Australorps breed Thread

[informative]

~~...1. Non-Broody 2. Great Layer 3. Good Personality aka Easy to get along with 5. I want it to be a dual purpose breed so that when it stops laying it can be used for meat. 6. I would prefer that it lay large eggs (the color doesn't matter to me.) Also I live in a place where it is incredibly hot in the summer, and cold in the winter so hardiness is really, really important....

Temperature tolerance is based on a few things - larger birds and those with feathered legs and lots of feathers, dark colors to absorb sunlight better and smaller combs will do best in cold. Heat tolerance should help to have smaller birds with larger combs and waddles and white/light colored feathers to reflect sunlight assuming they would be going outdoors. You can see that heat and cold tolerance creates a contradiction as far as feather color.

Evolving to the local climate also plays a part so finding a local breeder should help with matching birds to the climate.

Texas matches the climate you describe and one of the more popular birds here are Jersey Giants - they can tolerate the cold by their huge size and are also have no feathers on their legs, good sized combs and are available in lighter colors to better withstand the blazing summer sun. For better personality I'd probably look at Buff Orpingtons.

 

[Itchen4Chickens]

Temperature tolerance is based on a few things - larger birds and those with feathered legs and lots of feathers, dark colors to absorb sunlight better and smaller combs will do best in cold. Heat tolerance should help to have smaller birds with larger combs and waddles and white/light colored feathers to reflect sunlight assuming they would be going outdoors. You can see that heat and cold tolerance creates a contradiction as far as feather color.

Evolving to the local climate also plays a part so finding a local breeder should help with matching birds to the climate.

Texas matches the climate you describe and one of the more popular birds here are Jersey Giants - they can tolerate the cold by their huge size and are also have no feathers on their legs, good sized combs and are available in lighter colors to better withstand the blazing summer sun. For better personality I'd probably look at Buff Orpingtons.

Thank you so much!! I will definitely look into those breeds

 

[ronott1]

Thank you so much!! I will definitely look into those breeds

Australorps do not have feathers on their feet and are very much like Jersey Giants. Neither Orps or Giants are known to be good egg layers.

If you want to look into other breeds, EO Marraduna Basque, Partridge or Silver Penciled Rocks and Oddly, American Bresse are good for what you want.

Basque hens can be the biggest pet you ever saw(well silkies are still the best pet...) too. They lay a lot of nice eggs, take the heat(listed as being heat hardy) and do well in the cold.

One thing you need to watch on BYC is enabling. I want all of the chickens I See!

 

[hellbender]

Australorps do not have feathers on their feet and are very much like Jersey Giants. Neither Orps or Giants are known to be good egg layers.

If you want to look into other breeds, EO Marraduna Basque, Partridge or Silver Penciled Rocks and Oddly, American Bresse are good for what you want.

Basque hens can be the biggest pet you ever saw(well silkies are still the best pet...) too. They lay a lot of nice eggs, take the heat(listed as being heat hardy) and do well in the cold.

One thing you need to watch on BYC is enabling. I want all of the chickens I See!

Let's not forget to mention the Naked Necks/Turkens. Color notwithstanding, they do well in both heat and cold, despite having perhaps half the feathering than other breeds.

I use no lighting and my Turkens are laying consistently, right through these cold snaps...It was negative 8*F here this morning with windchill of negative 21*. Don't let what a chicken might look like when looking for a great bird to lay in extremes of weather.

Additionally, they are great foragers and can deal with confinement when necessary and they are very personable and not the least bit 'flighty'. With all that and the fact that they lay large to extra large eggs, strong consideration should be given to these wonderful layers.

Ron...I know you are familiar with what I'm talking about...

 

[ronott1]

Let's not forget to mention the Naked Necks/Turkens. Color notwithstanding, they do well in both heat and cold, despite having perhaps half the feathering than other breeds.

I use no lighting and my Turkens are laying consistently, right through these cold snaps...It was negative 8*F here this morning with windchill of negative 21*. Don't let what a chicken might look like when looking for a great bird to lay in extremes of weather.

Additionally, they are great foragers and can deal with confinement when necessary and they are very personable and not the least bit 'flighty'. With all that and the fact that they lay large to extra large eggs, strong consideration should be given to these wonderful layers.

Ron...I know you are familiar with what I'm talking about...

Yes!

and now I want NN Turkens!

I have a American Bresse that has been scalped so the naked part I am getting use to already.....

 

[hellbender]

Yes!

and now I want NN Turkens!

I have a American Bresse that has been scalped so the naked part I am getting use to already.....

 

[bonnylass79]

I can say that my Australorps have done well in the Florida heat, despite their black feathers and large size. They also make great duel purpose birds. The girls lay nice large eggs every day and the boys are more than big enough to be a nice eating bird. They are also great foragers and have good personalities. My one rooster will follow me around for treats and then hens come when I call. I don't intentionally make pets out of them, but they'll come running to see what goodies I have for them.

 

[Highcotton]

Thank you so much!! It doesn't get quite that cold, actually it doesn't get much colder than 20 degrees so that's not a problem. I'm actually looking for some right now but I'm not having that much luck. I'm in north FL and if you could tell me if you know of any good breeders or hatcheries here that would be great!!

I belive there was a guy in the Mobile area that breeds some breeder Australorps. Tractor Supply has some hatchery quality Australorps or they did last year. They get new shipments every week and the breeds in stock vary.

 

[cubalaya]

does anyone have sandhill preserve black australorps and what do you think of them. if i ever get back into them will probably get some from them.

 

[chickisoup]

What do you much more knowledgeable folks think of my chances of having a decent result from breeding a nice heritage roo to a hatchery hen? Due to recent issues, traveling long distances are out of the question and no one I can locate close by has any heritage Aussie stock. I hate to resort to mailorder but it's better, I hope, than not having any Aussies at all.