The Orpington originates from Great Britain in the late 1900’s during the end of “Hen Fever” that sparked an interest in unique chicken breeds. The Orpington breed was developed by William Cook, a coachman who lived in Orpington, Kent. This particular breed was intended to be a “dual purpose breed”, for producing both meat and eggs, but it soon became an exclusive show bird.

Orpingtons have survived some of the toughest times in history – from severe economic recession to the London blitz. Throughout these times they kept producing an average of 300 eggs per year. Many egg lovers choose to keep Orpington chickens as they know they can be relied on when times are tough as they have already conquered and adapted to both feast and famine.