They are fantastic birds on paper. Hot and cold tolerant. Lay lots of eggs. Both of mine bullied other birds and each other at point-of-lay, and my best girl became aggressive towards people the day after laying her first egg. It was heartbreaking. Mine were from Mt Healthy. I’d give the breed another shot from a different hatchery, but with skepticism. I have an acquaintance with a mixed breed, free-range flock, and her Australorp is also a bit of a jerk. Nothing is guaranteed with hatchery birds.@thecatumbrella knows about the bad side to Black Australorps.