Australorps breed Thread

[ronott1]

Asking for a bit of help here re incubation. I'm relatively new to it as I've previously used broodies. Had a couple of chicks out of over 100 with crooked 'incubator-toes', which apparently is reasonable. However, I seem to have a lot of birds which are 'cow-hocked/knock-kneed' while none of the parents are. Can cowhocks be incubator-caused or is it likely to be a nasty recessive gene. It would have to come from the roo as I put him to girls of 3 different strains. Anyone had similar issues?
Cheers Geoff from Aus

The toe issues are usually genetic and not incubation related. That said, I have hatched a couple of breeds that are prone to curled toes and have never had a problem with it. Splayed leg is definitely related to hatching. It usually happens when the chick has to work too hard to get out of the shell. Humidity may be a factor, but I think it has more to do with the chick not absorbing the yolk correctly. They get stuck with an amber liquid and that is yolk left in the shell. Look at your records and see if they are hatching at 21 days. If too early or too late then the problem is incubator temperature. You should also get a thermometer that shows the high and low temps. There could be temp spikes or lows in the night or day if the temp. in the room with the incubator fluctuates throughout the day.

Sticky chicks are also caused by too low of humidity and too high of humidity for the first 18 days too. I try to keep my incubator at 35% and then 65 to 70 at lockdown.

For Splayed leg, make a brace with pipe cleaner, a bandage or vet tape. You can safely breed them since splayed leg is not genetic.

Good hatching!

 

[bruceha2000]

Who knows, maybe a lot of good roosters were sent to the stew pot because of clothing. Shoes and boots are down on their level too. No telling what they see as a threat.

It is a good point. My girls go for (interested, peck, not attack) "things out of the ordinary" like toes, moles, freckles, scabs, shiny things on shoes, snaps on pants. They don't mind the sound of the drill or saber saw but laying out the extension cord (orange in this case) puts them off. I've wondered if there is some innate "snake fear" related to that.

Maybe certain patterns or colors strikes fear in the primitive "no thought" parts of their brains. There is a reason small poisonous frogs are brightly colored - it tells predators to stay away. And each predator doesn't have to figure this out for themselves by dying following a meal of poison frog.

Pink shoes = poison frog?
RedBug - are those "normal" camo colored shoes or (forgive me) "girlie colored"?

Bruce

 

[KnobbyOaks]

It is a good point. My girls go for (interested, peck, not attack) "things out of the ordinary" like toes, moles, freckles, scabs, shiny things on shoes, snaps on pants. They don't mind the sound of the drill or saber saw but laying out the extension cord (orange in this case) puts them off. I've wondered if there is some innate "snake fear" related to that.

Maybe certain patterns or colors strikes fear in the primitive "no thought" parts of their brains. There is a reason small poisonous frogs are brightly colored - it tells predators to stay away. And each predator doesn't have to figure this out for themselves by dying following a meal of poison frog.

Pink shoes = poison frog?
RedBug - are those "normal" camo colored shoes or (forgive me) "girlie colored"?

Bruce

All good reasoning. Never thought or heard about the colored frogs being poisonous or for goodness sakes the orange extension cord. I thought they loved the bright colors.

So much to learn.

 

[RedBugPoultry]

It is a good point. My girls go for (interested, peck, not attack) "things out of the ordinary" like toes, moles, freckles, scabs, shiny things on shoes, snaps on pants. They don't mind the sound of the drill or saber saw but laying out the extension cord (orange in this case) puts them off. I've wondered if there is some innate "snake fear" related to that.

Maybe certain patterns or colors strikes fear in the primitive "no thought" parts of their brains. There is a reason small poisonous frogs are brightly colored - it tells predators to stay away. And each predator doesn't have to figure this out for themselves by dying following a meal of poison frog.

Pink shoes = poison frog?
RedBug - are those "normal" camo colored shoes or (forgive me) "girlie colored"?

Bruce

No, they are not the "girlie" pink ones they are the normal green ones. I think the white or gray in the pattern might have gotten his attention--although the jury is still out on this one. He could still go after me this afternoon when I go in and grab the eggs. So far it is just a trial....

 

[plantcityhomestead]

Plamtcity,
Melbourne is my pick for his type, meaning head, body, tail and chest. The comb is questionable, but I look for type first. I would breed him with a hen to get a better shorter comb with 5 points, the blade in the back does not count. Also both birds combs are thin at the base because they appear in the picture to be laying over, and has a split point.
Outback's type is good and has a longer back than Melbourne which I do like. I am not into the tight and short U back like an Orp has. Outbacks comb corcerns me also. Take my opinions with a grain of salt because I am far from being an expert. I am just trying to tell you what I like, and how I interpret the APA SOP.
By the way, where did you get your eggs, chicks of birds from, what line are they?
Kurt

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I thought Melbourne was better type, but it is nice to have it confirmed by other eyes. I will try to get him into a show and let you know what the judges say. I will try to get a better picture of Outback, Stan. I was taking pictures right after the great pullet escape, and he was more interested in the girls than getting his photo taken.
Kurt, these birds were bred by Stan (tigercreek), last spring. I had just purchased a few pullets and when I saw how they were turning out, I went on a hunt for cockerels. Ingirid (fussybuttsfarm) had a bunch of extra cockerels from Stan, and I was blessed to get several of them.

cindy

 

[DeesHens]

Hey Cindy. I know you don't really need the opinion of a novice but I just wanted to tell you that Melbourne looks great anyway.

Nicer curves and tail, overall better than most I've been seeing around here. You must be feeling pretty proud of him.

 

[LynneP]

I'm keeping black Australorps in Centre Rawon, Nova Scotia, Canada. Having a good winter, birds are finished moulting and are on an improve feed- Co-Op ultra layer feed. They always had good feathercoats but now they look fabulous. Back laying, not at 100% but eggs are of excellent quality.

 

[ronott1]

I'm keeping black Australorps in Centre Rawon, Nova Scotia, Canada. aving a good winter, birds are finished moulting and are on an improve feed- Co-Op ultra layer feed. They always had good feathercoats but now they look fabulous. Back laying, not at 100% but eggs are of excellent quality.

Does the feed have fish meal in it?

 

[lildinkem]

Here is a poster for you old timing guys from 1918

 

[LynneP]

A hobby, I have 2 roosters and 3 coops in an insulated barn. For me, it's about healthy happy birds and occasional hatching as I need more and can share with others. We quarantine chicks or anyone new.