Australorps breed Thread

[ploub]

You show these birds? I had no idea.Here are a couple pics of my girls and boys.They are 17 weeks old.

 

[ronott1]

I have 7 of these hens and they are very quiet and well natured, This is my first time raising chickens and I would tell anyone just starting out to get them.

on getting Australorps!

I agree with you whole heatedly. I have some crazy breeds now and wonder why--well for the egg colors I guess. Mediterranean Breeds are noisy, startle easy and are flighty. They are heat hardy but oh my!

The Australorps just look at them like they are saying: Huh? What is wrong with you!

 

[MeanV2]

Stan, Kurt, Bonnylass79 a question for you. Stan I know you have talked about Roos with 10 points. Do the cockerels combs out of the Tigercreek line mature with less or more points than what they seem to be at 6 weeks old?

Chet how are you and your Australorps handling the heat in AZ? Hope everything is OK!

Dan

 

[ronott1]

Stan, Kurt, Bonnylass79 a question for you. Stan I know you have talked about Roos with 10 points. Do the cockerels combs out of the Tigercreek line mature with less or more points than what they seem to be at 6 weeks old?

Chet how are you and your Australorps handling the heat in AZ? Hope everything is OK!

Dan

It was 108 here yesterday--The seventh day over 105 and the BAs were fine!

 

[bonnylass79]

Stan, Kurt, Bonnylass79 a question for you. Stan I know you have talked about Roos with 10 points. Do the cockerels combs out of the Tigercreek line mature with less or more points than what they seem to be at 6 weeks old?

Chet how are you and your Australorps handling the heat in AZ? Hope everything is OK!

Dan

 

I honestly can't say. I'm back to thinking I have 5 pullets. lol I need to get a rooster for these girls. I'm hoping to get something this fall. I don't recall how many points their father had. I got mine from Cindy Chesler. Stan may know. I know Cindy told me there was an issue with the combs. Ideally, I'd like to get a rooster from a different line so I can try to fix the combs.

 

[ronott1]

I honestly can't say. I'm back to thinking I have 5 pullets. lol I need to get a rooster for these girls. I'm hoping to get something this fall. I don't recall how many points their father had. I got mine from Cindy Chesler. Stan may know. I know Cindy told me there was an issue with the combs. Ideally, I'd like to get a rooster from a different line so I can try to fix the combs.

On the Heritage threads they really drill it into us to not mix lines.

It would be better to find someone with the same line and good combs.

 

[MeanV2]

On the Heritage threads they really drill it into us to not mix lines.

It would be better to find someone with the same line and good combs.

Ron,
I thought of you too! I am glad you and your BA's are doing Good in that Nasty Heat! I am so glad our summer is nicer this year than last. I for one do not do well in triple digit heat!

As far as mixing lines I will be doing some of that. How it turns out? Well that is to be seen. After a line goes to a new owner they are making the breeding decisions so it really should not be considered that line going forward, IMO.

I am pretty sure several breeders on here have mixed lines already or are planning on it. I know in some lines that have been closed for several years they have some major fertility issues.

Personally I think the key to breeding any animal is breeding the best to the best and doing extensive culling while trying to bring in strong traits where you see a weakness. Line breeding is a Great tool to use in that process.

We will see how it goes. You can't throw out the baby with the bath water. For me it is not life or death, but a fun project I will enjoy. I will also enjoy the chickens along the way.

Dan

 

[ronott1]

Ron,
I thought of you too! I am glad you and your BA's are doing Good in that Nasty Heat! I am so glad our summer is nicer this year than last. I for one do not do well in triple digit heat!

As far as mixing lines I will be doing some of that. How it turns out? Well that is to be seen. After a line goes to a new owner they are making the breeding decisions so it really should not be considered that line going forward, IMO.

I am pretty sure several breeders on here have mixed lines already or are planning on it. I know in some lines that have been closed for several years they have some major fertility issues.

Personally I think the key to breeding any animal is breeding the best to the best and doing extensive culling while trying to bring in strong traits where you see a weakness. Line breeding is a Great tool to use in that process.

We will see how it goes. You can't throw out the baby with the bath water. For me it is not life or death, but a fun project I will enjoy. I will also enjoy the chickens along the way.

Dan

Luckily the heat wave is over now. We are back to normal temps with highs n the mid 90s. Much better than 108 and higher.

It might be fine with BAs to mix the lines. With Heritage RIRs and others it is supposed it bring out faults that can take 20 years to fix. I am very interested in seeing what happens when yours are mixed.

Having fun is what counts.

 

[MeanV2]

Luckily the heat wave is over now. We are back to normal temps with highs n the mid 90s. Much better than 108 and higher.

It might be fine with BAs to mix the lines. With Heritage RIRs and others it is supposed it bring out faults that can take 20 years to fix. I am very interested in seeing what happens when yours are mixed.

Having fun is what counts.

Stan's Tigercreek line is already a mixture of 2 or 3 lines unless I misunderstood. Is Chets line a pure line? What line? I also am pretty sure Lynne is planning on taking her Whitney Roo back to Hupps pullets. I don't think Blues were bred by staying pure to any line.

Like I said Breeding the Best to the Best and using Extensive culling is a start. Extensive culling is one thing a lot of people have problems with whether it is Chickens, Dogs, or another animal. When I bred dogs I bred bench Champions, Field Champions, BIS, Grand Final Winners, etc. Naturally there were a lot of pups culled. They are not all Winners, but you always strive for consistency. I think my last litter of Rottie pups was as consistent as I had seen. 8 pups and 7 of them could have been winners, one was a cull. I am sure it was just a stroke of Luck. I'd rather have luck on my side as anything else any day.

Dan

 

[ronott1]

Stan's Tigercreek line is already a mixture of 2 or 3 lines unless I misunderstood. Is Chets line a pure line? What line? I also am pretty sure Lynne is planning on taking her Whitney Roo back to Hupps pullets. I don't think Blues were bred by staying pure to any line.

Like I said Breeding the Best to the Best and using Extensive culling is a start. Extensive culling is one thing a lot of people have problems with whether it is Chickens, Dogs, or another animal. When I bred dogs I bred bench Champions, Field Champions, BIS, Grand Final Winners, etc. Naturally there were a lot of pups culled. They are not all Winners, but you always strive for consistency. I think my last litter of Rottie pups was as consistent as I had seen. 8 pups and 7 of them could have been winners, one was a cull. I am sure it was just a stroke of Luck. I'd rather have luck on my side as anything else any day.

Dan

There is the Sherman line in CA and another line in Florida that are pure. BAs are probably like SG Dorkings where they are in a state of Decline and mixing lines are necessary. Yes, hard culling is the answer after that. The good news is that after the hard culling, you will have your own line!

Start thinking about what you want to name your line!.