My first(laying) hens were Australorps. They are beautiful and very friendly. They are great layers and pets. My Australorp had hatched one nest of chicks. Mine got along well with the rest of my flock.
For our flock we wanted docile dual purpose birds. Our daughter is timid around animals and we are new to the chicken business in our own home. My husband and I both had grandfathers with more agressive birds and we didnt' want that. The 'lorps are such a good bird. Very sweet and easy to get along with. There feathers are so beautiful out in the sun. Our roosters are quiet and non agressive too. We have one hen and she is a true Lady, prancing around in her elegant, pristine feathers. Ours are 3 months old now and such a welcome addition to our flock. I will always have some in my flock, we love our black beauties!
I love my Australorp! She was the first in my flock to start laying (around 5 months) and laid 7-8 days in a row right off the bat. Even now, in the middle of winter, I am getting 3-4 eggs a week with no supplemental lighting. My australorp also has a great personality. She is very smart and curious. My other chickens all run away when I come out to see them, but my lorp always comes to investigate and see what treat I have brought. Australorps may not be as colorful or patterned as some other breeds, but just wait until you see one in the sun. The greens and purples shimmer through the black...just beautiful!
Great breed for laying! Nice sized brown eggs, calm temperament, generally healthy and great to have around!
I did my homework before I got into chickens and researched the different breeds. I wanted a friendly chicken, one that could tolerate sub zero temperatures in the winter and one that would be a good layer. My 4 Aussies live up to all of these characteristics and then some! They are super friendly and love to "Lap sit". They follow me around like drooling puppies looking for treats. 
They lay nearly everyday even in the winter and freezing temps do not phase these birds. I highly recommend this breed to first time chicken owners, especially ones with children. The Australorp will not fail you!
Have continued to lay throughout the winter so far. we are about to set our first bunch to hatch this week. this is by far our favorite breed. we have 4 other breeds right now and we love this one.
What can I say about these birds?
They are simply every chicken keepers go-to breed. They are very hardy in both cold and hot weather (being in south central KY, we can get temps around 100 with humidity way up there and winter nights down in the single digits with wind chill and snow). Amazing layers of XXXLarge brown eggs, they're the type of layers that won't let you down. They are incredibly friendly, not to mention they are great with other birds.
My hen was purchased from the Amish and raised around some fairly bird aggressive breeds (RIR, sex links, poor quality Wyandottes) but even so, she is the best head hen I could ever ask for. She deals out punishment with an iron clad touch but is happy to sit back and enjoy life with 0 aggression when she can. She gets along well from every bird from my Faverolle to my EE's without any problem whatsoever.
At 6 years old, my baby girl Tau'i is still laying and still the head hen. It will be a sad day when she leaves us, but I will make sure there is always at least one Australorp in our flock!
I have 5 BA hens in my free range flock. They lay just about every day. Great foragers. Very gentle. Cant say enough good about them. Highly recommend them for someone wanting a low maintenance chicken that is an outstanding layer!
After having a mixed flock of different breeds I chose the BA's to be my breeder flock. I could find no fault with these birds other than it seems everybody likes flashier colored birds more. BA's are solid black with an irridesant green sheen that is beautiful in the sunlight. They are by far the friendliest of my flock. They are good with confinement and also love to free-range. When they are out, they put themselves to bed in the coop everynight at dusk. They are a dual purpose bird for meat or eggs. What more could you ask for in a backyard chicken?
We love our Australorp. She's a great hen to have in the suburbs. Calm, quiet, and great eggs!
We have had our Australorp for a while now and she has been so consistent in her laying. We just lover her. She will let us pick her up but really is less needy in the attention dept.
My two australorp hens are good consistent layers. They lay a good sized brown egg almost every day.
Overall a great bird, easy to care for and lays tons of large brown eggs. Great personalities and very docile.
Great birds, cannot say enough good things about them. Beautiful plumage, clam personalities and great layers.
I have three birds that I got from a hatchery when I first got into chickens. I've sold most of all my other birds over time, but these 3 hens have stayed on because of all of their wonderful qualities. Mine tend to be on the broody side but that works for me since I don't have an incubator. They are great mom's too. I really think this is the perfect all around bird for beginners and children.
Good personalities, great foragers, lay big brown eggs regularly. People keep coming back for more, they love these!
These were the first chickens I bought and really like them until my rooster got so aggressive and I had to "Put him down" also my hens seem to be very skittish. Besides that they do their job when it comes to laying eggs and came into production around 22-24 weeks of age. Very beautiful birds too. The green sheen is amazing the in afternoon sun light.
Our Australorp has been a bit of a disappointment after hearing such wonderful things about them from others. Ours has never been particularly docile and didn't begin laying until almost 34 weeks. We got her for her supposed friendliness and for the claim that she would be a prolific layer despite the Texas heat - we'll have to wait and see on the second point.
i took 2 roosters in for a trade and thought they were jersey giants. they turned out to be australorps so i went and got a few hens from different sources. i can't really fault this breed. even the hatchery australorps are pretty good. breeders adding orpington into the breed for size are winning in the shows. this bird should be good layers and smaller than orpingtons.
I got my black Australorp as a newly-laying hen from a craigslist listing. She pairs well with my RIR and gets along with the Wyandottes as well. The green sheen on her black feathers is rather stunning. Overall, I'm super happy to own this breed.
I think every flock should have one or two. Our Australorp is our friendliest bird. She loves to be picked up and petted. She is also our best layer beating out our production chickens for egg/year. She is also so big and heavy she cannot fly, which means we don't have to clip her wings to keep her in our yard. I personally like a variety of breeds but Australorps will always be a part of that mix because they have everything I like in a hen. They are very pretty birds (black with green iridescence), but in a flock of only Australorps it may be difficult to tell who is who.
I love my australorp! She's a gorgeous bird (love the contrast of a bright red comb/wattle against the glossy black feathers). Plus she's just an easy keeper - calm and easy going with people and other chickens. She's friendly too, and very responsive when I talk to her. Lays a large, pretty, light brown egg. She enjoys free ranging, but would do fine contained as well.
I think they are great, Once they started, they have laid eggs nearly everyday and its winter. My hens are very calm and quiet, would be great for a in-town setting. Love to free-range when I can let them. Friendly and will come when called. I plan on more when I get a bigger coop.
I don't know about their taste "yet" but that is why I wanted a duel-purpose breed, would like to hear more about that.
I LOVE my austrolorp! Her feathers shine, and have a green shine to them. She lays eggs well, and they're very sweet!
this hen has let me down she hasnt brooded doesnt lay much and eats alot. 2 of my production hens have become broody while my heritage breeds havnt so i am starting to wonder of it was worth it
My Australorps do very well here in the City. Very well-mannered birds who are curious, friendly, lay well, and don't get into the neighbors' yards when I let them out. They often follow me around the yard and have never tried to peck me. They haven't shredded the plants in my garden although they did eat all of the green bean plants. They're solidly built and are dealing with the cold weather just fine. The fact that they're gorgeous is just icing on the cupcake.
I have six BA's and I took them in reluctantly from some one who was moving and had to give them away. I have since fallen in love with them. They are friendly, easy going, good foragers, great layers and lots of fun to just watch. Of all the breeds and barnyard mixes I've had over the past 3 years, the BA's are my absolute favorite.
Is not nearly as good a layer as advertised. We get about five medium sized eggs a week.
But she's a good natured, quiet bird, and we like her.
I love these beauties. They are calm, sweet, and lay large brown eggs. They hardly take a day off.
i love them never had any problem with this breed. The roos can become rather large and loud but have an even temper. They dont seem to be afraid of people even with minimal direct human interaction, they are hardy, and they can live practically in any climate making them a good first chicken
We have a flock of 20+ Australorps on our hobby farm. Having tried Brahmas, Plymouth Rocks, and Delawares, we settled on Australorps as the best breed all-around. They've thrived in our high desert climate, with temps from 15 F to 100 F. Our roo is a perfect gentleman with his ladies, humans (large and small), and other poultry.
Black Australorps are Sweet,Tame,Pretty,Hardy, and lay good sized eggs. They are from Australia and they are good for both meat and eggs. I have two black australorp hens and one rooster. They are a great breed to have. I love this breed.
I bought a mix of hatchery chicks from TSC: RIR's, EE's, BR's, and BA's.
My Australorps are by far the most docile and by far the best layers. They consistently layed through the winter. Even though they were hatchery bred, one of my Australorps went broody.
The Australorps seem to be the friendliest of the bunch since they will hang around you and are not skittish or frightened easily. They don't mind being held.
Great bird for a beginner, too since they are so easy to care for and are great layers.
Australorps are one of my favorite breeds. Not only are they a beautiful bird, but they have very sweet personalities and the hens have very long production lives. I will definitely keep at least 1 Australorp in my flock. I hope to one day have a breeding flock of them.
very good egg layer, does well in cold weather, OK In hot climates, tends to be shy and often ends up at the bottom of the peck order
The Australorp is my favorite breed. They are beautiful with their large combs and regal mantles of black feathers that flash brilliant metallic green in the sun. They are also one of the most flexible breeds you can get for whatever set up you desire.
These are large heavy chickens that are good all-purpose birds and good for beginner chicken owners. If you want eggs, meat, or pets, this is an excellent breed to pick. I've used them for all three. They are a popular favorite here in the Pacific Northwest as they don't seem to mind the constant rain and mud very much.
Their personalities range from very friendly to aloof. They can be big snuggly lap chickens, or they will regally patrol your farm at a distance from you. They often continue to lay through the winter. They will not disappoint on meat!
I highly recommend including these in your flock.
These are good birds to have. They tend to be way more stand offish than the other breeds. About 1 in 4 will act like a pet while the others will keep there distance. They have a cool green shine to them when the light hits them right.
These are about a year old
Mine are only 20 weeks old, but are two of the sweetest girls. The kids can easily pick them up. They aren't skiddish like one of my other breeds and are pretty quiet so far.
I have two australorps, Matty and Asa, they are just beautiful birds. Their feathers are silker than my Leghorn and Reds. Never have a problem with them. Wonderful egg layer too.
Probabaly the best dual purpose bird for a backyard. Their calm and easy going.
My Australops have the sweetest personality, are very calm and docile, and are friendly and easy to pick up. I have 1 and 2 year olds and they remain among my favorites. Because they're so docile, they tend to be on the low end of the pecking order, but I have a couple who have a spot of the top roost.
I've never had one try to peck me, even when I had to remove Ms. Broody from her nest several times a day last summer. After her evictions, she was quite perturbed and would peck at other hens who got in her way, but she never pecked me. She was very broody most of the summer and I brought her inside in a dog crate several times because we had a brutally hot summer and I was afraid she'd die from heat exhaustion or dehydration. It would take about 3 days to break her broodiness. This year I'd like to get some eggs for her.
They lay large eggs. I have trouble fitting some of them in the egg cartons! Some of them have very pretty speckles.
They have gorgeous color in the sunlight, with blue and green highlights.
They seem to be very hardy. I had a young one with sour crop who eventually died, despite a lot of intensive care. I'm guessing she had some sort of abnormality because I'd nurse her back to health and she would get sour crop as soon as she was back on a normal diet. However, all the others have done very well, despite last summer's 100+ degree heat and slap-you-in-the-face humidity. The don't seem to be bothered by cold into the teens.
The only drawback, in my situation, is that's they're slower than the other hens and are the prime target for fox. One lucky girl managed to get away with a bare butt, but two others were taken. I currently have them inside an electric fence, but NONE of my chickens have any problem walking through my seven-strand fence.
Black Australorps were added to our flock to increase the likelihood of broodiness. Hens were decent foragers in our free range operation, laid large eggs with decent rate of lay year round. Barred Rocks, RIR's, and Black Stars easily outpaced them on egg production and egg size, but hens are good, steady producers. Very docile hens are rather low on the pecking order and accept lots of matings, so many had bald backs (sex ratio 3 males:35 hens). Beautiful iridescent black plumage, reasonably strong feet and legs, respectable foraging ability.
Hens were the second best at hatching and raising chicks, outdone only by the Black Stars. One hen raised two clutches of chicks in one year. Productive life was acceptable, around 2 years, at which time the hens starting piling on the fat and egg production dropped. One became an internal layer. Molting speed was moderate, and return to production didn't take too long.
Hens seemed more vulnerable to predation (slow?, less alert?) and got picked off by hawks/eagles/dogs.
We got our first australorps this past spring, they have super friendly, easy beautiful birds. the hens lay nice brown eggs, are easy to take eggs from. Had an issue with our rooster for a bit, was very aggressive, but calmed down and has become a model rooster, watches over his flock nicely. Have had 1 hen go broody this last month. I can still take eggs and she just give a little squawk has never pecked me! I love these birds!
I've had a few Australorps and most have been sweet except one I just got rid of. They have all been amazing layers of nice brown eggs and one was a very good mother but very protective. They are generally calm and, they are just so beautiful in the light with their green/purple shine. The thing that attracts me to them are the dark black eyes. So pretty and the eyes make them look so sweet. Currently I have 5 Australorp chicks :)
I love my Black Australorps! They are such sweet calm birds, even my Rooster is a cuddle bug! They are great layers. My hens aren't too noisy (although can sound amazingly like a baby is crying outside from time to time). Definitely will continue getting BA's!
I love this breed! Even though I had one then lost her to a bobcat, she was still really sweet, she layed well, but she took a long time to finish molting.
My Black Australorp is one of my favorites (well, all my birds are my favorites but...) Lolo is a very calm, gentle bird. She is very small, but I've seen australorps as big as orpingtons. Her egg lying rate is pretty decent, one small egg per day. Lolo is so pretty too!
i have three one cock one hen and one pullet and i thought the pullet was a mutated Andulusion 
how stupid was i.
The greatest chicken I ever had. Gorgious feathers and super calm. Perfect pets and terrific brown-egg layers. Naterally they are a 8-13 pound bird so just note they are huge.
Just got my Australorp chicks. They are very friendly and adorable. Very curious birds.
Our Australorp is our flock's head hen and she does a wonderful job. She is calm and dignified, keeps everyone else in line without being aggressive. Though she is a tad aloof, she is the only hen in our flock who is friends with everyone without exception.
We were told this one would be a mid-range mannered bird, so we're making sure to handle her and she's roosting with a couple other mild hens. So far, so good!
It wasn't the star egg layer I was hoping for, but I could have lived with that. Unfortunately she always had a dirty bumm. No matter how many times I cleaned it, it was dirty again. I culled her for that reason alone. She dressed out nicely and was a nice couple of dinners.
I just bought another Australorp chick yesterday and am going to give it another try.
This is at the top of my favorite breeds list for many reasons :) This breed of chicken is VERY hardy , they hardly ever get sick and they can resist all kinds of climates weather it be hot or cold 
A+ for Australorps!!! They also lay almost every day a really nice large brown egg that is just delish!
I traded two of my Does (Rabbits) for 15, 6 weeks old Australorps, I have had 1 die on me so far, hoping the rest make it so start up my chicken farm.
I thought I was getting pure Lorps but have since realised they are crosses. Love them the same but they are after 3 weeks still flighty around the dog where as the old girls (4 NHamp Reds) were fine after a few days. I think my two girls maybe boy and girl.
These are my professional layers. They lay pretty much an egg a day, although they're not particularly cuddly. My rooster, Gregory Peck, takes his job seriously. He is alert and notices everything--especially hawks. He takes good care of the girls and finds them tasty things to eat. He also crows beautifully. Gregory actually takes cuddles better than the Aussie hens.
Thumbs up for the Australorps!
(Not sure on the purchase date, so I put in the shipping date.)
An amazing layer who doesn't care what the weather might be. Tends to be shy when young, but calms significantly approaching POL. Very smart, wily bird that can and will get into everything (or puzzle out how to in short order).
My DH bought me chickens for my 60th b'day; 2 Australorps, 2 Lt Brahmas and 1 Easter Egger (turned out to be a bantam). The Australorps are by far the friendliest and IMHO prettiest girls I have. They are always the first to run see if it is me or DH when the back door opens. If me, they run up to me naturally expecting treats. If it is DH, they just go back to what they were doing. At night when it is time to go into the coop, they are right there and go in willingly and always get between the EE and one Brahma who tends to pick on the EE. They lay big beautiful brown eggs nearly every day and will gladly help the other hens sing their egg song - so funny. I love the beautiful green sheen to their shiny black feathers. I will definitely continue to have Australorps in my flock, possibly to the exclusion of other breeds.
I love australorps!!!They are so CUTE!!!!!I have a australorp and her name is Dazzle.I like australorps because they are so sweet and gental .
all hale the australorps!!!!!!!!!!!!
A this point my australorps are just small chicks cant wait to see what they grow up to be
very vocal but a very laid back faithful layer and great with kids
I started with four pullets last summer (an Australorp, an ISA Brown, a Silver Laced Wyandotte, and a Barred Rock), in July, right around the age they should have started to lay. The Australorp is bright eyed, inquisitive, friendly, and best of all, is an awesome layer. She was the first to start laying (I thought that the ISA would start first, but she was actually a few WEEKS behind the Australorp!), and has layed nearly every single day since. The only time she stopped was for about three weeks around Christmas, when a neighbor dog bypassed three fences, two gates, and a barn door (he was determined) and ate my Barred Rock, right out of the barn, in front of the Australorp (and incidentally, my ten year old daughter, who was out gathering eggs). Within a few weeks she had started again, though, and hasn't stopped since!
I love my australorps they are the sweetest things! They are great pets and great layers. I have two, my favorite is named Nugget, she is my favorite hen out of 44 chickens! I show my australorp, and they are great show birds. We won first in showmanship. I recommend australorps for beginners or expierenced poultry raisers!
I introduced one adult and one 10wk old to my flock and was surprised how well they adjusted without any noticeable fighting. The adult hen quickly made friends with my buff brahma, and settled nicely. I will keep you updated on their progress.
We got one Australorp, and I claimed it as mine because it was black. We had 3 blk sex links, but these were speckled. This was different. This was mine. She's a friendly hen
(we hope) and is the first to do everything. First trip outside.First one to find the utilities. First, first, first, FIRST.
Really cool birdies.
I bought 8 hen chicks from MPC, 1 was DOA and 1 died within a day. I now have 6 beautiful strong and healthy chicks who are 1 week old. My 2 Lorps are the largest of the bunch. They seem to be more laid back than the rest. From the moment they were unpacked, they were the strongest, most vigorous chicks yet curious and relatively fearless. They are already eating out of my hand and feeling comfortable being held (for short periods of time!)
They get along well with their sisters hatched the same day; 2 Salmon Faverolles, 1 Barred Plymouth Rock and 1 Blue Andalusian. The Andalusian is the smallest by the way but she holds her own by being the fastest and hardest to catch!
I have some of these and I have been happy with them. I actually had the perfect flock; 1 was broody, the others were not. The rooster beautiful and protective. Light brown eggs, winter hearty. I'd recommend if you purchase for a confined space, buy all the same breed, I've heard there is less picking on other breeds by doing this. Don't know if true, only what I have read, and they did pick on my Welsummers a lot when confined & unable to get away. Good luck
I bought my first 5 Australorp hens back in November from a friend who moved away. They were hatched in the Spring and started laying for her the following September. Considering the cold time of year and the transition they had to go through with moving to another place, they seemed to handle it quite well. I would say this breed is very easy going and adaptable. They have been quite friendly and sweet and lay nice large brown eggs. Having 5 hens that lay me 4-5 eggs a day through the Winter time consistently is, I hear a great thing. I decided to add to my flock and purchased 3 chicks of this same breed. Although this is the only chicken breed I have had so far, since the experience with them has been so positive, I've decided to stick with this breed only, at least for the time being. I love my Aussie girls!
We have had them for over a year now and there very good layers of a large brown egg, also easy to handle. we can just walk up to one and it will let us pick them up.
*Oh* if I'd only thought to take pictures when I started keeping chickens, I would have been much more happy. Years ago when I got my first chicks I had started with four, with one being an australorp. I only hold a few memories though being so long.
What I do remember about Dorito (the australorp) was that she was very fat and did not lay well at all, we got maybe 2 eggs a week from her...all of the other hens layed white eggs you knew how poor of a layer she was. She hated being a small flock too, even when in the coop you could just watch the body language. She wasn't even happy when we brought in a polish pair or when I caught a roaming rooster.
Though - I had even attempted to make her brood chicks (I was ignorant of animals until I relized what it was like not have something you love - then my passion was founded two years later...chickens try #2) by locking her in with Charley the Buff Jersey Giant for a week.
When the hens would have turned three - 2 years after I sold them - I tried to find the family I had sold them to, hoping I could track them down and treat them the way they needed or should have been treated. I had no luck but the first thing that came to mind was how I didn't "really care" after they weren't chicks and how a short amount of time can change a mind so easily and that was a part of my life and growing up.
Funny how we comprehend animals when our lives really start, when we actually understand.
I'll always miss my first flock - including Dorito the fat, bad layer australorp hen
sweet birds with good poduction but struggled with 100+ degree temps and high humidity.
We heard wonderful things about this breed, but unfortuntely they did not integrate well into our flock.
This was our 2nd batch of chickens and we probably didn't know what we were doing. So once the chicks were old enough we added them to our already established flock. We attempted to train them to go into the chicken coop at night and they refused.. or were picked on so much they didn't want to go in. The other chickens did pick on them relentlessly. We finally had to find a better place for them.
We will be integrating another 9 chicks (RIRs) into our flock of 9, but have a plan. We created a caged in area within our coop for the new chicks to live for a few weeks until the established flock gets use to them. I hope this works much better than the 1st time.
Just hatched out(with surrogate broody) ba chix and that is the ONLY reason allowing the roo to remain for awhile. He looks for every opportunity to spur me(especially when feeding/passing close) but the hens are dolls.Only breed for MY use and won't pass on stupid roos tempermant(assume you can breed it in like with dogs?) but like I said the hens have been gentle, productive and beautiful fowl to watch.
I find the Australorp is a great breed. They lay good sized eggs almost every day, are relatively tolerant of other birds and interact well with people yet still have the survival instinct to run away from potential predators.
Occasionally will go broody but make good mothers. Definitely one to consider if you are rearing chicks without any artificial interference.
They are also a decent size bird for anyone looking for a utility bird that lays well and meaty carcass. Haven't taken this path yet with mine but I'm sure that if I do, the results would be promising.
Excellent foragers when out of the coop, mine even managed to find and unearth a rats nest and eat the pinkies 
That being said, you want to keep them out of the garden, mum doesn't like it when her pretty plants get reduced to tattered stalks and neither do the neighbours.
All in all, an awesome breed that is both a great practical bird to keep for eggs, meat or a bit of both. They are great in a mixed flock and if treated nicely, can be a rewarding and fun pet.
I love my Aussies! Great starter birds! Recommend them to anyone who wants chickens.
As a first time chicken owner, we are so lucky to have 2 of these beautiful girls. Lays eggs everyday, cleans the yard of bugs and a great personality. A great all in one chicken and nice pet.
I had 3 black australorp hens in a mixed flock of 12. All of them seemed more skittish and aloof than the other breeds (orpington, plymouth rock, wyandotte). Contrary to what I had read, they were not low on the pecking order, as they did assert themselves. So far, they have been reliable layers.
I love my Australorps. They lay early and consistently and the spare males make for great eating.
I want one (maybe two) of these to add to our flock.
First I would like to learn how to pronounce their name.
Is it Ahh strah lorp or Ow strah lorp?
From what I've experienced with this breed is that the more time you spend with them, the more friendly they get. They are a very good egg producer. I love my Australorp.
