While all orcs we see in the books are male, there are in fact female orcs – they do not

spawn from
pits of tar (no, not even Saruman's Uruk-hai). This is made clear in the Silmarillion: “for the Orcs
had life and multiplied after the manner of the Children of Iluvatar”. In the Munby Letter, Tolkien
further confirms it: "There must have been orc-women. But in stories that seldom if ever see the
Orcs except as soldiers of armies in the service of the evil lords we naturally would not learn much
about their lives. Not much was known".
In the Hobbit, Azog is the father of Bolg – which also implies existence of the female orcs. Further,
it is known that orcs can cross-breed with humans – and can do so in two directions. Text available
in the History of Middle Earth states as much: "Finally, there is a cogent point, though horrible to
relate. It became clear in time that undoubted Men could under the domination of Morgoth or his
agents in a few generations be reduced almost to the Orc-level of mind and habits; and then they
would or could be made to mate with Orcs, producing new breeds, often larger and more cunning.
There is no doubt that long afterwards, in the Third Age, Saruman rediscovered this, or learned of it
in lore, and in his lust for mastery committed this, his wickedest deed: the interbreeding of Orcs and
Men, producing both Men-orcs large and cunning, and Orc-men treacherous and vile.".
It is important to note here how crossbreeding can go into two different directions: "men-orcs" and
"orc-men". This as good as spells it out that pairings had existed, of both orc males with human
females and human males with orc females.
There are other aspects which confirm the existence of female orcs. Neither Morgoth nor Sauron
could produce anything new. While "original" orcs may have been mutated spirits, it seems clear
that common "garden-variety" orc was in fact a mutated elf. Since elves do reproduce sexually,
implication is that orcs do so as well.
There are some counterindications to be found in the original conceptions, however. The first
conception in The Book of Lost Tales (1917-1920) states that "...for all that race were bred by
Melko of the subterranean heats and slime. Their hearts were of granite and their bodies
deformed.". In the Quenta Noldorinwa from 1930 this nature is retained: "the hordes of Orcs he
made of stone, but their hearts of hatred". In Silmarillion this origin is kept, though now they were
made in mockery of the Elves.
Above was later contradicted by the Annals of Aman, which states that Orcs were mutilated elves:
"But of those hapless who were snared by Melkor little is known of a certainty. [...] Yet this is held
true by the wise of Eressëa: that all those of the Quendi that came into the hands of Melkor, ere
Utumno was broken, were put there in prison, and by slow arts of cruelty and wickedness were
corrupted and enslaved. Thus did Melkor breed the hideous race of the Orkor in envy and mockery
of the Eldar, of whom they were afterwards the bitterest foes. For the Orkor had life and multiplied
after the manner of the Children of Ilúvatar; and naught that had life of its own, nor the semblance
thereof, could ever Melkor make since his rebellion in the Ainulindalë before the Beginning: so say
the wise. And deep in their dark hearts the Orkor loathed the Master whom they served in fear, the
maker only of their misery. This maybe was the vilest deed of Melkor and the most hateful to Eru.".
This appears to be the final, definitive conception. It has one problem: the text is presented as belief
of the wise of Eressea, and thus its reliability can be doubted; it is in no way a "Word of God". In
the Hobbit, it is mentioned how Elves fell into darkness and bred with beasts, thus turning them into
a malevolent race.
Still, the "corrupted X" vector is the most likely explanation. Aule's creation of the Dwarves makes
it clear that only through Eru could the life be created, that is, beings with reason and free will –
which the orcs are. Thus, had Morgoth created orcs from rocks, they would have become golems –
rendered immobile and lifeless as soon as either Morgoth or Sauron were defeated. This we know to
not be the case, as orcs of Mordor tried to escape their doom upon Sauron's defeat – and some
succeeded, hiding in the caves. Some of the original orcs may have been corrupted Maiar, but as
Maiar (and Valar) did take on the shapes of Children of Illuvatar, this does not preclude orcs
reproducing sexually.
In later years, Tolkien considered that orcs may have been corrupted animals. This is definitely a
possibility: physical descriptions of Uruks of Mordor already have them resembling chimpanzees:
Grishnákh is described as "a short crook-legged creature, very broad and with long arms that hung
almost to the ground".
Overall, while there is no definite answer as to the origin of the Orcs, all of the later writings are
clear on them being a corrupted version of an already existing, living being. It is thus clear that they
could and did breed in the manner of Children of Illuvatar, which in turn requires orc females to
have existed as well.