United Orpington Club
Dedicated to all Orpingtons, Standard and Bantam,
and to the Breeders of this fine fowl.
Members
receive a quarterly newsletter, ALL-Orp, and an annual breeders’ list and
membership list. Dues are $5.00 (individual), $7.50 (family: husband, wife, and
all children 16 or under), and $3.00 (ages 10-17).
To
become a member, contact the Secretary/Treasurer,
Richard Andree
rmandree@mchsi.com
2004 Orpington
National Meet
The
2004 Orpington "national"/annaul meet will take place in conjunction with the Yankee
Fall Classic on October 23-24, 2004 in Syracuse, NY. Plaques for champion and
reserve champion in standards and bantams will be offered. There will also be
BV and RV plaques for every variety with 5 or more entries and at least two
entrants per variety; also 3rd, 4th, and 5th BB
rosettes for standards and bantams.
The
Orpington annual meeting will take place on Saturday,
October 23. The time and place of the meeting will be posted in the show hall.
The meeting will be under the direction of District 2 Director, S. Robert Powell.
If
there are items that you would like to see on the agenda for the meeting,
contact the UOC secretary, Richard Andree at 105
Johnson Street, NE, Brownsdale, MN 55918,
507-567-2009, rmandree@mchsi.com.
The 2003 Orpington National
By Richard Andree
(reprinted here from
page 43 of the January 2004 issue of Poultry
Press)
Wow,
what a show! The 2003 Orpington National is in the books and it is one to be
remembered. Nearly 200 bantam and large fowl Orps were shown. The Minnesota
Poultry Association held their annual show at the fairgrounds in Hutchinson,
Minnesota, October 26. Over 2,400 birds were entered, with one of the largest
waterfowl shows in the country. The show featured three nationals: the United
Orpington Club, the Salmon Faverolles Club, and the Western National of Cochins
International. I am not sure but I think the Orpington may have been the
biggest of the three. There were more Cochin bantams, but I don't think there
were as many Cochin large fowl. The competition was strong in all areas. There
was a huge junior show with over 450 birds entered, along with a strong
showmanship competition, featuring more than 50 very knowledgeable youth.
John
Thomforde was chosen to judge the Orpington national and I have heard only
positive comments on his placings. I think that all any of us wants from a
judge is a fair evaluation of the birds and a chance to win. This is exactly
what we received. Thanks, John for an excellent job. The Orpingtons showed well
in the show with many of them up on championship row, the biggest win going to
Pete Akers with a great looking large Buff hen that went on to be Champion
English, Champion Land Fowl, and Reserve Champion of the Show. The Holzhueter
family were not far behind with a large Buff cockerel that went on to be
Reserve Champion English. Another big win went to Van Fleet Poultry with a
bantam Black pullet that went on to be Champion SCCL. Tony Ewert also had a
good day, winning Champion Large Fowl Display with his Buff Orpingtons. Richard
and Margaret Andree took the Champion Bantam Display with their Buff
Orpingtons. Beth Holzhueter did well in the junior show with Champion English
on a Buff Orpington cockerel. Tim and Tom Burmeister also did well in the
Junior show, winning Champion Large Trio, with their Buff Orpingtons.
I
would also like to thank all the Orpington folks who came and showed at the
national. Thank you to all who helped out at the club table and the meeting. I
was not able to be as involved with the Orps as I would have liked, but our
great club members stepped in and did a great job. A big hand to Nikki Riedel
for the help and making the long trip to Minnesota. Also thank you to all who
stayed and helped clean up the show. I think it is our duty as exhibitors to
lend a hand at the show we are at. It is
amazing how fast the work is accomplished when everyone helps. The show was
back in the truck within a couple hours of the birds' being released. Another
thanks should go to the show management. Mary Ann Rademacher does an excellent
job as show secretary. I apologize to the RV in the open show. Even though
three of us wrote down the results, none of us had the RV.
I
hope that we can keep the momentum going for our next national. Think about
contributing to the prize list and attending, if you can.
Here
are the results of the 2003 National Junior Show: Bantams (8 shown) BB
and BV Buff, pullet by Beth Holzhueter. RB and BV Black, pullet by Alex Weber.
RV Black, cockerel by Alex Weber. BV White, cockerel by Beth Holzhueter. Large
Fowl (34 shown) BB and BV Buff, cockerel by Beth Holzhueter. RB and RV Buff,
pullet by Beth Holzhueter. BV Black, pullet by Russell Lumley. RV Black,
cockerel by Russell Lumley. Champion Large Trio, Buffs, by Tim and Tom
Burmeister.
Open
Show, Bantams (93 shown): BB and BV Black, pullet by Van Fleet Poultry
(went on to be Champion SCCL). RB and BV Buff, pullet by Richard and Margaret
Andree. BV White, pullet by Luverne Berg. BV Blue, cockerel by Orlando Simion.
Champion Bantam Display, Buffs, by Richard Andree (Champion Bantam Display of
the Show).
Open
Show, Large Fowl (50 shown): BB and BV Buff, hen by Pete Akers (Champion
English, Champion Land Fowl, and Reserve Champion of the Show). RB and RV Buff,
cockerel, by Holzhueter family (Reserve Champion English). BV Black, pullet by
Holzhueter family. 1 Buff cock, by Tony Ewert. 1 Buff hen, by Pete Akers. 1
Buff cockerel, by Holzhueter family. 1 Buff pullet, by Tony Ewert (class of
22). Champion Large Display, Buffs, by Tony Ewert (Champion Large Display of
Show).
The United Orpington Club
By Warren Tye,
Secretary-Treasurer
(reprinted here from the January 2004 Poultry Press, page 57)
I thought I was looking forward to
this article for Poultry Press. It
will be my last one as Secretary-Treasurer of the United Orpington Club. By the time you get this my term of office
will be up, and Richard Andree of Brownsdale, Minnesota will be the new
Secretary-Treasurer. Richard and his good wife Margaret bring some new and
young blood club to the club. They have done very well raising and exhibiting
Buff Orpington bantams. They supply many of them for the 4-H Youth in their
areas and raise a good size flock for themselves.
I must say I have enjoyed the past
twelve years directing the club. I think the many good folks I have met through
the years have been more enjoyable than the birds. I also realized I have
slacked off in the last few years and it is time for a change.
At our Annual Meeting in Hutchinson,
Minnesota, we selected the sites for the National meet for the next two years.
Our by-laws stat that the National meet must be spread around the country so
everyone gets a chance to participate. There has been no final decision on this
yet but there are folks suggesting we have a vote from the membership as to the
location of the 2004 meet. There will be more on this in the January
newsletter.
As many of you know, I have been
hatching and selling Orpington bantam chicks in all four varieties for the last
several years. I am not going to do this
and am cutting my flock way down to one or two trios of each variety. Mostly
letting my grandson take them over.
So far, he is showing more interest
than some of the young exhibitors I have seen.
I have some heart breaking news to
tell you at this time. My sweet wife, of 55 years, Betty Tye passed away
November 20 from acute leukemia. She was 76 years old and the mother of our
seven children. Even though the children and I are sad to see her go, we know
that she is no longer suffering. She shad been afflicted with chronic leukemia
for about a year and a half. We went to have her tested and she was gone in
less than a week after we found it had turned acute. We had an extremely happy
marriage and it is our belief that we will be together again. I am finding it
extremely difficult to go on without here, but I will manage.
Please see our advertisement in the
Orpington section of the Poultry Press
for information on joining the United Orpington Club. We need all you Orpington
folks.
* * * * * * *
Sincere
thanks to Warren Tye from Orpington breeders and exhibitors everywhere for his
twelve years of outstanding service to the United Orpington Club.
Without
Warren's timely and interesting newsletters, his good cheer, and his enthusiasm
for Orpingtons, the UOC would not be in the robust state of health that it is
in today.
And
thanks to Warren's highly successful breeding programs for bantam Orpingtons
and his willingness to ship bantam Orpington chicks to interested buyers
everywhere, we now see quality bantam Orpingtons in shows (and on Champions'
Row) from coast to coast.
It's
a wonderful and remarkable legacy. Thank you Warren Tye.
Orpington Article in 2002 APA Yearbook
Congratulations to Warren Tye on the publication of
his article "Are White and Blue Orpington Bantams Endangered Varieties?" in the 2002 APA Yearbook (pp. 38-39). The article is very near the front of the
APA Yearbook and will surely be read
by a great many people. Warren has also written an article on Orpingtons for
the 2003 APA Yearbook, which will be
in print later in the year.
2002 UOC National Meet at Columbus
The number of standard Orpingtons was down: Buffs (28 open class, 6 juniors); Blacks, (7
open class, 2 juniors); Whites, (7 open class).
The number of bantam Orpingtons was up: Buffs (54 open class, 1 junior); Blacks (24
open class, 6 junior); Whites (10 open class); Blues (2 junior).
Warren Tye: "In the bantam Orps we had the most
birds that have ever been entered in a national show. Counting juniors and open
there were right close to 100. I counted 99, and am not sure I got them all. I
think they had over 100 at a show, not a national, in Minnesota one time. We
had 69 at our national in Nebraska last year and I thought that was
great."
Here are the winners from the Orpington national
meet at Columbus in November 2002:
·
Champion Standard Orpington and Reserve Champion
English of the Show: Buff cockerel, by
Ron and Barb Yochum
·
Best of Variety
Standard Black: a hen shown by Loretta Rodts
·
Best of Variety Standard White: a cockerel shown by
Larry Dye
·
Champion Bantam Orpington and Best of Breed: a black
pullet by Joni Collins
·
Best of Variety Bantam Buff: a pullet by Rich and
Margaret Andree
·
Best of Variety Bantam White: a pullet by Don and
Joan Laue
·
Best of Variety Bantam Blue: a pullet by Joni
Collins
·
Champion Junior: a black pullet by Joni Collins
UOC Web Link Now on Homepage of
American Poultry Association
A link to this UOC webpage is now given on the homepage of
the American Poultry Association. Perhaps you accessed this page by using that
link? If not, and if you have not added
the address of the UOC www.geocities.com/srp18407/UOC.html
to the “Favorites” menu on your computer, here’s what you have to do to access this
webpage through the APA’s homepage: Go to the homepage of the American Poultry
Association www.ampltya.com and follow
this path: Useful Information / Miscellaneous / Useful Links / The United
Orpington Club.
E-Mail Address and Fax Number List
UOC members: Please send your e-mail address
and/or fax number to Warren Tye. Here are the UOC e-mail addresses that have
been recorded with Warren Tye:
UOC president, Don Chandler chardon@planetc.com
UOC vice president, Don Lau djlau@elknet.net
Secretary/Treasurer,
Richard Andree rmandree@mchsi.com
Pete Akers doug.akers@ces.purdue.edu
Richard Boulanger faverolles@progeny.net
Janet and Alissa Bumstead rjbumstead@snet.net
Carl Callenbach ccallenbach@blazenet.net
Tom Durgin tdurgin@myhome.net
Leslie Dyer lesliedyer@prodigy.net
John Foster bears@elltel.net
Vern Holzhueter pinegrov@northernnet.com
Larry and Linda Jenkins Harman_@hotmail.com
Kathryn King Kc5pqa@juno.com
John Monaco john@poultryshow.com
Kathy and Stephanie O’Neal onealacres@aol.com
Natalie Porter Butterfly167036@aol.com
S. Robert Powell srp18407@yahoo.com
Steve Reagan stmre@aol.com
Nikki Riedel nriedel@netonecom.net
Julie Robillard fishandchicks@earthlink.net
Vicki Stevenson ookiisora@mcn.net
Warren Tye orps@juno.com
Dave West WestFarmboy@aol.com
Ray Whitehead vxe6@yahoo.com
Eric Wilhelmi ejwil@hotmail.com
Remarkable Fact
In the Madison Square Garden Show in
1909-1910, there were 478 standard Orpingtons. (See the article by J. H. Drevenstedt given below.)
The following history of the Orpington breed
is from Standard Bred Orpingtons, which was published in 1910 by
Reliable Poultry Journal Publishing Co. and the American Publishing Company.
Orpingtons from the Early Nineteen Hundreds
One of the many
benefits to becoming a member of the UOC is that members can purchase for $10
(to cover the cost of copying and mailing) a copy of the 138-page collection of
historical information and articles about Orpingtons that Warren Tye has
assembled/collected over the years. The texts by Drevenstedt
and Campbell that are given below are from this compendium. They are given here
to whet your appetite for the complete 138-page collection.
If you’re
interested in raising and showing Orpingtons, you will learn a lot from Orpingtons
from the early Nineteen Hundreds. To order your copy, contact Warren Tye at
the address given at the head of this webpage.
Orpington
By J. H. Drevenstedt
Origin
Twenty years ago,
Orpingtons were exhibited in
Being
"English, you know," it took the American poultry breeders some years
to become interested and enthusiastic over Orpingtons. Objections to fowls with
black legs and white skin were lodged against Black Orpingtons and later the
white or pink legs and white skin of Buff and White Orpingtons was considered a
serious market handicap, as Americans demanded yellow-skinned and yellow-legged
poultry. So the doom of the Orpintons was predicted
before breeders on this side of the Atlantic became acquainted with the good
qualities of this new English race of fowl, or realized that a master hand at
promoting and advertising new breeds was at work in England, Australia, and
America, boosting the breed he originated, by lavish use of printers’ ink,
which included much free advertising for himself—for the originator was a
clever writer on poultry topics, as well as a very shrewd breeder and dealer.
The superior
qualities of his Orpingtons were "laid on with a thick brush," the
defects kept in the background. The result of all these persistent and insistent
claims of superiority over all other breeds is that Orpingtons are today the
most popular fowl in England and have made such rapid strides toward popularity
in this country, notably in White Orpingtons, that they have become dangerous
rivals of the American Plymouth Rocks, Wyandottes,
Rhode Island Reds, and Leghorns.
The originator,
William Cook, died in 1904, at a time when Orpingtons were beginning to boom
rapidly, thanks to the late and lamented Mr. Cook and the hustling and able
efforts of Wallace P. Willett of
As an advance
agent, William Cook was in a class by himself; as a salesman he was a star, the
prices realized by him for Orpingtons at that memorable show being exceedingly
high. The purchasers were men of wealth, as a rule, who realized that aside
from the fancy end, it would be a good business investment as well. A study of
the comparative growth in popularity of Orpingtons in D. E. Hale’s article on
another page of this book, will justify the judgment of these shrewd fanciers
who bought at that time.
Orpingtons
First Exhibited in
Single Comb Black
Orpingtons were first exhibited at the show of the Massachusetts Poultry
Association, held in
In 1901, the
entries increased to nineteen single and one pen of Buff Orpingtons, Charles
Vass, Wallace P. Willett, and Doctor Paul Kyle being the exhibitors. At New
York in 1909-10, 157 Single Comb Buff, 122 Single Comb Black, 134 Single Comb
White, 17 Diamond Jubilee, 5 Spangled, 25 Rose Comb Buff, 13 Rose Comb Black,
and 5 Rose Comb White Orpingtons were exhibited, making a total of 478
Orpingtons—a remarkable showing for a breed of English origin in a country
where there was supposed to be little demand for poultry with white skin and
white or black shanks.
Early
Orpington History
Wallace p. Willett
of East Orange, New Jersey, sends us the following interesting data relating to
the early history of the Orpingtons:
"I have been
keeping fancy fowls as a hobby not as a business, except in certain instances,
for the past fifty years, and have handled in that time almost every nameable
breed from the
"The October,
1897, number of Farm Poultry printed a picture of Wm. Cook and of his
Black and Buff Orpingtons and the editorial correspondence of A. F. Hunter, who
was then visiting poultry plants in
"Daniel Love
exhibited a Black cock and two hens at
"A careful
examination of poultry records shows no other entries at poultry exhibition in
the
"In 1898 C.
E.
"In
September, 1898, R. S. Templin,
"In 1899 Mr.
Vass made two entries at
"The exhibits
of 1899 served to call attention to their merits and there was quite a little
demand for Orpington eggs. At the
Mating for Size
By
(From
Chapter 4 of E. Campbell’s 1922 book The Orpington and Its Varieties)
If big birds are
mated, it may be taken for granted that size at least has been secured in a
fair proportion of the progeny. I have obtained very satisfactory results from
mating a medium-sized cockerel with big hens and strapping pullets, but he was
from stock much larger than himself, and he had great substance. The mating of
equally big birds sometimes leads to comparative legginess
in the offspring, if great depth of body is not a characteristic of both. The
mating of a massive low cockerel to big strapping pullets has with me yielded
splendid results, as has the leathering cockerel put to low-set, big-framed
hens. But the mating of massive birds on both sides is certain to be best. The
offspring will vary a bit both ways, but the best will better than [sic] is
likely to accrue from either of the other variations. I don’t agree, however,
with mating very low-set birds however big in body.
Theoretically, an Oprington’s legs cannot well be too short—if the body is
big enough—practically they can, although they seldom are. Unless you maintain
a sense of proportion in the framing of your birds you will not be able to
strike the eye with the full sense of your success, while your failures will
become depressingly apparent.
You must, in
breeding big birds, give them ‘something to stand upon.’ That is to say, you
must not endeavour to carry a big body on stunted
legs. A very short-legged cockerel, or one with a tremendously low body, should
not be mated to extremely shortlegged females.
Phenomenal features of this sort are best used for corrective purposes.
Otherwise the result may be a good lot of breeders, but none to take first
place in high competition at shows where symmetry and proportion decide the
verdict.
The sense of size
is not quite apparent in a show pen unless it be accompanied by proportion. And
remember that the bird which looks like a triton amongst the minions of your
yard falls back very quickly into the commonplace when it is placed amidst the
pickings of other breeders’ stock—such as show entries are.
This seems a
convenient point at which to warm a young breeder from expecting too much from
a low-legged massive hen which he has bought. I like to get my breeding stock
young, for I know that as many a slim young maiden develops into an obese
middle-aged lady, so do some leggy pullets swell out and let down into typical
show hens. These are the sort which may possibly give you a good show cockerel
but will seldom satisfy in pullets—for like begets like. It is a hen of this
description which should be mated to a massive extra-low cockerel.
If you wish to
breed big show pullets—and who does not—see that your hens have been big low
pullets themselves. What the mother has been the daughter will very probably
also be—if not corrected or improved upon by mating with a male whose females
have been better or bigger. I am a firm believer in the influence of the female
size on the female line—all things being equal. I am also a firm believer in
the big hen theory. All other matters being even, the hen, in my experience,
has exercised the greater influence on the size of the progeny. I have mated an
experimental pen, including a big pullet sister to a smaller pullet of
different conformation (also running in the pen) put to a big and big-stocked
cockerel. Every pullet out of the big mating was as big or
bigger than the mother, but every pullet from the smaller was little if any
advance in size on its parent.
I have in my
callow poultry days mated a strapping big cockerel to ordinary hens and
pullets, and never got a bird as good as the father, while the tendency in the
pullets was to legginess rather than size.
When mating Opringtons, never lose sight of substance. Substance will
redeem the smallest specimen. I never kill a big-boned cockerel, however small.
Somebody who knows something is willing to take him from me. I never yet saw a
big-boned, heavy-framed pullet that was not a good breeder irrespective of
size. A big pullet deficient in bone and substance is almost certain to throw
very ordinary, if not decidedly leggy, stock, unless wonderfully well mated. A
smallish pullet of great substance will lift the weediest cockerel’s stock out
of the common, on her side at least, if she comes from good stuff.
Don’t, however,
mate squat birds under the impression that you are securing ‘club type.’ The
club type Orpington is a bird moulded in proportions,
such a proportion as you quickly appreciate by visiting a leading show and
following the judge's awards with an inquiring and absorbing mind. Although the
standard insists upon ‘short legs,’ the term is merely comparative. You may
find the first prize cockerel with a leg half an inch longer in shank than the
third prize bird. But you will probably also find that the longer leg looks
shorter to the eye, because the bird it supports has greater size and
substance. It is this proportion which so deceives the novice, that he looks at
the first prize pullet and remarks to himself, ‘Well,
that isn’t a great one. I have something very nearly as big at home.’ And only
when he ventures into the show arena and puts his big bird into direct
contrast, is he aware of the magnitude of his error.
Support Orpingtons, Standard and Bantam.
Become a member of the
United Orpington Club.
Page last updated September 22, 2004