Australorp

I have one Australorp and love her, every time I go outside she runs right up to me and I pick her up. They are very great birds to have.

I got my current batch of three black Australorps from a guy who lives near Oklahoma City and they're absolutely sweet and docile! I really want get more (currently have one rooster and two hens) since they're such a great breed. They were bred from another which I also love called Orpingtons (the black variety). They were imported to Australia from Britain and over time were bred for slightly smaller size for improved egg production while still maintaining a good carcass for meat. They were at one time called Australian Orpingtons (hence Australorps). They're an excellent meat bird and excel in egg production especially. In fact, the record laying hen is an Australorp who laid 364 eggs in 365 days! Like I said, the birds I have are very sweet especially the rooster who I named Thor and spend much time with. Recommend to anyone interested in chickens.

I got five black australorp hens last year and they are the greatest chickens I've ever had! They were not loud at all and were very loving and affectionate. They are very curious and love to explore other people's yards, but that is the only bad thing! When I would pick them up to hold them, they would put their head on my shoulder to give me a hug and they would hop onto my lap if I had a treat for them. Unfortunately, three of them were killed about a month ago Everyone should get some australorps just because of their wonderful personalities.

I have 3 black autralorps that I purchased from a hatchery as started pullets.. I love my aussie girls, they are sweet natured and lay an egg almost every day. I recently hatched out 10 Australorp / Ameraucana eggs. I hope to have plenty of olive eggs.

My favorite breed so far. They are so beautiful. Their black feathers take on a metallic green sheen in the sun. I never have to worry about them around the kids because they are very gentle, sweet natured, and curious. They are the first to greet me at the gate in the morning, and follow me around the garden when I'm weeding, in hopes that I'll throw them a worm or two. They are prolific layers of pretty brown eggs. I only have 4 at this time, but I plan on adding more of this beautiful breed to our flock in the future.

I got two of these birds last May and they are darlings. They've quickly grown to 3rd and 4th position in our flock (behind the two rhode island reds). The only regret I have is that I wish I hand-tamed them more as chicks. They are wonderful, but they can be skittish and standoff-ish when it comes to being held. If they're not in a mood to be touched, it's just not going to happen. Sometimes they let me pick them up, but that's not often. When I do finally get them in my hands they settle down and relax. Hand tame them as chicks - it'll be worth it later!

They stand their ground to the lead hen and tend not to get picked on. They've also survived three raccoon attacks and a fox attack. Don't know if that's pure luck or if they're just good at ducking down and hiding.

They're also quite hardy and very adaptable. We had a raccoon break into our coop the night before a 10 day long vacation into the mountains. Luckily, the friend we were visiting had an abandoned chicken coop in his yard. We didn't have time to fix our coop, so we put all our chickens in a carrier and took them with us! These birds adapt to change very well. Very laid back and chill.

These birds lay nice brown eggs almost daily. When I'm ready to expand my flock, I will certainly be adding more Australorps. Great for beginners, great for children, great for anyone.

I love my Australorp! She is very sweet, is a good layer and is beautiful! I would highly recommend this breed!

I got my aussies more than a year ago. I love them so much! The only con is that they do pluck feathers from each other if not let outside. My hens have almost 3 times as much indoor space as needed, and they still did over the winter.
However, they lay nice brown eggs with tough shells. They are also so beautiful!

I love my Australorp! She's such a sweet girl. Now she's 21 weeks old.



Her name is Sweetie! She's such a darling.

I've had five of them for a little over two years now. I ordered them from Murray McMurray Hatchery, and they are the healthiest birds I've ever owned!
They are so beautiful and friendly, and they love cuddling <3
Unfortunately, they often get pushed to the bottom of the pecking order due to their unaggressive personalities, and can sometimes get beat up real bad by other birds. Thankfully, except for a few missing feathers, mine have gotten on fairly well, and are a great addition to my flock

Fantastic bird. None better in brown layers. None better in dual purpose (Brahma better for meat part) . Because they are so popular, there has been sloppy production by some hatcheries. Breed your own! They breed true

Our blacks australorps are really sweet chickens. The two that I have are pretty close and roam throughout my yard together. They're very curious and a little wary compared to my other chickens, but still come running up to me when they see me. The only problem is that they are pecked a lot by my other breeds of chickens, but that's just within my flock.

I've had my Black Australorp Hen 2 years now. I only got one as part of a mixed flock. She lays consistently light creamy pink/ brown eggs.

Her Black coloring makes her difficult to see in the woods. She is constantly aware. Just a very smart free-ranging bird, altogether. When she is in the open lawn and the sun is shining her feathers refract and reflect the most gorgeous greens, blues and purples. She forages and forages for her food. She eats up greens and grasses like there is no tomorrow (lots of beta-carotene in those orange eggs and economical to feed). She has wintered well in two brutally cold and long Minnesota winters.

She was a chick that preferred not to be handled compared to others. Yet with just a bit of handling during that precious time she is still catchable and she respects & comes to the food person when called. When picked up she is wanting down right away. Still a bit of the flightiness yet. --Good trait for free ranging.

She is friendly and non-aggressive on the roost no matter her pecking order as high hen or as a non-layer lower on the pecking order. When making a few new introductions to the coop, she is consistently tolerant to these new birds. She has never bullied that I've ever seen.

At the end of her laying cycles she usually has become broody. At those times we have not needed to add to numbers in our flock. She was easily broke at about 2-3 days of lights on, no nesting materials. Pretty easy bird. But now of course we are hoping she will become broody as we have a few openings for Newbies on the roost. We look forward to giving her the opportunity she's been waiting for and rewarding her good nature with motherhood. Can't wait! I will update on her Mothering skills if given the chance.

If I only could have one breed for my flock...it would be the Black Australorp. Just such a smart choice.

Our girl is incredible! Lays 5 eggs a week like clockwork, doesn't mind being picked up and snuggled with. Gets along well with new additions to the flock.

Loving birds, not noisy, and very calm. They look gorgeous in the sunlight as the sun reflects off their feathers! Highly recommend this breed for anyone looking for a great laying hen.

I have a roo and two hens of this breed. They are very sweet chickens.

My roo crows a lot, but I haven't seen him attack any chickens nor do any of them have peck marks. He doesn't like it, but he tolerates being picked up and being moved out of the way. Not once has he even attempted to hurt me. He also is good at protecting warning the chickens when he thinks something is coming. He also keeps the girls near him when they are outside as well as inform them when snacks come.

The hens are shy, but very sweet. They lay nice, and large brown eggs. Not much to say about them, other then they are great at laying and are they tolerate me, the roo, and all the other hens.

Was a Good Hen when It Came to Laying, BUT she ate the other Hen's eggs. Also taught another one how to drink the egg yolk. Very shy especially when it came to snack time. So we let our friend have her.

I just got one of these my white leghorn likes picking on her at the moment but she is slowly getting better everything i have read about them says they are great layers and very docile i have not experienced any eggs just yet but i am thinking that is cause she as been moved around quite a bit but she is definitly very docile when i go up to her (or vice versa) i touch her and she makes a playful sound and runs away flapping her wings but when i pick her up she flaps around a bit but she has been getting used to me and doesnt do it as much as when i first got her
I absolutely love these birds
Cheers Chickengod
P.S. do they like any treats if so what are they?
Thanks

I have two Black Australorps and love them for all the reasons the others have pointed out. My only con is that they don't handle hot summer days. Both of mine start panting and hanging their wings out by the time it's 75 to 80, while the rest of the chickens do ok much warmer than that. We have a pool so I cool them off with a dip in the pool a couple times per day, but I always worry about them when I can't be at home.

I love this breed. It's our first one, and we got a RIR later. These too chickens had no problems together, and are very friendly to each other. We get twice as many eggs from the Australorp, and the chicken is so pretty. It is just fun to watch them run around.

I had two australorp hens, which I got as pullets, they layed consistently, were well tempered and gorgeous birds. They both went broody together at the same time, several times. They were very vocal birds and liked to squawk a lot.

However, I now have an Australorp rooster who is extremely quiet, I've never heard a sound from him. He's also very tame and sweet.

A great overall breed, highly recommend.