Australorp-Hybrid or purebred?

[vortec]

Just got signed up for some Blue Australorps!

Now the question is...Will Blue Australorps breed true or are they hybrids that will not. Thanks a bunch.

vortec

 

[klf73]

from what I understand they do not breed true, just like any blue.
someone has a chart on percentage, but you will get black, blue and splash.

 

[vortec]

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Thats what I was expecting. But will they maintain all of the attributes of the Australorp, size, brown large eggs? Just differ in color? Thanks in advance

vortec

 

[jossanne]

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My australorp lays the darkest egg of my brown egg girls... hers are gorgeous!

 

[jossanne]

Quote:
Thats what I was expecting. But will they maintain all of the attributes of the Australorp, size, brown large eggs? Just differ in color? Thanks in advance

vortec

Blue is a color that doesn't breed true, but it breeds predictably. Blue is technically a color diluter, and it takes one black and one blue gene for it to present itself. Two blue genes give you a splash bird.

Blue x blue will give you 50% blue, 25% black, and 25% splash

Black x blue will give you 50% blue, 50% black

Black x splash will give you 100% blue

Blue x splash will give you 50% blue, 50% splash

All other attributes of the bird, egg color, size and shape of the bird, etc., will breed true.

 

[blackdotte]

We have many 1000s of Australorps in Australia, mostly Black, but Blue is not uncommon, White developed about 40 years ago are rarer but making a come back. Here in the land of their origin pure Australorps do not lay dark eggs, however some lines of commercial black hybrids do, so that is probably what you have.
David

 

[Texgran]

We've had Australorps for over 20 years and all of ours lay brown eggs. When we cross them with a brown leghorn the eggs are more cream colored.
They are great full blood or for a cross

 

[jomercer]

My feed store BO (from some hatchery in Iowa, sez the clerk) lays tan eggs in the medium size range, starting at about 22 weeks. She's gorgeous lustrous black and has a classic "henly" look. Also very talkative, curious, and friendly and THE BEST forager of my flock. Whereas the others will scratch and peck around one spot and then move on, she scratches an area repeatedly and scarfs up event the smallest centipede the others would miss. You can tell where she's been working--it looks like the craters of the moon!