Australorps breed Thread

[huppfarm]

Funny you mention that Geoff! I started one on FaceBook called "Australorps America"
I put it out there and there were more breeders of every other breed than Australorps wanting to be my friend, I even explained that this was an Australorp club that I was trying to start in "AMERICA", They just didnt get it! AMERICAN AUSTRALORPS.....How plain and simple can a person be?........ Went over like a lead balloon. Folks from around the world wanted to join and it was just supposed to be a page for Australorp breeders. I could not beleive that I couldnt even get a club started on FaceBook.

Ive thrown up my hands and will just continue to be an educator and learner here on BYC!

There are too many people focusing on strait ahead with blinders on and not seeing the big picture or fully reading what is written. It is hearing someone talking but not listening what is said,
I am out of ideas that make sense to the masses. Do the masses have any sence? That should shake 'em up a little, eh?
The masses are not everyone, just a heck of a lot of people.


My hat is off to whomever is able to achieve this simple task.....ha ha ha good luck, been there done that.

So there you are Geoff, your question answered in a nut shell.

Have a better one!
Chet

 

[PiecesofAmber]

My poor Australorp hen, Crow, was injured Sunday night. She got crushed in between the ply wood we had in the door of our coop, and the door. She couldn't walk after it happened. I brought her inside for the first and second night of her injury, but let her back out with the flock in the evenings. Yesterday she seemed like her old self again, pecking at everyone, and walking pretty fast. Her left leg turns in, but she is able to go in and out. This is the first injured bird we had, and I'm glad that she seems to be healing properly.

 

[HallFamilyFarm]

Funny you mention that Geoff! I started one on FaceBook called "Australorps America"
I put it out there and there were more breeders of every other breed than Australorps wanting to be my friend, I even explained that this was an Australorp club that I was trying to start in "AMERICA", They just didnt get it! AMERICAN AUSTRALORPS.....How plain and simple can a person be?........ Went over like a lead balloon. Folks from around the world wanted to join and it was just supposed to be a page for Australorp breeders. I could not beleive that I couldnt even get a club started on FaceBook.

Ive thrown up my hands and will just continue to be an educator and learner here on BYC!

There are too many people focusing on strait ahead with blinders on and not seeing the big picture or fully reading what is written. It is hearing someone talking but not listening what is said,
I am out of ideas that make sense to the masses. Do the masses have any sence? That should shake 'em up a little, eh?
The masses are not everyone, just a heck of a lot of people.


My hat is off to whomever is able to achieve this simple task.....ha ha ha good luck, been there done that.

So there you are Geoff, your question answered in a nut shell.

Have a better one!
Chet

I spoke with Maggie Lindemann this morning. She has moved forward, with the help of a few others and myself, to restart the Australorp club. The BYC thread for the club is https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/695121/australorp-fanciers-international

Maggie will need a lot of help. Currently volunteers are needed for officer and director positions. I volunteered as a webmaster. Membership is free until the membe5rs vote otherwise. Come on over and enjoy the fun.

The old breed club information was mailed to Maggie. Not a lot of information. She is going to forward it to me so I can scan it and upload so all can see.

 

[groche]

Good to see you having a go, Jim. Handleid carefully, it could tie in the international clubs and, just as importantly, Aussie-lovers and backyard keepers from all over. Also, it is supposed to be the same breed, so some issues cross national boundaries. The only way to address differing standards is to have a form of 'official voice'. Here it is the breed clubs who submit proposals for change when standards are reviewed, as happened here only recently. My view is that serious consideration be given to adopting the standard of the country of origin, internationally.
For this site to succeed, I think you need to link closely with current threads/sites such as this one for specifically American Aussie issues, rather than duplicate and cause fragmentation rather than consolidation. More when I've got more time.
Cheers Geoff from Aus

 

[groche]

Hi folks,
just a little food for thought only, not a prescription! My understanding only, not to be treated as gospel! As I said earlier, to succeed I believe you would need to be embracing and bring the various elements together, not play poultry politics and put aside personal squabbles. Who are the "various elements"?

Purebred Utility Australorps
These are the chooks that achieved international recognition for their record breaking laying ability. This strain has been kept going in this country and there are commercial breeders who still offer them.There too I believe, but not enough! Some of the claims are of course spurious! The Utilities are especially important in an American context as I believe that most of our best laying strains ended up with you folk. It'd be great to know what happened to them, though they must have spread somehow or we wouldn't be communicating! It is important to understand that there have been utility strains and exhibition strains here from very early on. They were judged in different classes. Utility ultimately proved to hard to 'prove' with the demise of controlled laying tests. The Utility VS Exhibition 'wars' were fought here a long time ago and there's no point in redoing them elsewhere. The 'club' needs to embrace those who breed, keep and love their purebred Utility Aussies as they've got a great temperament, lay well and have their own beauty and they retain that green sheen.

Exhibition Australorps
As the Australorp developed as a distinct breed and achieved widespread popularity, show strains were developed and eventually standards established and accepted, after a lot of serious disagreement between states. The Australian Exhibition Standards ended up being a bit of a compromise. Nevertheless, apart from some who wish to change them to suit current taste, the existing Standard was generally reinforced in the recent review. From early on Exhibition strains were bigger, less tight in feather and roo tails tended to be tighter and curvier, rather than sickle-like - all of which suggests the injection of more orp. blood into them than was in the Utility strains. This trend seems to be continuing here unfortunately. Also unfortunate in that there is a reported link between tightness of feather and laying ability in Utility Aussie chooks! So, although the exhibiters have done great service in preserving and standardising the breed, it seems to be at a continual cost to laying ability. We should never lose sight of the fact that Aussies achieved recognition as an 'egglaying machine' and we should discourage strains which aren't at least still good layers. I'm not trying to pick an argument with those Aussie lovers over there who are trying injecting some Orp. blood into their lines to get them to conform more to our Australian Exhibition Standards. As long as you're upfront. After all, you may have got some of our best Utility lines, but I haven't seen much evidence of good Exhibition strains having gone with them. So, I guess some 'redevelopment' via the original recipe is worth respecting and embracing. In principal, I think Exhibition Standards should follow those of the home country. So, we should follow your RIR Standards. But, unfortunately, with all sorts of restrictions applying to importing, often the blood just aint there! So, we need to work with what we each have and try to suggest constructive change with an official voice as points of consensus are developed.

Commercial/Feedstore Black "Australorps"
Often 'mongrel' black chooks that are Aussies in name only. But, these are most people's first contact and many folk love 'em so so they must retain some of the purebred's qualities! These are people whom we need to embrace and introduce gently and supportively as they are definately potential converts! The folk on this thread are terrific at this.

Finally, re duplication, I think the 'club' needs to draw the various Australorp sources together but not try to replace them, more act as a reference point. However, we would need a thread for general Aussie queries/discussion/advice.
Really last! Does anyone have any influence with the administrators? Surely I'm not the only one who finds it frustrating that Breed Threads jump about all over the place and queries re specific breeds go all over rather than to the appropriate thread. Our version, "Backyardpoultry" is great, but does the same thing. Can't we have a permanent breed thread index where breed specific queries and discussion can be more easily accessed?

There endeth the sermon!
Cheers Geoff from Aus

 

[Stumpy]

PiecesOfAmber, I am glad Crow is healing up!

 

[groche]

Hi again. Learned somthing new about Aussies again from Manna on Backyardpoultry - Utility breeds of old -How good were they? thread. There are/were fair dinkum rosecomb Aussies here that were exhibited. Apparently William Cook brought rosecomb Orps to Tasmania in 1901 and they were developed from them. Not as good at laying but superior meat chooks to the single combs apparently. Any make it over there?

 

[groche]

Must have too much time on my hands today! First eggs go into the inc. Sat. Fingers crossed! Have a medical issue that can't find help with. One of my pullets eye seemed a little shrunken a couple of days ago then started to film up a bit. Bathed in saline solution and treated with chloropt/chloramphenicol - for eye infections in dogs and cats! Other eye seems to be affected too. She's having trouble finding food and I fear she's going blind! I've not picked up any other symptoms and the other chooks are unaffected. Any ideas?
Cheers Geoff from Aus

 

[PiecesofAmber]

PiecesOfAmber, I am glad Crow is healing up!

Thank you! Today she's better than ever!

 

[groche]