40 



THE ORPINGTONS 



head of "General Disqualifications;" which are nearly the 

 same as in the English Standard except that no mention is 

 made in the American Orpington Standard of the number of 

 toes an Orpington is required to have on each foot, al- 

 though it is generally understood that five-toed specimens 

 are to be disqualified by the judges. 



The excellent articles on Mating, Breeding and Rear- 

 ing Buff Orpingtons contributed to this chapter by fore- 

 most American breeders which follow should prove of 

 great value to all lovers of this popular and useful variety. 



Mating Buff Orpingtons 



Proper Selection of Breeders to Overcome Defects 



in the Buff Orpingtons — Extremes of Color in 



Mating are to be Avoided 



Manrioe F. Delano 



EVERY true fancier is a member of a large family 

 which includes the men whose bread and butter 

 depend on their ability to produce the highest ex- 

 cellence; the men who breed pure-bred poultry as a side 

 issue, but also as a means of augmenting their incomes, 

 and the men who breed thoroughbreds for recreation or 

 ior the love of it, but to whom the commercial success or 

 failure of their hobby is not of particular moment. At 

 heart these cousins of differing personalities are very sim- 

 ilar, and they are equally fascinated in watching the chicks 

 shape up, and can hardly take their eyes from the speci- 

 mens that promise to land the laurel wreaths at the com- 

 ing shows. No class of fanciers in the world are abler 

 ■men, better sportsmen, or have a harder color to produce 

 in its perfection, than those devoting their energies to per- 

 fection of buff color in the various breeds. 



Considering its hybrid origin, the Buff Orpington has 

 made wonderful advancement, and the best specimens aver- 

 -age fully as good in color as do the Buff Rocks and the Buff 

 Wyandottes. These latter varieties were originated just 

 a little earlier, but had much less alien blood of absolutely 

 'foreign color that must be eliminated to produce the 

 ■soft even buff color so coveted by all breeders of buff 

 Howls. 



The Buff Orpington of today breeds remarkably true 

 to both type and color and the percentage of decided culls 

 is but little larger from flocks bred from properly mated 

 pens than it is in flocks of the older buff breeds. A few 

 more years of careful selection will put them on a par 

 from 2 fancy stand-point with any of their sister varieties. 



The commonest -shape faults in the variety as we find 

 ■it today are; a little too much length of shank; breast not 

 'quite full .enough, and keel not quite level enough for true 

 ■Orpington \type, which should be long and broad as well 

 as deep, is fact a low down bird of tremendous frame. A 

 ■tail carried too high will shorten the apparent length of a 

 bird, and the majority of males show this defect to a 

 more or less degree. Great strides are being made every 

 year in correcting these shape or type faults and the pro- 

 .gress made is most encouraging. 



The list of color defects will take longer to eradicate, 

 but this is true of any variety in existence. If it were pos- 

 sible to produce birds approaching perfection in a ma- 

 jority of our flocks, OUT interest in the science of breeding 

 'would cease. White showing in under-color of hackle, 

 in wings, and at base of tail is a fault it will take 

 ■many years to completely rectify and not lose our rich- 

 mess and evenness of surface color. Minor color defects 

 ithat are fast disappearing are: red wing-bows in males; 



FIRST PRIZE BUFF ORPINGTON PULLET 

 MAWSON SQUARE GARbEM N-Y- |909~|0. 

 OUHROBIN FARM CHATHAM N'J - 



penciling or ticking in females; bluish legs, a trace of their 

 Hamburg ancestors; and mealiness and patchiness in both 

 sexes. Other defects that will be a little troublesome for 

 some time are stubs on legs, and yellow shanks showing 

 Cochin blood; side sprigs on comb, and white in ear-lobe, 

 two more reminders of the Hamburg blood. The writer 

 has seen but one specimen showing the fifth toe of the 

 Dorking, so that possible defect can be ignored. 



The above list of defects appears quite formidable but 

 is no more so than can be written of any variety if we 

 tabulate all the faults appearing in the poorest specimens 

 raised. In the proper mating of any flock of poultry we 

 should strive first to produce the breed type, second, to 

 improve the color of plumage; and third, to perfect the 

 minor points such as comb, eye, lobe, and legs. I will take 

 them up in this order. 



Breed Type Emphasized 



Too much stress cannot be laid on the importance of 

 breed type in any variety. A poorly shaped Orpington can 

 approach the Plymouth Rock, the Wyandotte, or worse 

 yet, the original Hamburg in type. This last is getting 

 rare and of the other two, the first is least objectionable. 

 Select a male as good in type as you possess that is not 

 really bad in other desirable sections; and mate with him 

 the best colored hens you have that are up to, or over 

 Standard weight. If your male is poor in comb, be care- 

 ful to have hens as good in this section as possible. (Do 

 not, however, sacrifice shape and size to comb. Our 

 American taste demands a low Plymouth Rock comb on 

 our Orpingtons and this is not natural to the breed. It 

 will require patience to produce good combs without sac- 

 rificing size.) Such a mating will produce large boned 

 birds that have size and type in a goodly percentage. If 

 the chicks lose in color, this weakness can be rectified in 



