Australorps breed Thread

[RossAussie]

by the waddles and the comb I'd thought those were roosters. ????? Man these are hard to figure out what's a he and what's a she!

Those are all pullets, and we call that big red hanging area below the beak the Wattle. I've seen many say "waddle" and a duck waddles.

 

[groche]

Hi folks,
thanks for your comments. Pleased to hear that you think I'm doing the right thing, Ross. Considered chasing a Norman boy or even taking up your kind offer, but decided that seeing I'd started with Newell/Bragg crosses, I'd keep going that way. Also got a pullet from Brian that I'm going to put with my original boy so I'll get the cross both ways and see what happens. Got home late and dropped the Newell pullet in with mine, thinking I'd band it in the morning. Had a little trouble i.d.ing it next morning, so that was pleasing. Thank you for your consideration of my complaint and I'm now a paid up member of the Australian Club.
For our Greek-American friend, from memory, Melbourne has the third highest Greek origin population of any city in the world, including Greece. Bet lots more wished they were here at the moment! I've now got Greek relatives. Greek bbq - yummy salads, lamb on the spit. Joy! American friends tell me you don't find lamb in supermarkets over there. How do Greek-Americans survive!!!!???? Not sure I'd want a Greek momma though. Scary! Anyway, back to chooks. I can't think of a Greek breed of chook and I'm sure the early immigrants would have smuggled in eggs from 'home'. They did with everything else! As it would be hard to source Greek chooks in America, I reckon it's appropriate that you adopt Australia's national breed as so many of your countrymen have adopted our country. If you're serious though, you must get a copy of Ray Connor's Australorp 'bible'. Perhaps Aveca could detail how she acquired hers again for the Newbies. I wouldn't reject your 'best' cockerel over slight twist in the outer toe. Probably an incubation rather than inherited problem. Remember that you're trying to breed good birds rather than show at the moment. If you post some pics, including head shots, you'll get good advice on here.
Gramma chick, you may get away with higher perches if your birds are smaller, utility type, but exhibition strains struggle to achieve any serious level of elevation - too big and heavy!
Rose Marie 1, cockerels have longer, pointier hackle (neck) feathers. Notice how 'round' the feathers on my girls are. Double click on the pic to get a better image, then compare it with the feathering on my cockerel. My latest boy has more comb development to come. See the pics of my original boy and you'll not be confused again.
Regards Geoff

 

[thedragonlady]

One foot of perch per Large Fowl Chicken.

Welcome to the world of Poultry!

Use 2x4 boards with the 4 inch part flat for them to perch on. Do not go over 18 inches high.

Good advice about the 2 x 4 boards, and roost height. Don't forget to round the edges of those 2 x 4s too. I think you should allow 2 feet of roost space per bird. If you have 6 birds, and just 6' of roost, there is going to be a lot of squabbling as the last bird tries to roost. Better err on the side of too much roost space , and keep the peace.

 

[aveca]

Those are all pullets, and we call that big red hanging area below the beak the Wattle. I've seen many say "waddle" and a duck waddles.

hee hee..too cute ..waddles

Ross the book arrived last night THANKS SO MUCH!! I had read it once but its a treat all over again...and the coasters will get good use in the winter ..the book is a real treaure , Im sure the fellas have their noses right in there reading..its one of the best books on a breed written and even treats such as how he handles females in cage training different than cockerals..fantastic stuff.. THANK YOU AGAIN..I will read mine then put it in preservation ..its a library treasure,,,thanks to Ray for doing this for us..and your work ethic is unmatched

 

[Jordann]

Thank you so much! We are going to make an 8x8 shed and make it chicken friendly. We will be replacing our bedroom window this year, and are saving it, to put in with the chickies. I will start out with a foot of space per bird, and if we need to add more, so be it. I like the 2x4 idea. Never would have thought of that! I've got the 18" high, because they're larger birds. Thank you, thank you! I cannot wait to get my girls! A friend has chickens and I believe she is getting babies as well, so I will see what she has. I watched my friend's 5 ladies when she and her family went on vacation a few weeks ago and loved taking care of the chickies. Made a few friends in the process.

 

[8machines]

Hi again,
these pics may give a bit better idea of the girls I'm working with.
Happy Hatching Geoff

I would love to have some BA's even similar to yours. We only have hens here, just for eggs. We never eat our birds. Wouldn't even consider it. They will retire here and be buried here. I love your birds. They are beautiful. Thank you for the pictures.

 

[Ali Gator]

I have 5. 4 hens and 1 too. We bought them as chick. We had one we did not know if it was male or female but it turned out to be a hybrid. They are now adults and the too crows 24/7. They have really pretty blue floresent feathers.

 

[groche]

Thanks for your appreciation 8machines.
Most of us dislike culling our birds and I too have some favorites that'll die of old age. But, for us breeders, Mother Nature has seen fit to provide us with as many cockerels as pullets and you sure can't keep 'em all. The original wild boy chooks must have had an extremely high predator attrition rate! As I have to cull so many cockerels, I figure it's kind of wrong to 'waste' them, so most end up in 'cockbangers' - homemade sausages. As a chook can live for around 10 years and they lay less and less as they age, you could end up with a lot of chooks to feed or bugger-all eggs! It's great that you're so fond of your birds though and I'm sure they have a great life and lay yummy eggs.
Cheers Geoff

 

[MeanV2]

hee hee..too cute ..waddles

Ross the book arrived last night THANKS SO MUCH!! I had read it once but its a treat all over again...and the coasters will get good use in the winter ..the book is a real treaure , Im sure the fellas have their noses right in there reading..its one of the best books on a breed written and even treats such as how he handles females in cage training different than cockerals..fantastic stuff.. THANK YOU AGAIN..I will read mine then put it in preservation ..its a library treasure,,,thanks to Ray for doing this for us..and your work ethic is unmatched

Ditto for me Ross! You really went above and beyond the call of duty on getting these books to us! Thanks for your help in this too Lynne!

Dan

 

[RoseMarie1]

Those are all pullets, and we call that big red hanging area below the beak the Wattle. I've seen many say "waddle" and a duck waddles.

excuse me WATTLES! Some say wattles and some say waddles so I had no idea which it was PLUS I am having loads of memory problems from my thyroids not producing right so I can't remember some times. I used to get all A's and B's in spelling and I have trouble with that now as well because of my memory. It's ok that you want to make fun of me, I can handle it believe me, been through more that you'd wanna know in people making fun of me. I came here to get help in finding out how to figure out who was cockerels and who was pullets. There are some really nice folks on this forum but then there are some that are just plain out rude. Then there are also nice ways to help a person understand what's right in this chicken world when done tactfully. No one can tell how you meant this since there are no smilys or smileys how ever you want to spell that. Sorry I bothered you with my questions.

I'm unsubscribing from this one because I already went to school one time and was made fun of from school kids I don't have to be made fun on here. Sorry I bothered you.