Australorps breed Thread

[PrairieChickens]

I feel like a bit of an outsider here. lol You all are talking about breed standards and what to feed your birds for optimum results and I'm over here like "I LIEK MAH AUSTRALORPZ CUZ DEYZ PERDY AND FRENDLY AND GIVES ME SNUGGLEZ!" XD

I know I mentioned this before, but we got four australorp "pullet" chicks this spring, of which half turned out to be boys. With the exception of Mary, one of the pullets, they are all sweethearts, but Mrs. Hughes and Mr. Carson are especially sweet. They'll sit in my lap to be cuddled and petted for ages, and all four of them are so gentle with the other chicks (a relief since they were a bit rowdy when they were younger.) I'm LOVING their feathers. It's like watching the colors on soap bubbles when their feathers are lit up in the sun. I love the iridescent rainbows that light up on their black feathers, and it makes chicken snuggle time all the more enjoyable.

Something I've noticed--not just with my Australorps, but with all of my chickens--is that the friendliest chickens seem to grow faster and get bigger than their peers. Mr. Carson is much larger than Mr. Mosley right now, even though they seem to get the same amount of food. It has led me to hypothesize that cuddles are in fact an important part of a growing chick's diet!



The fifth "Australorp" in this picture is a black bantam cochin who decided that he preferred the company of the Australorps over that of the other banties. Pipsqueak, an OEG bantam, also seems to favor the company of the massive BA's, and it's quite a sight to see her tiny head poking out from the middle of them during naps.

 

[amwchickin]

My Australorp, Black Dahlia, is a saucy little thing. She is one of the younger gals in my flock; I got her with a brahma and a barred rock. She protects the other two with all she has. One night, I was late getting home to put them up for the night and they were in a tree. I started pulling them down and she pecked at me everytime I stuck a hand up to grab one. I had to get crafty when it got to be her turn. Other than the protective pecking, she is a sweet and funny girl.

 

[starlingdaly]

Thank you much! Have you (or anyone else) read about giving a handful of dry cat food during molt to help the molting process? Something about the protein and calcium levels helping.

I do give Taste of the Wild dog or cat food if I'm feeling lazy around molt time. It is technically cheaper to buy some near sell-by date ground beef and feed raw 1-2 times a week while they're molting. They go nuts for it.
I also try to give them a little raw beef with their alfalfa in the winter to make up for lack of bugs and grass.

So excited about my four Aussies! They are 2 and 3 weeks old and living with an adopted mama hen.

 

[fowlmouthgirls]

My two girls, wondering if one is a Roo?

 

[dowgirl71]

My two girls, wondering if one is a Roo?

I will be interested to read the replies on this. I have a Black Australorp that I'm wondering about and will post some pictures when I get a chance.

 

[ronott1]

My two girls, wondering if one is a Roo?

If I had to guess, I would guess that the top one is a little boy--The feathers, pointy comb and bigger legs lean that way.

If you do not want cockerels, I hope I am wrong!

 

[fowlmouthgirls]

Omg! That's not the one I was worried about!! Goodness, I hope they both end up as pullets, my son will be sad if I have to give his chicken up!

 

[PrairieChickens]

At this age, it's hard to tell, so don't panic yet, fowlmouth. I knew for a fact we had roos at about 4 weeks of age. If you still have doubts at that age, you probably just have two delightful little pullets and are worrying over nothing.

 

[PrairieChickens]

My Australorps take care of the younger ones too. When we had a power outage and the heat lamp in the brooder went out in the coop, we went out to find four large australorp chicks with lots of fluffy little tiny chicks squeezed under them for warmth. We had a brief rough patch where the boys were coming into their own and were a bit aggressive with each other and some of the other chicks, but it passed quickly and now they are the "rock" which the other chicks race to when they are feeling insecure. Their calm nature is a comfort to the nervous youngsters, and now that my australorps are almost as big as the adults (bigger in some cases), it gives them an added sense of security among our adult flock.

 

[fowlmouthgirls]

At this age, it's hard to tell, so don't panic yet, fowlmouth.  I knew for a fact we had roos at about 4 weeks of age.  If you still have doubts at that age, you probably just have two delightful little pullets and are worrying over nothing.

Thanks prairie hickeys, they are 5 weeks this week so I will keep my fingers crossed!