Meyer Moment: April Bird of The Month - Orpington

Join us on the Meyer Moment Podcast as host Linda explores the Meyer Hatchery April Bird of the Month - the  Orpington.

Learn about this dual-purpose breed's friendly nature, diverse color varieties, and egg-laying capabilities. Don't miss out on this chat with Lauren from Meyer's marketing team and grab a special discount on your next Meyer Hatchery purchase over $50.

Subscribe, listen, and discover why life is better with chickens!

Shop Orpingtons on our website.

Transcript

00;00;00;00 - 00;00;32;28
Linda
Hey, everyone. Welcome back to the Coop with Meyer Hatchery, where we talk about all things poultry in hopes of educating chicken keepers and inspiring future flock owners. I'm Linda. And today we'll be talking about our April Bird of the Month, Orpington. And we have with us Lauren from my Aunt Cherry. Welcome, Lauren. And tell us a little bit about what you do familiar.

00;00;33;00 - 00;01;02;28
Lauren
Hi. I am on Meyer's marketing team and I work on the blog and podcast and some of the behind the scenes marketing things. 

Linda
Well, welcome. Thank you so much for being with us. 

Lauren
Yeah, anytime. 

Linda
So the Orpington in general, we consider it a dual purpose breed that's adaptable to many climates. So it's hearty for anybody. They're known for being friendly.

00;01;02;28 - 00;01;35;29
Linda
And also very good family birds or pets, they have super thick plumage, can even make them look bigger than they are. And they are on the larger side for most chickens. But they definitely have fluffy butts.
 
Lauren
Yes, they do. 

Linda
So in terms of colors, do you have any that are your favorite? 

Lauren
I have a splash, Orpington, and I love the splash coloring.

00;01;36;01 - 00;01;58;25
Lauren
Currently this time of year in the spring, it's actually not that pretty because it's white and so white. It changes color with the pollen and the mud and all the things. But I really love the splash look, I also love that jubilee. 

Linda
Look, those are really pretty. 

Lauren 
Yeah, Yeah. Or even the chocolate, though. One of those big brown birds. I like that, too. So I don't know that there's a favorite

00;01;58;27 - 00;02;22;18
Linda
I might have to go with the lavender or the jubilee, but we do have others. We also carry the black split to lavender. The lavender, the chocolate, the jubilee. And then we have the blue, which could give you the blue, black or splash. So there are plenty of options.

00;02;22;21 - 00;03;04;15
Lauren
Definitely. Definitely can't go wrong with any of those. 

Linda
So why do you think people love Orpington so much? 

Lauren
You know, Orpington are really friendly and they're family friendly and you can keep them with all sorts of different breeds. They're friendly to other chickens. So I think that that friendliness is great. They lay a decent amount of eggs. I think they originally were bred for egg laying before they kind of changed up the breeding to make them a little bit more show and have that big fluffiness to them.

00;03;04;18 - 00;03;31;05
Lauren
But they still will lay, you know, 3 to 6 eggs per week, which is that happy medium of I have a very friendly, pretty chicken that also lays a decent amount of eggs. Mm. 

Linda
So one thing I do want to say and we do tell people this all the time. Every bird has its own personality, so you might have one that doesn't fit the bill.

00;03;31;07 - 00;03;56;01
Linda
And I did have one that didn't. She was not nice to the other birds. She was fine with humans and friendly, but she was kind of a bully to the other birds. Now I have to say that was just one. And I have quite a few of them right now. They're completely different. They've totally fit the way the Orpington description is, and they're wonderful little birds. But I did have that one. That was the oddball.

00;03;56;03 - 00;04;26;15
Lauren
There's always the one, though. Always the one. I have the splash that we have is super friendly and she is like one of my favorite birds because because of her size, she can't jump over the fence. And so she's always stuck. If you shut the gate, she stays where she's put, and if you go up to her, she'll let you putter and she'll even do like the submissive squat for you.

00;04;26;17 - 00;04;56;23
Lauren
And she's very friendly and definitely one of my favorite chickens, but she fits the Orpington personality. So she's also nice to all of the other birds, whether they're big or small.

Linda
Well, I was very pleased with this new group that I have because they they renewed my faith in Orpington and after that one bad experience. But that was the only Orpington I've ever had that was just like not fitting the description.

00;04;56;25 - 00;05;28;06
Lauren
What color was she?

Linda
She was buff. Oh, she was buff.

Lauren
Wow. I feel like the buff Orpington is really that classic look that you, like, expect to have that classic personality to go with it.

Linda
So overall, Orpington tends to be really nice family birds, and they're great for kids and for age because they are so friendly. One other nice quality, depending on your perspective, is that the Orpington tend to go broody.

00;05;28;08 - 00;05;53;22
Linda
Have you ever had one that you've used as a broody hen?

Lauren
You know I haven't, but I have heard that they go pretty. I have, I guess, been lucky, but they haven't gotten broody. But I've heard that they have made great mothers. For some people, if they wanted to use them that way.

Linda
I have also heard that and have not had one go broody myself either.

00;05;53;24 - 00;06;22;15
Linda
Why would you consider that a benefit for a dual purpose flock?

Lauren
Well, if you were looking for a bird that could potentially go broody and could potentially raise chicks for you, so whether you had a rooster or you were just willing to put some fertile eggs or even day old chicks underneath them, having a hen that could go broody is always a positive When you're looking for a broody mama.

00;06;22;17 - 00;06;46;25
Linda
It does make the the workload a lot less for you.

Lauren
Yes, for sure. For sure. They're the best at raising chicks way easier than a brooder

Linda Mm hmm. Well, with the Orpington coming in at 8 to 10 pounds, depending on if it's a hen or a rooster, that definitely makes that a nice, dual purpose breed. And they might mature a little bit slower than some other breeds.

00;06;46;25 - 00;07;13;09
Linda
About 20 to 24 weeks is when you might see them start laying. They can give you an interesting egg color range. It could be light brown, 2 to 10 or some may even see like a tint of pink in the egg. So we suggest if you don't have any. Orpington See, take a peek at meyerhatchery.com. Take a look at the color varieties that we offer.

00;07;13;11 - 00;07;33;23
Linda
You might find this is a perfect bird for you. You might find that you need one in every color. Let us know if you have experience with Orpington and how you like them. We look forward to hearing from you and if you have any ideas you'd like us to talk about on the coop, any questions we can answer, email us.

00;07;33;25 - 00;07;57;18
Linda
We look forward to hearing from you at podcast at MeyerHatchery.com. Be sure to subscribe and if you'd be so kind, drop us a review. Did you know that you can save $5 off your next meal? Your hatchery purchase over $50, Enter the coupon code, the coop at checkout. And with that, we thank you for listening to the coop.

00;07;57;21 - 00;08;14;19
Linda
And remember, make this better because we have chickens. And thank you, Lauren, for being with us.

Lauren
No problem. Thanks for having me.