The first Orpington fowl to appear was the Black in 1886. It was bred by William Cook of Orpington in Kent. Eventually there were 7 varieties: Black (1886), White (1889), Buff (1894), Jubilee (1896), Spangled (1900), Cuckoo (1907) and the Blue (1907). The Spangled and Cuckoo are no longer seen and the Jubilee (mahogany, black & white) only occasionally at shows.

Orpington birds are active, but docile birds. Many are bred for showing. They are steady though not exceptional layers of tinted eggs, producing up to about 190 a year. Being a 'heavy' type, they do have a tendency to go broody but are good mothers.

We have three varieties:

The Buff has always been the most popular and although Cook bred it from Hamburg, Dorking and Cochin (Shanghai), the early birds resembled the Lincolnshire Buff which had been bred as a dual purpose bird since about 1850. There was (and still is) controversy, but the Orpington was standardised at the expense of the Lincolnshire.

Black Orpingtons came from Minorca, Plymouth Rock and Langshan. They have a green gloss to their feathers and the characteristic rounded shape. Breeders 'developed' the black into an 'ball of fluff' but the original returned via Australia (the Australorp) and the overblown show bird of the 1920s gave way to the bird we see today.

The Blue was introduced by William Cook's son and was bred from only Orpington varieties: the White, Cuckoo, Spangled & Black. It is a typical Orpington shape with a broad chest, broad back, small head & tail, and low, wide legs. If a blue cock is mated with a blue hen, chicks may be Black, Blue or 'Splash', an attractive very pale blue/grey with single darker blue/grey feathers 'splashed' about.

We have the same varieties as Bantams.