Australorps breed Thread

[bonnylass79]

My "flock" is very small I have 2 RIR and an EE. I want to get a couple Australorp chicks in the spring. Need to find a breeder within driving distance. I dont want to deal with hatcheries if I dont have to. I have only been a chicken mom for 8 months now. My girls are all very tame. I can hold, flip to examine, pet and hand feed. They even follow me in and out of their coop to their tractor.

Hubby and even my sis call me the crazy chicken lady!!

If you can't find someone in Georgia, I'm in Florida. I could ship some chicks to you. My parents will also be driving up through Atlanta in March or April and I could probably convince them to take a few chicks with them.

 

[chasinthedream]

Kurt,
How did you like Ray Connors book?

 

[RattlesnakeRidgeWV]

Kurt,
How did you like Ray Connors book?

I have read and re-read it several times. A wealth of knowledge, well worth the price.
Kurt

 

[MeanV2]

I have read and re-read it several times. A wealth of knowledge, well worth the price.
Kurt

Ditto on that! Same here!!

Dan

 

[Manningjw]

Hello everyone!

We loved our Australorps even though they were hatchery stock, their egg laying was on par or a bit less than the Rhode Island Red and New Hampshire Red hatchery birds we had. I was wondering if anyone knew the best breeder to get Australorps that still retain their record breaking egg production that the breed was once known for? I understand that many people pick smaller back yard breeders for show quality stock, but what i want most is the egg production.

 

[ronott1]

Hello everyone!

We loved our Australorps even though they were hatchery stock, their egg laying was on par or a bit less than the Rhode Island Red and New Hampshire Red hatchery birds we had. I was wondering if anyone knew the best breeder to get Australorps that still retain their record breaking egg production that the breed was once known for? I understand that many people pick smaller back yard breeders for show quality stock, but what i want most is the egg production.

The five I got from Cackle were very nice layers. They will not lay as much as a Sexlink though. They will lay more years and will have less reproductive problems though.

Urch\turnland might have nicer ones that lay nearly as well though

 

[chasinthedream]

Does anyone want to expand upon the standard by adding their own wording and opinions, likes, dislikes? Also, anyone with showing experience may contribute a judges opinion that held up or differed from the standard.
eg. I prefer black eyes, but, dark brown are acceptible.

 

[groche]

Hi to my old friends from this thread. Have been offline for a while. Lost both my parents last year so I've been preoccupied. They were both 90, so there's hope for me yet! For those who don't know me, I'm an Aussie, but have never claimed to be a BA expert. I'm passionate about the breed though and an avid learner. I'm happy to share what I've learned with my American friends. Hope to learn from you guys too! Haven't bred so many BA's this season. My new cockerel, from the breeder of my avatar bird, was bred late, so was a little small and had been in a cockerel cage all summer. Still cost $150 though! Understandably, he took a while to start firing live bullets, so the birds I bred from my best pullets were hatched late. Late hatching's not desirable for breeds where large size is significant. I'm about 1000 posts behind, but someone mentioned that their young birds were very slow to tailfeather up. The young birds from this cross have been similar. This didn't occur with my original blood. I'll post some pics. The older ones seem to be coming good. A juvenile BA is rarely very attractive as they seem to be slower to feather up than some other breeds. Most seem kinda gawky!
Anyway, I should share some of what I've learned during my absence. Breeding blue BA's is just a bit 'messy' for me, but I do think a nicely laced blue is a beautiful bird. George Norman, arguably Australia's best current breeder, suggests that the better blues come from the mating of black to "white sport (flea bitten)". ('splash?', or vice versa. Both should be blue bred. "When both are carrying blue genes all blue chickens bred should be 25% very light blue, 24% very dark blue and 50% the correct blue. There is no doubt the better blues are acquired from these matings." I'd love to post the entire article but I've just joined the Aussie Club and don't want to get chucked out over copyright stuff! The Australorp Club of Australia website is good with lots of pics of quality BA's, even if the forum is disappointingly inactive.
Cheers Geoff from Aus

 

[groche]

Forgot to mention that I did catch up to Dan's wonderful BA pen. Congrats, mate!
Cheers Geoff

 

[groche]

They look very nice!

Australorps are one of the few Hatchery breeds that have not been crossed with leghorns. They have just been neglected for Standard Breeding.

You will like them more and more.

Hi Ron,
it's late I know, but just thought I'd mention that it's believed that, along with a fair bit of Langshan, some Leghorn was probably/possibly added to the original Orp. to create the egg-laying machines that achieved world-wide fame. Not saying it's come from your end. The white feathers in young BA's might be a hint!
Cheers Geoff