Day Old Jubilee Orpington Chickens
Hatching March to August.
Jubilee Orpingtons are one of the most exciting and splendid chicken varieties in the U.S. right now. Although this variety of Orpington has been known in England for over a hundred years, it has only been imported in the U.S. within the past 10 years and is extremely rare and hard to find here in the states.
Jubilee Orpingtons are one of the very largest breeds of chickens and have the full bodies and big fluffy butts that are the hallmark of Orpingtons. The feather patterning of these birds is striking - the background is mostly a rich mahogany color that is punctuated with speckles of white and black, that shimmer to crimson and brilliant green. The patterning is very similar in effect to the Speckled Sussex, but the overall impression of the bird is completely different as the Orpington carriage and feather texture makes the jubilee pattern much more fun; this is probably why this variety is called 'jubilee' rather than simply, 'speckled'!
One of the features that make the Orpington breed so appealing is the huge amount of feathering and the fluffiness of the feathers. Jubilee Orpingtons have lots of feathers especially on the butt and thighs, and these are all speckled in the rich brown, white and black patterning.
Their specialness has not gone to their heads; like all Orpingtons, Jubilee Orpingtons are truly one of the most friendly and gentle of chicken breeds. They are calm, docile, and make dependable additions to the backyard flock.
Production: Jubilee Orpingtons are prolific egg layers, and truly epitomize the heritage-style farm chicken. Egg coloring is significantly lighter than most Orpingtons - a creamy-colored tinted egg. Many Jubilee Orpington hens will go broody and hatch their own chicks. These are cold hardy, healthy, and very sound chickens. They could also be used for meat production as they grow quickly to a large and have white skin.
Temperament: Like the common Buff Orpington, Jubilee Orpingtons are great pet chickens being large, docile, and friendly birds. They are great with children, pets, and other animals and could be considered a 'lap' chicken. An 18-inch high fence can keep them quite contained as they are very heavy in the body and thus not great at flying.
History: The Orpington Chicken breed is a celebrated and favorite of Great Britain. The breed was developed in the middle of the 19th century by William Cook and was everything that a chicken keeper could want. Orpingtons were a wild success, and Cook continued to expand the color varieties of the breed. Jubilee Orpingtons were developed in 1897 and were the result of crossing Spangled Old English Games with Dorkings and then crossing the outcome with Buff Orpingtons. They were originally called Diamond Jubliee Orpingtons.
APA Class: Orpingtons are in the English Class although the APA does not yet recognize the Jubilee variation.
Conservation Status: Recovering
Weight: Cockerel 8.5 lbs, Pullet 7.5 lbs
