Buff Orpington duck
The Orpington, now essentially the Buff Orpington, is William Cook's dual-purpose light duck from Kent. It is one of the RBST's most at-risk duck breeds.
The Buff Orpington is a pure-bred duck breed in the PCGB Light class. Its origin is given as Orpington, Kent. It appears on the RBST Watchlist as a priority breed, so keepers of pure stock help conserve it.
It is kept in light form. Recognised colours: Buff (other colours extremely rare or extinct). Typical adult weights: drake about 2.2–3.4 kg and duck about 2.2–3.2 kg.
Expect 160–200+ eggs a year, with white shells. It is mainly kept for eggs and for the table.
Compiled from poultryclub.org, rbst.org.uk, domestic-waterfowl.co.uk, poultrykeeper.com, waterfowl.org.uk, en.wikipedia.org. See sources
Photos
From keepers' flocks
No keeper photos yet.
Keep this breed? Add your birds on Flockstock and share a photo from the bird's page. Go to my flock
Identity
- Species
- Duck
- Type
- Pure breed
- PCGB class
- Light
- Also known as
- Orpington
- Origin
- Orpington, Kent
- Kept for
- Eggs, Table
History
Cook of Orpington, who also bred the Orpington chicken, crossed Aylesbury, Indian Runner and Rouen. He showed Blues at the Dairy Show in 1896 and Buffs in 1897. Britain standardised the Buff in 1910 and the Blue in 1926. In the USA it entered the Standard in 1914 simply as the 'Buff'.
Appearance
An even buff all over, without blue, brown or white feathers. The drake has a seal-brown head with no green. The buff colour is unstable, so standard parents produce three types of offspring.
Recognised colours
Buff (other colours extremely rare or extinct)
Size and weight
- Forms
- Light
- Drake
- 2.2–3.4 kg
- Duck
- 2.2–3.2 kg
Eggs
- Eggs a year
- 160–200+
- Egg colour
- White
- Notes
- Wikipedia gives up to about 220 eggs a year.
Temperament
- In short
- Friendly with patience
- Keeping notes
- BWA says it is a very active forager and becomes friendly with time and patience.
Hardiness
Not recorded yet.
Broodiness
Not recorded yet.
Flying
Not recorded yet.
Suitability
- Good to know
- Its numbers have fallen in recent years.
Conservation status (RBST)
A priority breed on the Rare Breeds Survival Trust Watchlist, listed as Orpington.
Breed club
- Domestic Waterfowl Club / British Waterfowl Association, umbrella · Website
- The Orpington Club (also The Buff Orpington Club), breed-specific · Website
Sources
This page is compiled from:
Review
Nothing is flagged on this page at the moment. Breeds and strains vary, so check with a breeder or club too.
Suggest a change
Spotted something wrong or missing? Tell us what it should say, and we'll review it.