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Building a better Buff Orpington
By the Cuckoo Stud, and Beven's Orpingtons
This outlines the beginning of a journey by Simon of Beven's Orpingtons to ‘build a better Buff’.
Over the years, the large Buff Orpingtons in Australia have tended towards two types. The full feathered well rumped type (froofy) and the ‘road runner’ type birds that appear narrower due to the closer feathering.
Some prefer this narrower type but more recently the ‘froofy’ birds are becoming favoured, as they more closely resemble the other colours in the breed.
In the last few years a number of breeders have commented that we, the Australian Breeders, ought to start seriously working at improving the Buff to an above world class standard. But only one had seriously considered actually doing so =
Over the years, Simon from Beven’s Orpingtons had randomly thought about the best way to improve the type of the Buff, this being the colour Beven’s is renowned for.
At the 2010 National Orpington Show, I loaned a large, pretty, somewhat overly feathered Black hen, of impeccable lineage, to Beven’s. The bird was used as hybrid vigour in the Beven Blacks and the Cuckoo. An idea formed that perhaps by using this bird it could help up the type of the Buff. So Simon set a pen.
Noting however, that Beven’s Orpingtons is keeping the original type/line of Buffs as a separate entity to this Buff/Black programme. Continuing with the original Buff type is important to Beven’s. So there will eventually be two distinct lines of Buff run on by Simon.
Chicks hatched in a variety of colours. Most were Buff with black smut in the tails, some Buff with what appeared to be dark flecking across the wings, some Black. A number had dark or smudged colour legs, some pale grey legs. The best were grown out.
Unknown to Beven’s, I had also been thinking along these lines and had also set a Buff/Black pen. With similar hatch results.
Two nice looking, smutty, flecked chicks were growing out.
A phone conversation one evening revealed that we both had had the same thoughts. It was decided that the chicks growing out at The Stud would go to Beven’s Orpingtons in the hopes that they continued to grow out to a satisfactory quality to be used in the programme.
The chicks were handed over at the 2011 National Orpington Show.
Ironically at the dinner after the 2011 Show this Buff issue was brought up at one table by yet another Breeder, who was considering putting White or Black with their Buffs. Where-upon I ‘outed’ Beven’s in their already established quest to improve the Buff.
It was also stated that the smutty chicks seen by all near the back entrance to the Poultry Pavilion were bred at The Stud and were going home with the Beven’s birds.
A discussion followed regards what to expect colour wise at the first cross. Which followed into another conversation with opinions as to how many generations it would take to breed out the smuttiness and wrong leg colour.
At this point Simon from Beven’s returned to the table after a cheery conversation with Club hierarchy. Only to be informed he had been ‘outed’ regards his Buff. More than happily he joined in the conversation, giving more clarity to the programme/quest.
Specialising in Cuckoo and using Black to outcross to my regular Cuckoo, I was able to give an insight as to leg, eye and skin colour. We all hypothesised regards how long it would take to breed back to those lovely white legs and deep red eyes of the Buff.
Two esteemed members of that conversation, being our 2011 Judges, listened to all the ideas being thrown around. They asked a few questions, then considered all the input regards breeding out dark legs in Cuckoo after out-crossing. Then with an uncanny ability to collate all this information, they came forth with a time line of 3 to 5 generations, only 2 to 3 more generations than the Cuckoo.
The 2011 breeding season at Beven’s will be an interesting one with great hope for the improvement of type in the Australian Buff Orpingtons.
# This was written in collaboration with Simon from Beven's Orpingtons - much thanks is given to Simon for allowing this article to be here.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE March 2012 = from 2011 season - Simon has reported that he has a number of young with white legs/feet/skin and good eye colour, with most of these exhibiting good overall Buff colour, only a few have smuttiness about them. Only the very best and most Buff like are being grow out.
These young are growing out well and the 2012 season is one to look forward to.
UPDATE November 2012 = from 2012 season - Simon has reported that all young hatched have white legs/feet/skin, and showing the early signs of correct red eye colouring. It is also reported they show good size for age and starting to show signs as to the 'froofy' Type they have been bred for.
All are being grown out and assessed as they grow. Only the very best will be kept.
The 2013 Show season promises to be a competitive one for the Buff Breeder/Exhibitors.
UPDATE June 2013 = the 2012 hatched birds exhibited alongside Buff/Buff bred birds with no signs of the Black infusion in 2010
# subject to copyright laws of Australia
By the Cuckoo Stud, and Beven's Orpingtons
This outlines the beginning of a journey by Simon of Beven's Orpingtons to ‘build a better Buff’.
Over the years, the large Buff Orpingtons in Australia have tended towards two types. The full feathered well rumped type (froofy) and the ‘road runner’ type birds that appear narrower due to the closer feathering.
Some prefer this narrower type but more recently the ‘froofy’ birds are becoming favoured, as they more closely resemble the other colours in the breed.
In the last few years a number of breeders have commented that we, the Australian Breeders, ought to start seriously working at improving the Buff to an above world class standard. But only one had seriously considered actually doing so =
Over the years, Simon from Beven’s Orpingtons had randomly thought about the best way to improve the type of the Buff, this being the colour Beven’s is renowned for.
At the 2010 National Orpington Show, I loaned a large, pretty, somewhat overly feathered Black hen, of impeccable lineage, to Beven’s. The bird was used as hybrid vigour in the Beven Blacks and the Cuckoo. An idea formed that perhaps by using this bird it could help up the type of the Buff. So Simon set a pen.
Noting however, that Beven’s Orpingtons is keeping the original type/line of Buffs as a separate entity to this Buff/Black programme. Continuing with the original Buff type is important to Beven’s. So there will eventually be two distinct lines of Buff run on by Simon.
Chicks hatched in a variety of colours. Most were Buff with black smut in the tails, some Buff with what appeared to be dark flecking across the wings, some Black. A number had dark or smudged colour legs, some pale grey legs. The best were grown out.
Unknown to Beven’s, I had also been thinking along these lines and had also set a Buff/Black pen. With similar hatch results.
Two nice looking, smutty, flecked chicks were growing out.
A phone conversation one evening revealed that we both had had the same thoughts. It was decided that the chicks growing out at The Stud would go to Beven’s Orpingtons in the hopes that they continued to grow out to a satisfactory quality to be used in the programme.
The chicks were handed over at the 2011 National Orpington Show.
Ironically at the dinner after the 2011 Show this Buff issue was brought up at one table by yet another Breeder, who was considering putting White or Black with their Buffs. Where-upon I ‘outed’ Beven’s in their already established quest to improve the Buff.
It was also stated that the smutty chicks seen by all near the back entrance to the Poultry Pavilion were bred at The Stud and were going home with the Beven’s birds.
A discussion followed regards what to expect colour wise at the first cross. Which followed into another conversation with opinions as to how many generations it would take to breed out the smuttiness and wrong leg colour.
At this point Simon from Beven’s returned to the table after a cheery conversation with Club hierarchy. Only to be informed he had been ‘outed’ regards his Buff. More than happily he joined in the conversation, giving more clarity to the programme/quest.
Specialising in Cuckoo and using Black to outcross to my regular Cuckoo, I was able to give an insight as to leg, eye and skin colour. We all hypothesised regards how long it would take to breed back to those lovely white legs and deep red eyes of the Buff.
Two esteemed members of that conversation, being our 2011 Judges, listened to all the ideas being thrown around. They asked a few questions, then considered all the input regards breeding out dark legs in Cuckoo after out-crossing. Then with an uncanny ability to collate all this information, they came forth with a time line of 3 to 5 generations, only 2 to 3 more generations than the Cuckoo.
The 2011 breeding season at Beven’s will be an interesting one with great hope for the improvement of type in the Australian Buff Orpingtons.
# This was written in collaboration with Simon from Beven's Orpingtons - much thanks is given to Simon for allowing this article to be here.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE March 2012 = from 2011 season - Simon has reported that he has a number of young with white legs/feet/skin and good eye colour, with most of these exhibiting good overall Buff colour, only a few have smuttiness about them. Only the very best and most Buff like are being grow out.
These young are growing out well and the 2012 season is one to look forward to.
UPDATE November 2012 = from 2012 season - Simon has reported that all young hatched have white legs/feet/skin, and showing the early signs of correct red eye colouring. It is also reported they show good size for age and starting to show signs as to the 'froofy' Type they have been bred for.
All are being grown out and assessed as they grow. Only the very best will be kept.
The 2013 Show season promises to be a competitive one for the Buff Breeder/Exhibitors.
UPDATE June 2013 = the 2012 hatched birds exhibited alongside Buff/Buff bred birds with no signs of the Black infusion in 2010
# subject to copyright laws of Australia
