Australorp

I have one Australorp in a mixed flock. She is very pretty and has a gorgeous masculine bright red comb that I love. She consistently lays 4-5med/ large brown eggs a week, all year long. She is second in the pecking order, right behind my giant English Orpington, and is tough but fair with the hens lower in the pecking oder. She isn't overly friendly but she squats and I can pick her up easily. She will jump in my lap for treats. She loves to free-range and is great at finding bugs and the occasional snake. She does scream when she wants out to free-range or hears me open my back door. I feel that is my fault because I have spoiled my girls terribly and they know that if they get loud, they get what they want. My Australorp seems to be very intelligent and is a problem-solver. She has never gone broody, which is a plus for me, and did well in the hot Texas summer.

We started our first flock in October and I originally wanted to have an entire flock of Australorp's, but couldn't find any. I was thrilled to finally find one locally and just LOVE her! She was 8 weeks old when we purchased her. We have a small flock of 5 because we are in the city, but our Australorp, "Patty" is a favorite. Sweet and gentle in every way, she allows my 4 year old son to come right up to her and pick her up. Patty is calm and quiet, and is as easy going as they come. She goes along with the flock, but doesn't get picked on either. Patty will even patiently wait for her treats so as not to create a commotion. I think she is just gorgeous too, we have nicknamed her "Black Beauty"-- I think she likes it because she will come to either name . I love that she is all black, even her legs, but has white toenails. One of our bravest girls, she is usually the first to step up to try new foods we offer while the others are still looking it over, deciding if its food or not.
I highly recommend this breed!

I have had my Australorps for 27 weeks. Today the final one started laying. Seven for seven in January. The first started laying at about 20 weeks. Someone is laying double yolkers!

They are pretty. A really good size. Not flighty. The eggs are large to jumbo once they have been laying for a bit.

I love my Australorp, Poppy. She lays me an egg every day and is very pretty to look at. She can be a bit loud at times and loves to "argue" with some of her flock mates. I don't really mind it. I think it is quite funny, actually. Dont tell my other girls but Poppy is my favorite hen in the flock. If I could, I would get more of these chickens!

One of the sugggested breed for a first time backyard chicken raiser is an australorp. I read many good reviews about them so i ordered two babies, and along with other breeds. Four months after... it was just non-stop screaming and cackling from them. Another 2 months after when they hit their point in laying, it just got worse. They werent even singing their "egg song". What they did 2 months back...this is 6 times worse, and louder now. They were literally screaming as if they were in one of jigsaws contraption in the movie "SAW". I spoil them, and i dont think that would make them hate their lives?? Im sure australorps arent the only breed that does this, so im not only pointing fingers at this breed. I honestly really dont mind the noises.....but if you live in a city thats permitted to have chickens, but have grumpy elderly neighbors then this ISNT the breed of chicken for you. Id enjoy hearing them cackle all day, but the constant thought of one day having one of my neighbors or the authorities knock on my door telling me to do something about my chickens. i wouldnt know what to do beause i am attached to my pet chickens. It really just stresses me every time the australorps have another one of their 'fits' and it happens everyday..

I dont know if this will offend australorp lovers, but this was my experience.

First ever review! dont cull me for this one =(((

My first flock were Australorps and I fell in love. They lay big beautiful brown speckled eggs, very rich in flavor. They are easy to care for. Hardy in both heat and cold temps. Good meaty birds. Very good natured. My 2 year old grand daughter could go inside their coop without worry of being attacked. Great learning/nurturing experience for kids. I highly recommend this breed.

For this breed, the roosters are sweet to their hens. Hens peck at my shoes when I'm holding another hen until I give them their turn to be picked up. Sweet tempered birds. Not skittish like my Rhode Island red hens

I have one australorp hen and one roo. Gail is a real sweetie. She eats out of my hand and lays about 4 eggs a week. She tried to go broody once already at 8 months old but I didn't let her sit any eggs. I will next time because I want to raise some chicks. Teryaki is my roo. He's huge but very nervous and flighty. I have a sussex roo that didn't get much bigger than a banty but Teryaki runs from him.

I am just new to this breed, and have recently hatched 6 with 12 other eggs of different breeds.
I didn't know anything about the Australorp chicken, except I like the black lol.
Well it has been really interesting with my chickens. I spend a lot of time with them and when I pick up these chicks that are 4 weeks old now, they are noticeably 'softer', by that I mean more relaxed when i pick them up. They sort of just relax into your hands softly as apposed to the others that get a bit tense.
I had made comments to my husband on their softness, and then just now read the comments on their gentleness and lovingness, so there you have it!!

I have 1, Prissy. She will tolerate being held, and she doesn't peck me. She goes broody often. She is beautiful. I think the only thing i have against her is that she tried to beat up my Buff Orp rooster one time. But they're a GREAT breed.

The perfect, traditional-looking chicken. Beautiful feathers that have a beetle-green sheen (on the black Australorp) in sunlight, good with kids, great layers, rarely gets sick, a calm bird that's not very aggressive to the rest of the flock etc. etc., the list goes on! My black Australorp lived for years!

Hi! We got chickens back in August, and we had read very good reviews on Australops, so we bought 2 Black Australorp hens along with some hens of other breeds. It's incredible how different the two Australorps personalities are! Our favorite, "Raven", is a sweety and loves attention and will follow me around and is at the top of the pecking order. She is very sweet with humans, but definitely is the boss to the other hens lol! Our other hen, "Miss Kay", is very skittish and will not let you get close to touching her. Her and her sister are complete opposites. It goes to show that all chickens have their own personality and you can't always judge a breed off of one chicken. However, they are both stellar egg layers, and lay an egg almost every day! Even in the cold Maryland winter! They both lay light brown eggs, sometimes speckled. They both are also more intelligent than some of our other breeds. They love to free range and they eat lots of grass. I would definitely recommend this breed to anyone whether you are a beginner or a professional. Here are a few photos.

This is one of Raven's first eggs, which she laid back in August.

Here is a photo of our beloved Raven!

Australorps, although generally calm and friendly, have often been broody in my experience, and not nearly as adventurous or trusting as other breeds I've had.

I have 11 Australorp hens on my farm and they are dedicated egg layers. They remain calm and allow me to touch them without much fuss. 4 of my girls are in a run with a Speckled Sussex hen and they 'growl' at me when I come in...not in anger but rather as a way of 'talking'. It's kind of cute and always draws comments from the kids who come out to tour my place. I would definitely get more of these birds!

We loved their black, glossy coats and beautiful onyx eyes. Hens were a wonderful size. Rooster was quite handsome.

I bought 3 Australorp's and they are awesome! They were the first out of 13 chickens to lay and I had some that were at least 5 weeks older.They have laid almost everyday since they started to lay.Their eggs are pretty big.They are also very friendly and they let me pick them up.I would recommend them to any one!

I LOVE Black Australorps! My Australorp hens are SO sweet! They beg to be held. The little cuties! Their beautiful black feathers shine green in the sunlight. I had a broody Australorp, BEST MOM EVER! She watched them so well. It was so much fun to watch her raise the little cuties. Australorps are my favorite breed, no doubt about it! If you are getting chickens for the first time they are the best breed to get. Pictures:

My Australorp is a very sweet girl, I used to snuggle with her and she'd take naps on me. She's easy to handle and very soft to the touch. Lately she's been having some crop issues, but it might just be her. When she laid, she laid a decent amount of eggs, but stopped before everyone else once it got a bit chilly out. I've never heard anything negative about this breed.

I have 3 of these girls and I really love them.I had not planned on buying them, but when we saw the chicks at the feed store, my mom just had to have them because the were sooo cute! Even though I only got 3, I sure do not regret it. They were the first to start laying, even in the dark and cold. They also have a really beatiful black color but are not suoer friendly.