Australorps breed Thread

[groche]

I reckon you're getting somewhere with these Cubakid. Getting some nice back curve on the girls in the first two pics. I like the girl on the left in pic 1, though do you always pose them with their tails to the wall to improve curve? Only kiddin'. Your birds are cleaner in the face(not so hairy) than many American birds I've seen pics of. The bird in pic 2 has the sort of 'fluffy orpington' thighs that I want to cut back on in my lines. Good top half though!
Cheers Geoff from Aus

 

[aveca]

Can't wait to see how cubakid progresses with these.. interesting, the waxey face and comb you see a lot of in Australia is a feminine trait so not sure how they carried it through to the whole group, males have the feature too..

 

[ronott1]

Thank you for your warm welcome Ron.

Great pic of Kinra. She is so very pretty. Imagine you are having such a good time with her. She actually looks rather sweet to me. I like that! I appreciate your encouragement. 17 weeks old now so she will be laying soon right?

I could say "I can't wait to get my BA's!" But unfortunately I will need to wait I think. My thoughts are: it is late into the season so they are difficult to find here locally. Back in the spring our local feed store did have 25 BA chicks on two separate dates but I was not ready then. I only have one small tractor and my two BR's take up most of the room. Besides I was worried with their behavior they would not accept new pullets coming in. I did have four BR's at one time but really that was one too many. So three BA hens would be perfect which is my ultimate goal. So thinking I would have a better chance of getting some nice BA's if I try next spring. I checked some of the hatcheries online but they don't ship three chicks or shipping fees are outrageous. Just wish I would've known if the BR's were not going to lay eggs now because my decisions would have been different.You know the story.

Rattlesnake Ridge certainly has some gorgeous BA chicks. Adorable! Have viewed other pics of your flock & vid of Dundee. Amazing! Dundee takes my breath away. He is an exceptional roo as you know. So fun to see him respond to you sitting on the porch in the vid. Great you shared that one. If you don't mind my asking; how many years have you been involved with BA's?

~Dee~

Yes, Kinra is very nice!

My Pet Chicken will sell three pullets and ship them to you if the Postal Route works. From them, you would have a 95% chance of them all being pullets. I just checked and they are available now. Pullets are 3.50 plus .50 so are $4.00 each plus shipping.

There is a place in Southern CA that has nice BAs. My plan is to hatch some of his next spring.

Enjoy your chickens and most Orpingtons start laying around 24 weeks old.

Bye,

Ron

 

[DeesHens]

Yes, Kinra is very nice!

My Pet Chicken will sell three pullets and ship them to you if the Postal Route works. From them, you would have a 95% chance of them all being pullets. I just checked and they are available now. Pullets are 3.50 each plus shipping.

There is a place in Southern CA that has nice BAs. My plan is to hatch some of his next spring.

Enjoy your chickens and most Orpingtons start laying around 24 weeks old.

Bye,

Ron

Thanks again Ron for your thoughtful reply. I want you to know that I really do appreciate your efforts.

I was pretty excited when you told me about My Pet Chicken so I went right over there to check out the possibility. They have a "minimum chick order calculator" based on your zip code location. I would need to order 7 chicks. Honestly, with my history all 7 would live and flourish forcing me to eliminate 4. Plus the wasted cost of that scenario is not something I would willingly embrace at this time.

As a side note: Not to quibble, but merely reporting here: straight run is 3.50 plus shipping but female only is 4.00 plus shipping. ( in case someone else reads this just for accuracy)

The other thing is "how do we know what quality these BA's are?" It isn't like I am going to show them mind you, BUT I do try to push for really good pet quality (for lack of better term) for all my pet purchases as a rule. Although I do not breed any of my pets I do appreciate good looking pets. I may not be an expert but I have an artist eye for the standard beauty that motivates me in this manner. Plus the health issue is always in the forefront of course. Health is key to good life after all.

Please let me know more about the S. CA. source if it is possible to purchase a small number of chicks from them next spring. Shipping from CA is very speedy to here so on that note it would be very beneficial. If they have good quality BA's I would definitely consider the possibility. Due to my experience I don't have much confidence in farm stores at this time getting the right chicks. Although now it is much more clear to me what I am looking at after viewing multiple pics in here. I finished reading this thread last night and am amazed at the knowledge available. So happy to learn in here.

All my best ~Dee~

 

[ronott1]

Quote: It's ok!

Yes, the pullets are plus 50 cents.

The quality would be similar to what you would get from the feed store. The big advantage is knowing you would have a 95% chance of having pullets. If you get breeder chicks they will be straight run and often half would be little roos.

If there is a different post office you could have them shipped to, you might be able to get less for a minimum. Try looking for a PO that is close to a regional distribution center. I live in Woodland, and there my min. is 5. Davis is the next town south and from there I can get 3 as a min. The Distribution Center is in West Sacramento which is across the Causeway from Davis.

Here is a link to the ones in CA. They are from Bruce Sherman. There are a couple of BYCers on the California the whole state thread that have them and I plan on getting a dozen or so of hatching eggs from them:

http://bidbird.com/listings/details...tle=6+ SQ Black Australorp HE - Sherman Lines

I hope you get some nice Australorps!

Ron

 

[DeesHens]

Thanks again for your help Ron.

I found California hatchery after spending time searching tonight. I don't recall if I read that anyone on this thread purchased from them. They have BA day old chicks, I can order 3 chicks with guaranteed delivery. Do you know anyone that has ordered from them? I wonder if they have nice BA's or not. I am confused because the page lists origin: Holland. Does that make sense to you? Please let me know what you think.

~Dee~

http://www.californiahatchery.com/Black-Australorp-Chicken_p_27.html

 

[ronott1]

Thanks again for your help Ron.

I found California hatchery after spending time searching tonight. I don't recall if I read that anyone on this thread purchased from them. They have BA day old chicks, I can order 3 chicks with guaranteed delivery. Do you know anyone that has ordered from them? I wonder if they have nice BA's or not. I am confused because the page lists origin: Holland. Does that make sense to you? Please let me know what you think.

~Dee~

http://www.californiahatchery.com/Black-Australorp-Chicken_p_27.html

That is very weird that it says the origin is Holland.

They look like nice hatchery BAs. Hatchery BAs are one of the few breeds that have not been completely messed up by the hatcheries. They will still have the temperament of the SQ Breeds.

I have heard of California Hatchery but I don't know of anyone that gets their chicks from there.

Try asking here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/565482/california-the-whole-state-thread/2750

Ron

 

[DeesHens]

That is very weird that it says the origin is Holland.

They look like nice hatchery BAs. Hatchery BAs are one of the few breeds that have not been completely messed up by the hatcheries. They will still have the temperament of the SQ Breeds.

I have heard of California Hatchery but I don't know of anyone that gets their chicks from there.

Try asking here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/565482/california-the-whole-state-thread/2750

Ron

Thanks for the tip & link. Will try that out. Also that is great to hear about the BA's temperament.

~Dee~

 

[groche]

Could you please elaborate, Aveca. We still get hairy faces here and they are a no no for breeding. Female trait for clean faces? We are told here to avoid "glace" combs and wattles. Not exactly sure what it means. I assume they are referring to a texture like that of French glace preserved fruit as distict from waxy, which seems especially noticeable in our northern birds.
Cheers Geoff from Aus

 

[tigercreek]

A couple of pullets for fall breeding. Sorry they are so dark, I didn't want to make them stand out in the hot sun to show off their green sheen. ........stan