Orpington

To be changed to Orpington

Ancona Male by AO Schilling from American Standard of Perfection 1947

Ancona Female by AO Schilling from American Standard of Perfection 1947

ORPINGTON - SOFTFEATHER HEAVY

The Single-Comb Black Orpington, produced in 1886 at Orpington, County Kent, England, from a Black Langshan-Black Minorca-Black Plymouth Rock cross, is the original Orpington. The Buff and White varieties were produced from crosses other than those which were used to make up the Black Orpington. That Cochin blood was introduced into some of the earlier strains of Orpingtons is evinced by the more loosely feathered specimens bred and exhibited today. The plumage of Orpingtons is all important in order to maintain the ideal type of the breed. The feathers should be broad and smooth fitting on the deep and massive body of the fowl. The appearance of great massiveness, however, should not be secured by developing extreme length of feathers in the plumage. The sides of the body, sometimes erroneously referred to as the "fluff," should be comparatively straight with full but not profusely feathered. Economic Qualities: A general purpose fowl for heavy meat production and for eggs. Color of skin, white; color of egg shells, light brown to dark brown.

THE MALE

SHAPE OF MALE Comb: Single; of medium size, set firmly on head, perfectly straight and upright; with five well-defined points, those at front and rear smaller than those in the middle; fine in texture; blade closely following shape of head. (See Standard illustration, page 262.) Beak: Short, stout, regularly curved. Head: Medium in length, broad, deep; face, clean-cut and free from coarseness. (See Standard illustration, page 262.) Eyes: Large, round, full. Wattles: Of medium size, well-rounded at lower edges. Ear-Lobes: Of medium size, oblong, smooth. Neck: Rather short, slightly arched, with abundant hackle. Wings: Of medium size, well-folded, carried horizontally; fronts, well covered by breast feathers; points well covered by saddle feathers; primaries and secondaries, broad, and overlap- ping in natural order when wing is folded. Back: Broad, flat at shoulders, rather long, width carried well back to base of tail; rising with a slight concave sweep to tail; saddle feathers, of medium length, abundant. Tail: Moderately long, well-spread, carried at an angle of twenty-five degrees above the horizontal (see illustrations, figures 30 and 31, page 28); forming no apparent angle with back where those sections join; sickles of medium length, spreading laterally beyond main-tail feathers; lesser sickles and tail-coverts, of medium length, nicely curved, sufficiently abundant to cover main-tail feathers; main-tail feathers, broad and overlapping. Breast: Broad, deep, well-rounded and well-filled in all parts. Body and Fluff: Body, broad, deep, rather long, straight, extending well forward; lower body feathers, not too profuse; fluff, moderately full. Legs and Toes: Legs, set well apart, straight when viewed from front; lower thighs, large, rather short, well feathered; shanks, rather short, stout, smooth; toes, of medium length, straight, well-spread.

THE FEMALE

With the exception of the single comb, which falls with a single fold and partly hides one side of the face, the general characteristics are similar to those of the cock, allowing for the natural sexual differences.

COLOUR

• Beak yellow shaded with black or horn, preferably not wholly yellow.
• Eyes orange-red with hazel pupil.
• Comb, Face and Wattles bright red, the face free from white.
• Earlobes white.
• Legs and Feet yellow mottled with black.
• Plumage beetle-green with white tippings (the latter free from black or grey streaks), the more evenly V-tipped throughout with white the better, but tipped and not laced or splashed.
• Undercolour black. All the feathers should be black to the roots, with beetle-green surface, and only the tips white.

SERIOUS DEFECTS

• Positive enamel white in ear-lobes;
• Yellow beak, shanks, feet or skin;
• Any deformity.

SCALE OF POINTS

• Colour and markings : purity of white, quality and evenness of tipping, 20 ;
• Beetle-green ground colour, dark to skin, 15 ;
• Tail, 15
• Head (comb 10, eyes 5, beak 5, lobes 5) 25
• Type 10
• Legs 5
• Condition 5
• Size 5

APPROXIMATE WEIGHTS

• Cock 10 lbs (?kg)
• Hen 8 lbs (?kg)
• Cockerel 8 1/2 lbs (?kg) '
• Pullet 7 lbs (?kg)

BPS 1923 gives weights as:

• Male:
• Female:

Bantam weights to be approximately one third of standard weights.

References

The American standard of perfection, illustrated. A complete description of recognized varieties of fowls, as revised by [the Association at its 62d-67th annual meetings, 1937-42.] Public Domain accessed from: https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/009169004

https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/009202629 The Poultry club standards, containing a complete description of all the recognised varieties of fowls, ducks, geese and turkeys, ed. by William W. Broomhead.