Our Colours            and a family obsession with Orpingtons
                

                                                      the 2021 list of colours after downsizing =

Orpington - in large =
Crele in Chocolate, Gold and Silver
Partridge in Silver
Cuckoo in Blue, Buff (known as Lemon in the UK), Lavender, Regular (APS listed colour), Chocolate 

also Black, Blue, Splash, Lavender and genetically correct Chocolate 
​
# note = in December of 2015 the family's line of large Chocolate was started to be released
               the large Chocolate are pre-existing in Australia to the recently imported bantams of the same colour  
             
Orpington - in bantam =
Cuckoo (APS listed colour)
Lavender, Lavender Cuckoo
and Black


Pheonix (bantam size) -
Black Red (Partridge pattern)

Silkie -
Cuckoo (original line), Black (carrying Cuckoo gene)


    If anyone wants eggs from the Breeding Pens of the Stud they can be obtained (only when on offer)

                                                 Egg availability information = For Sale EGGS page
                                          not all colours are made available each year
      
                                                    NO birds or eggs are supplied to overseas Breeders.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In 1947 Black and Regular Cuckoo started the family obsession with Orpingtons.

Not long afterwards 'brown' birds began to randomly appear from those first Black birds, some have been maintained to this day.
These were eventually recognised by Dr Clive Carefoot as what is believed to be a mutant recessive gene and he named the colour Chocolate.

The development of a number of Cuckoo colours started very early on and several were well established by the 1990s, others in the early/mid 2000s (colour dependent).

A re-created Cuckoo line was acquired (in the late 1980s), these birds are not related to the originals. This line is kept separate to that original one. However some of these birds were used to create the Blue and Slate Cuckoo colours.

Blue and Splash eventually became part of the ‘family of colours’. Along with all the developed colours, White and then Buff were added in recent years to round out the std size birds. 
# update - as the colours did not appeal enough to the Stud = White, Gold Barred Buff and Buff were not kept after 2012

Many of the descendants of the original and re-created lines of Cuckoo birds have been shown regularly with a percentage of them acquiring accolades at various National Shows both specialty Orpington and All Breeds.

Bantam Cuckoo Orpington look-a-likes started to appear in one pen after the gift of a ‘chirpy’ and delightful bantam Araucana who quickly became the ‘boss’ over the much larger std size birds, and then became broody. She hatched seven Orpington bantam look-a-likes in our famous Cuckoo pattern. Some of her pretty blue/green eggs were set not long after and as they say, the rest is history.
From those first hatchlings a line of Bantam Cuckoo Orpington was developed.
After a number of  generations of refinement a pullet was exhibited at the 2010 Orpington National Show and was awarded Champion.
# update - three of her sons were exhibited at the 2011 National Show, where Champion and Reserve Champion were awarded. Comments as to quality of Type of these cockerels were noted, with one of these diminutive boys outstripping the larger counterparts for Type and Temperament. These sons and four of her grandchildren were exhibited in 2012 with equal successes,  a cockerel grandson was awarded Champion Cuckoo Bantam and a pullet granddaughter awarded Reserve Champion at RNCPS.
The same cockerel grandson was also Champion at both the Southern and Northern Orpington Features, achieving the 'hat trick' from 3 different Judges. This cockerel has retired to the breeding pens.

The Stud is credited with the development of a number of new colours to Australia, and some to the world.

Apologies are given now for this next section sounding like a bragging session. The following is part of understanding the Stud and an obsession with the Orpington breed.

The Stud’s Blue Cuckoo is a world first in the Orpington, and since its Australian debut, it is fast becoming one of the more popular colours in the pattern. This colour has to be exhibited under Any Other Recognised Colour - AORC.

The Buff Cuckoo (Lemon in the UK), Lavender Cuckoo and Chocolate Cuckoo are slower to win popularity here but each can stand alone for their colour, definition of pattern and quality of Type. These Cuckoo colours must be exhibited under AORC

The Slate colour in Cuckoo is now recognised as the base colour to achieve for exhibtion.

The Australian Crele was developed by the Stud. After some years of intense development three colour variations, Gold, Silver and Blue were debuted at the 2010 National Orpington Show to good reviews.
# update insert. At the 2011 National Orpington Show one particular Gold Crele cockerel, named Titan, was arguably the centre piece, alongside another exhibitors exquisite Spangle bantam. Comments as to quality of Type of both these birds were heard. Judges and Club hierarchy stated clearly that this Crele cockerel displayed the best Type on the day, with both Judges commenting that if he was a standard colour he would have been the Best in Show bird. The Stud is pleased that the effort and time put into this colour/pattern  was rewarded with such high praise. And a continuation of development of the Crele colours is an ongoing project.

Related to the Crele, Partridge is also being developed and the colours run together, each generation an improvement on the last.

Another colour, also a world first, developed by the Stud is the Gold Barred Buff, shortened from Golden Barred Buff Columbian. 
The equivalent colour in the std size Wyandotte was used as a starting point for the colour and it progressed well.
This colour was the favourite of a dear friend, Lance Hicks.
# update insert. Due to space and time constraints all the Gold Barred Buff were re-housed early in 2012.

Lavender in large. After discovering that the large 'Lavender' of another Orpington Breeder was not actually Lavender, but in fact very washed out Blues, the Stud started to develop true Lavender lines in the early 1990s in both sizes. However, the std size were consistently unthrifty and feather type was poor. After bush-fire storms early in 2009 only one large hen was left alive and the colour in large was temporarily put on hold. The colour is still progressing well in the bantam, along with a Lavender Cuckoo version in both sizes.
# 2013 update - the large Lavender is progressing well again with the infusion of a typey Black, feather quality has improved.

Black, White and Buff Bantam Orpingtons were added to the Stud over the last few years. One Black/Black mating produced a few Blue pullets and later a Splash, giving rise to the belief that one Black hen is in fact a Blue bird.
# update 2012, the Stud was supplied, by the Tiyce family, an impressive Black Bantam trio. They are deeply appreciated.
These are being bred separately to the pre-existing Black Bantams
.# update 2015 another Blue female hatched , of excellent Type and good colour, she is being kept. 
All White and Buff bantams were rehoused.

Chocolate, Choc Cuckoo are bred/maintained by the family/Stud and have done since the first Chocolate hatched in the 1950s.

# update 2015 = the Chocolate colour in large has started to be released to the public - 4 others now have genetically correct large Chocolate Orpingtons.

​# update 2016 - on Good Friday 4 'Easter eggs' hatched, the chicks are from a ChocXCrele hen and a ChocXCuckoo rooster =
the resulting chicks are growing out looking Choc Crele = all pullets and will be mated back to their Choc/Cuckoo father
by the end of 2016 =  more than 10 dozen eggs were sent out in large Chocolate to various people

So as you can see there is a definite long term family obsession with the Orpington breed.


All content in 'Our Colours' is documented and subject to copyright laws of Australia