, and two-week-old chickens cost 350 rubles, hatching eggs cost about 200 rubles. Adults are sold for 1000-2000 rubles. The price may depend on the color, the more unique it is, the more expensive the birds will cost. Affects the price and purity of the breed, the stability of genetics, the presence of a pedigree.