Orpington duck

Orpington duck
A duck
A drake
Conservation status
  • FAO (2007): not at risk
  • RBST (2026): priority
  • DAD-IS (2026): at risk
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Usedual-purpose, meat and eggs
Traits
Colourbuff; blond and brown also occur but are not standardised
Classification
APAmedium: 19 
EEyes
PCGBlight
  • Duck
  • Anas platyrhynchos domesticus

The Orpington is a British breed of domestic duck. It was bred by the poultry farmer William Cook of Orpington, which at that time was in Kent in south-east England. Blue examples of the breed were shown in London in 1896, and buff birds in 1897. In the twenty-first century only the buff is a recognised breed, and so may also be known as the Buff Orpington.

It is a dual-purpose breed used for meat and egg production, and is capable of laying up to 220 eggs a year.

History

The Orpington was bred by the poultry breeder William Cook at his farm at Orpington House, in St Mary Cray, near Orpington – which at that time was in Kent in south-east England. The first variety he bred was the blue, from cross-breeding of Aylesbury, Indian Runner and Rouen stock in approximately equal numbers. Examples were shown in October 1896 at the Dairy Show in the Agricultural Hall in Islington, in north London; Cook published pictures and a description in his Poultry Journal in the following month. He showed the buff variant at the Dairy Show in October 1897, and published details and images in his Poultry Journal the same month.

The breed standard for the buff variety was published in the revised edition of Wright's Book of Poultry in 1911;: 583  the blue variant was discussed, but no standard was included.: 565 

Cook showed a pair of buff Orpingtons at the Madison Square Garden Show in New York City in 1908.: 60  The breed was added to the Standard of Perfection of the American Poultry Association in 1914 as the Buff.: 19 

The Orpington is reported from four countries: Australia, Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Its conservation status in the UK was listed as "priority" on the 2025–2026 watchlist of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust, and as "unknown" in the DAD-IS database of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 2026.

Characteristics

The Orpington is classified as a light duck. Weights are 2.2–3.2 kg for ducks and 2.2–3.4 kg for drakes.: 469  For genetic reasons, it is seen in three colour varieties: buff, blond and brown; all three colour variations appear, but only the buff is described in the breed standard.: 367 


Use

A productive duck may lay more than 220 eggs per year.: 108  Ducklings gain weight fairly rapidly, and may reach slaughter weight in eight or ten weeks.: 108 

References

  1. ↑ Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007). List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources, annex to: The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9789251057629. Archived 23 June 2020.
  2. 1 2 Watchlist overview. Kenilworth, Warwickshire: Rare Breeds Survival Trust. Archived 11 December 2025.
  3. ↑ Breed data sheet: Orpington / United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Duck (domestic)). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed February 2026.
  4. 1 2 APA Recognized Breeds and Varieties: As of 1 January 2012. American Poultry Association. Archived 4 November 2017.
  5. ↑ Liste des races et variétés homologuée dans les pays EE (28.04.2013). Entente Européenne d'Aviculture et de Cuniculture. Archived 16 June 2013.
  6. 1 2 Breed Classification. Poultry Club of Great Britain. Archived 12 June 2018.
  7. ↑ Ducks. Poultry Club of Great Britain. Archived 9 November 2018.
  8. ↑ Jonathan M. Thompson (October 2010). The Orpington Ducks. Aviculture Europe. 6 (5), article 1. Archived 12 August 2024.
  9. 1 2 Lewis Wright, Sidney Herbert Lewer ([1911]). Wright's Book of Poultry. Revised and edited in accordance with the latest Poultry Club standards. London; New York; Toronto; Melbourne: Cassell & Co.
  10. ↑ Dave Holderread (2001). Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks. Pownal, Vermont: Storey Books. ISBN 9781580172585.
  11. ↑ Buff or Orpington Duck. Pittsboro, North Carolina: The Livestock Conservancy. Archived 15 November 2025.
  12. 1 2 Transboundary breed: Orpington. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed February 2026.
  13. 1 2 J. Ian H. Allonby, Philippe B. Wilson (editors) (2018). British Poultry Standards: complete specifications and judging points of all standardized breeds and varieties of poultry as compiled by the specialist breed clubs and recognised by the Poultry Club of Great Britain, seventh edition. Chichester; Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley Blackwell. ISBN 9781119509141.
  14. 1 2 Joseph Batty (1985 [1979]). Domesticated Ducks and Geese, second edition. Liss, Hampshire: Fanciers Suppliers Ltd. ISBN 9780947647025.

Further reading