Thinking about Australorps ned info!!! :)

[phoebs]

above i wrote ned info i ment need

So i have many belgian d'uccle and i love them but i have decided
i dont just want to breed bantams i would also like to breed a large
fowl and i am thinking about Australorps they seem like lovely birds
but i still need info on them!! ........... cos i dunno what they are like

buuuuuuuuuuuuut............................................ i assume they are fabo!!

 

[BuffOrpington88]

Australorps are very good layers and handle heat well, although they can sometimes be a bit flighty.

 

[terryg]

They're nice, solid basic laying hens. Some can be persistently broody, some not at all. They are not as good foragers as the barred rocks, but will scratch around. They do quite well in confinement (the rocks not so much.) In my experience with them, and hearing from others, they are not as personable, but they are easy to work around. You can see my elderly Australorp on the hencam. She's 7 and still, once in a great long while, lays an egg!

 

[critterbug]

Australorps are good chickens. As stated above they will go broody. I had one hen this year start on a set of eggs just when our temps went to 100+ this summer. She stayed through all the heat and hatched five chicks. My 14 hens lay well. I have two Australorp roos. One is a nice chap you can pet, the other is meaner than a stripped snake. The wife has a stick at the back door for him when she goes out. I've been happy with mine. They look really good when fully feathered standing in the sun where you can see the green (some are blue) tint.

 

[Red Barn Farms]

I have three Australorp pullets which I raised from baby chicks and they are wonderful! Mine are now going on 12 weeks old and free range daily. They will run up to me whenever they see me in the yard. I bring them tomatoes which they love. Their plumage is so soft and shiny with hints of green in the sun. I can hold mine but they do act as if they would rather be left alone. I would still highly recommend them!

 

[phoebs]

so how many eggs a year do they lay and if they to go broody are they good mummys???

 

[critterbug]

Most of mine average about 5 a week. A couple of hens have been hitting 7 a week after their first molt, others still only 4-5 a week. The hen that hatched mine this year was a good mother. After a few weeks I took them and put them in a seperate pen though.

 

[Lbrad7]

I have raised Australorps for years and they are one of my favorite breeds. They tame easily, are great layers and all and all are very pretty birds. I saw where some had said they were a bit flighty but that has not been my experience at all. My experience with them is that they stand confinement very well, are very friendly and curious. I have had several that follow me around like puppies. You can't go wrong with this breed...good luck!

 

[karlamaria]

I have 3 and there are near the best layers I have, they lay every day! Maybe taking a day off rarely. I can depend on them even In Winter. My girls are 17. Months old, 2 are the worst agressive birds I own, and I get tired of them picking on the others, there off to the stew pot in a month or so. Just tired of seeing them pick on the more gentle girls all day long. With wInter coming no way do I want them to be in the pen all day with my girls picking on them and pulling there feathers out. There the best layers I have, but if there not nice well off with there heads.

 

[acemario]

This is a great starter breed. I am new to BYC'ing and our Australorp has been a great chicken to start with. As a chick, she loved humans, was very adventurous, and led the flock. Through the teenage years, she became flighty and avoided humans at all costs. Once she began laying eggs though, she warmed right back up and now follows us around the yard. She has done well in the heat, and is supposed to do well in the cold as well. Since she began laying, we have probably gotten about 5 eggs a week from her.

When all is said and done, I would recommend this breed.