Black Australorp source recomendations

[puddleglumWI]

Oh! I missed that in the previous post you made. So even if I got all blue hens and a blue rooster from a hatchery, any chicks raised could potentially be black or splash?

 

[3KillerBs]

Oh! I missed that in the previous post you made. So even if I got all blue hens and a blue rooster from a hatchery, any chicks raised could potentially be black or splash?

Yes.

The statistics don't work out for small numbers, but over enough eggs hatched, for every 100 chicks Blue x Blue will give you 25 Black, 50 Blue, and 25 Splash.

It took me about 30 chicks to get my first splash and then the next hatch had a disproportionate number of them.

 

[puddleglumWI]

The Blue Australorps are looking like a good option for me. My folks will be my primary chicken sitters if I go away for a weekend, and Mom was bugging me about a Golden Laced Wyandote we had, when I was a kid, that she named Penny. She wanted me to get one and, since she will be a major helper with the flock, I was trying to figure out if I could say no.

I showed her the Blue Australorps and she really liked them since they can have a bit of the lacing. "Like my Penny," she said. An excellent compromise. She can pick her favorite and maybe we can call her Penny Steele, like the steel pennies from 1943. Now I just need to make sure she knows she can only name one of them, and that is the only one that is completely safe from the soup pot.

 

[puddleglumWI]

Blue is incompletely dominant.

I was puzzling this one over last night and the way I understand it, now, is that the black is the recesive gene and the splash is the dominant gene. When a chicken receives a black and a splash, however, it causes the blue coloring.

I think this is still a partially incomplete understanding, it seems there is more at work here.

 

[3KillerBs]

I was puzzling this one over last night and the way I understand it, now, is that the black is the recesive gene and the splash is the dominant gene. When a chicken receives a black and a splash, however, it causes the blue coloring.

I think this is still a partially incomplete understanding, it seems there is more at work here.

No, the gene that causes blue and splash is the same.

If the chicken has two genes for black then it's black.

If it has one gene for black and one for blue then it's blue.

If it has two genes for blue then it's splash.

It might have made more sense if they'd named the gene splash instead of blue, but they named it for the effect of the heterozygous condition instead of the homozygous condition.

 

[SeaCity]

You can tr

Hello all,

I have been researching a lot of different breeds for a dual purpose flock, about 8 hens and a rooster, that I want to establish this spring. After looking hard at Delawares and New Hampshires, I ultimately think a breed that is geared more towards laying will be a better fit for me. Black Australorps seem like a really good option, as they can be excelent layers and extra roosters could be passable for meat. Also, when I was a kid, we had Australorps and I have fond memories of them poking around the yard.

Anyone know of a good breeder that raises Black Australorps? Close to S.E. Wisconsin would be ideal, but I can drive a few hours if needed, or a good breeder that ships would be an option as well.

Anyone have an experience with ordering Australorps from a hatchery they can share?

Thank you
-pg

You can try Mertons Feed Store!

 

[s678865567]

I have Blue Australorps from Welp and they are champion layers.

Not quite up there with the California Whites, but 6-7 eggs a week most weeks.

How old are yours? Are they young cause young ones always lay well. I am asking because I am thinking about getting some from there and I'm just wondering if they lay well once they get out of the young stage.

 

[3KillerBs]

How old are yours? Are they young cause young ones always lay well. I am asking because I am thinking about getting some from there and I'm just wondering if they lay well once they get out of the young stage.

I have both first and second year ladies.

I only have one who is in her third year and I can't tell the eggs apart so I don't know how well she is specifically laying.

 

[bigjohn]

Hello all,

I have been researching a lot of different breeds for a dual purpose flock, about 8 hens and a rooster, that I want to establish this spring. After looking hard at Delawares and New Hampshires, I ultimately think a breed that is geared more towards laying will be a better fit for me. Black Australorps seem like a really good option, as they can be excelent layers and extra roosters could be passable for meat. Also, when I was a kid, we had Australorps and I have fond memories of them poking around the yard.

Anyone know of a good breeder that raises Black Australorps? Close to S.E. Wisconsin would be ideal, but I can drive a few hours if needed, or a good breeder that ships would be an option as well.

Anyone have an experience with ordering Australorps from a hatchery they can share?

Thank you
-pg

I hope you found your australorps. I ordered 10 from Tractor Supply last October. They began laying at about 24/25 weeks. I only kept 3 since I live in the city and did not want to 'over do' it. They have not been around other chickens, so they only hear my quiet voice and no other chicken sounds. They are extremely quiet most of the time except when they lay eggs and then they announce to everyone what they have done! One hardly announces anything, so it must be the other two doing the cackling! I get 3 eggs per day most days; sometimes one or two. Good size eggs. I LOVE my australorps. The hawks are not attracted to them since they look like crows.

The ordering process was easy and very inexpensive and delivered to my post office for pickup.