How many eggs to expect by age from Black Australorps?

[southernfiction]

I hope he fell in love with them and you still have them!

 

[southernfiction]

My advice to you would be to feed your chickens well and see how it goes. You'll have plenty of time to decide later. It doesn't take that long to raise new layers and older chickens don't usually just suddenly stop laying due to age.

One of the main things that drops the annual egg count is the seasonal interruptions to laying. The times when an adult hen stops laying temporarily because she's broody, molting or the short winter days have effected her. All those days are subtracted from the egg count.

Pullets usually lay well their first fall, as they've been replacing and growing new feathers all year. They don't need to do another full molt their first fall. Most lay fine their first winter, without supplemental lighting. A lot of chickens don't go broody until their first spring. Now, all of this depends on the individual chicken.

I don't think most commercial feeds are an optimum feed for a chicken. It's a marginal feed, designed to give them the minimum nutrition for laying eggs for a couple of years. Long term, mine are healthier and lay better for longer if they get a little better diet than that. They get green feed, some non-soy protein and more protein when molting.

I don't see a drop in production when mine turn 2 years old, while they are laying. It's only from possible seasonal interruptions. Some of those interruptions can be managed to reduce their impact, too. I've seen other people posting the same thing. Their fairly young chickens, like 3 or 4 years old, are still laying almost every day. Later on, there is more of a decline over time, while still laying.

So, while I think it's good to think about all this, I think you need to also see how things go with your individual birds. Some chickens don't lay every day, even as pullets. I've had some like that, too. It just depends on the genetics of that chicken.

Several years later your fine bit of educational material is helping me.

 

[MyLittleRedCoop]

I started with 4 Australorps, too.
We got 4 a day, once everyone started laying. And, on more than one occasion, I even got 5. They laid well into the winter, and only slowed a bit.

We've since lost one, and one is broody, so she's not laying right now. But I still get 2 a day pretty regularly. I would say I get 5-6 a week from each. They are just over a year old now.

Also, Australorps are known to go broody, and be good mamas. So if you have a roo, the older gals can hatch the eggs for you, making integration of new chicks much easier.
I know RIRs are egg-laying machines, but I just so love the sweet, talkative personalities of the Australorp, and the green and purple sheen on the black feathers!

 

[Gypsy52]

One almost wishes that historical fluke fact wasn't out there. /img/smilies/smile.png


The 'Lorp that we have today is much more likely to lay 280 or a bit  more, per year.  That is excellent laying.  But, trying to measure up to up to a one time, 364 record is rather unfair to the breed.

 

[Gypsy52]

Mr freds hens .. that was 364 laid by 2 hens not 1.

 

[Chickyx4]

I have 2 black astrolop's and I love them. They are very friendly and they are pretty birds, however, they have stopped laying.They are about 3 years old. I live in Colorado, so It gets cold, but I have a warming light in the coop. Should I be feeding them more protein? I feed them a commercial feed now, I saw you posted that this is not a good diet for them. Can you send me a link to a good diet or what I can add to their diet?
Thanks for your help. I don't want to get rid of them, but I would like to get some eggs.