This is my all-time favorite pen out of all my breeds. Lovely, calm, dual purpose birds. They are trip over friendly and are excellent foragers. When I butcher, they feed my family of 5 for a that you see in the photos. If you are a first time chicken owner, these are what I recommend to people. I usually get a number of photos back with their kids holding the hens because they are so curious and friendly!
Our Lavender Cuckoo Orrington line came directly from Fancy Chick many years ago. We love them so much we annually keep around 20 hens. They are a great dual purpose bird with a decent carcass and nice eggs. They love being outside on the coldest days and are great free rangers.
Orpingtons are dual purpose so you can expect a nice decent supply of eggs but they are also good for dressing. Hens weigh around 8 pounds and males weigh 10 pounds. My line matures a little slower, well into their first year they seem to weigh up to be dense girls. The lavender cuckoo color variety is not accepted in the SOP but we still try to breed SOP guidelines. We also breed Isabel, Crele, black and chocolate orpington.
Nature: Friendly, calm, kind
Egg Color: cream, sometimes pink eggs
Eggs per year: 200 plus
Winter Hardy: Yes, they enjoy being outside during the winter.