Quote:
"Screeching" is relative. What to me sounds like a thwarted banshee is a normal chickeny sound to others. What I eventualy discoverd was that I had a very alpha female in the group. What this means is that she tried to take the place of a cock and was doing what is known as "hencrowing."
She made a God awful racket with this and at least one other would follow suit. Between them they were very high spirited.
In fact that entire group of BO's from the same hatch were possessed of great vigor. A truly superior strain, in my eyes, I wish now that I could recall who I got the eggs from. Someone in FL is all I remember.
I've also handled Australorps in the past and found them to be very nice yard birds - nicer than that particular flock of BO's, anyway. Overall, I recommend them if you want a docile chicken. As for egg lying, well...
The champion Australorp, renowned for her 364 egg year, was an experiment. She was carefully bred and selected from a long line of carefully selected and bred forebears, for one purpose: to beat all comers in an international egg laying competition.
She was bred to be a top layer, a combination of precise and careful selection and a small bit of luck. She was NOT the norm - she was an exception.
A-lorps today are as muddied and mixed as any other bird, particularly when from a hatchery. Shoot for 200 eggs per year with your dual purpose birds; if you can achieve more, you have done quite well.
This all points up the fact that:
A. Chickens vary among breeds.
B. Selection and proper breeding are the paramount criteria for choosing a bird.
C. Each strain within the breed is unique.
"Screeching" is relative. What to me sounds like a thwarted banshee is a normal chickeny sound to others. What I eventualy discoverd was that I had a very alpha female in the group. What this means is that she tried to take the place of a cock and was doing what is known as "hencrowing."
She made a God awful racket with this and at least one other would follow suit. Between them they were very high spirited.
In fact that entire group of BO's from the same hatch were possessed of great vigor. A truly superior strain, in my eyes, I wish now that I could recall who I got the eggs from. Someone in FL is all I remember.
I've also handled Australorps in the past and found them to be very nice yard birds - nicer than that particular flock of BO's, anyway. Overall, I recommend them if you want a docile chicken. As for egg lying, well...
The champion Australorp, renowned for her 364 egg year, was an experiment. She was carefully bred and selected from a long line of carefully selected and bred forebears, for one purpose: to beat all comers in an international egg laying competition.
She was bred to be a top layer, a combination of precise and careful selection and a small bit of luck. She was NOT the norm - she was an exception.
A-lorps today are as muddied and mixed as any other bird, particularly when from a hatchery. Shoot for 200 eggs per year with your dual purpose birds; if you can achieve more, you have done quite well.
This all points up the fact that:
A. Chickens vary among breeds.
B. Selection and proper breeding are the paramount criteria for choosing a bird.
C. Each strain within the breed is unique.
