Silver Laced Orpintons have a much fluffier appearance than Wyandottes. The crisp silver lacing of the feathers bring out the strong contrast of their black body. Orpington Chickens, in general, are big, round, fluffy chickens and could arguably be the softest of all the breeds. The essence of lots of feathers - their fluffiness reminds me of a southern bell's dress. They are cold hardy and sound chickens. They are heavy and wide chickens, and thus are not good at flying, which makes them quite easy to contain even with short fencing.
Eggs they will gift
Gifts 3-4 large brown eggs a week
Personality
Iconic for being a great family pet that dispenses eggs. Orpingtons are large, calm, and friendly birds. They have been described as 'lap chickens' by many. They are great with children, and they also make good pet chickens.
History
The original Orpington was created in England back in the 1880s by William Cook who lived in the village of Orpington in Kent, England. His vision was to create a bird that had dual purpose. From the Black Orpington, he went on to create several other Orpington colors – Buff being the most well-known. Mr Cook really created a ‘brand’. When he created the Buff Orpington, he used different bloodlines of fowl from the Black Orpington. The Black was composed of Langshan, Barred Rock and Minorcas while the Buff was composed of Cochin, Dorking and spangled Hamburgs. This was controversial in its day but is widely accepted practice now.The Lavender Orpington is a designer bird and is a relatively new variety of the Orpington family. In the UK it really started with the renowned and respected, Priscilla Middleton in the mid-1990s’. It has taken us years of crossing various bloodlines to get the exact size and type we wanted, but we have a very impressive and successful line of Lavender Orpingtons now.
Sexing Method
Several communities have laws in which roosters are not allowed. The sex of a Orpington being reliably identifiable by external characteristics on average is 90%. Vent sexing as a day old is most common sexing method for this breed. Thus, industry standard is to offer as a female chick or pullet. To assist city families, we offer with your choice of female coverage or DNA sexed.
Chick: Silver Laced English Orpington
Most families are attracted to obtaining their chickens from us because we are proud to be completely different than typical feed store/ hatchery industry standards. Industry standard is to sex as accurately as possible and sell as pullets (female chicks) and force customers to accept a >10% chance of an accidental rooster without the ability to accept returns nor refunds. In addition, industry standard is to sell bantams (such as silkies) as straight runs since they are too small for safe vent sexing. We offer multiple sexing options.
Male
If you are lucky enough to have a rooster, our male sexing option is a great way to save money on a wonderful breed.
Unsexed
This option means that the chicks have not yet been sexed and are sold as a straight run. While nature usually averages half girls and half boys in high volumes, families should only order if prepared for >50% possible roosters.
Female Coverage
This is our most economical choice for families seeking a female. We kept city ordinances that restrict rooster ownership in mind. This option is great for families that want to enjoy a backyard flock of ladies. We use traditional sexing methods on the breeds that capable of being vent sexed, home accidental roosters, and issue store credit of original purchased price. To learn more about how we sex baby chicks based on their breed view: How to Sex Chickens.
Depending on the breed, sexing accuracy can range as low as 50% for bantam breeds, 90% for standard breeds, and as high as 95% for auto sexing breeds. Our female coverage option is not a service fee for sexing the chick, it is the cost difference between purchasing a male or a female chicken. We do not believe in grinding males alive nor suffocating them as day olds to enable a profit when selling a stated female chick at ridiculously low prices. Thus, our female pricing takes into consideration the male left behind with each female purchased. Male chicks are typically half the price of a female.
To qualify for rehoming, the rooster must remain in perfect health. If the family decides to return the rooster, a store credit in the amount of original purchase price is provided. As a family, you are welcome to decide to keep any accidental rooster and forfeit the credit.
DNA Sexed Female Chicks
For families that get emotionally bonded quickly and do not want to risk a future discovery of a rooster, we offer DNA sexing. DNA sexing is the only true accurate method of sexing baby chicks. DNA testing is a significantly higher financial investment. In most cases, it is 3x the cost as (1) female sex covered chick.
Balance accuracy with financial investment
The sexing decision is one that needs to be made at time of purchased and the original order cannot be altered once the order is fulfilled. It is important as a family to determine the right balance between sexing accuracy and financial investment for your family’s situation.
We provide as much information on our website as possible to ensure families make an informed decision based on their situation and lifestyle. Some breeds are more accurate in sexing and most families find our female coverage adequate in providing a free home for their accidental rooster (up to $100 savings) and use the store credit towards a replacement or our organic feed. While harder to sex bantam breeds, or families that know they will develop a with strong emotional attachment prefer to invest in DNA sexing.