Australorps breed Thread

[smhoekzema]

Welcome fellow Aussie! I only have hatchery quality Australorps at this stage but I love them to bits. They are such great layers and good personalities too (although one of my girls is a complete nutcase-another story). Your Aussie is a real beauty. Congrats

 

[getaclue]

Welcome fellow Aussie! I only have hatchery quality Australorps at this stage but I love them to bits. They are such great layers and good personalities too (although one of my girls is a complete nutcase-another story). Your Aussie is a real beauty. Congrats

There's always that one nutcase in every flock, right?

 

[4chickymama]

Hi! I'm a total newb, to the thread, to the breed, to byc, to chickens in general. I'm here to learn!

It took me FOREVER to read the whole thread, start to finish, but I did anyway, and I found myself alternately laughing and learning from all of you. I only have little snippets of time here and there, since I'm brooding my human chickies as well as my week old Aussie girls, but I wanted to say hi and introduce myself.

Ack, more later I guess. My "hatchling" just woke up from his nap, of course just as I put my "growers" down for theirs. Figures.

 

[ronott1]

Hi! I'm a total newb, to the thread, to the breed, to byc, to chickens in general. I'm here to learn!

It took me FOREVER to read the whole thread, start to finish, but I did anyway, and I found myself alternately laughing and learning from all of you. I only have little snippets of time here and there, since I'm brooding my human chickies as well as my week old Aussie girls, but I wanted to say hi and introduce myself.

Ack, more later I guess. My "hatchling" just woke up from his nap, of course just as I put my "growers" down for theirs. Figures.

You may need to get to 20 post before you can upload picture. Please share some pictures when you can.

 

[lightchick]

Hi! I'm a total newb, to the thread, to the breed, to byc, to chickens in general. I'm here to learn!

It took me FOREVER to read the whole thread, start to finish, but I did anyway, and I found myself alternately laughing and learning from all of you. I only have little snippets of time here and there, since I'm brooding my human chickies as well as my week old Aussie girls, but I wanted to say hi and introduce myself.

Ack, more later I guess. My "hatchling" just woke up from his nap, of course just as I put my "growers" down for theirs. Figures.

Welcome to BYC! Aussie's are so sweet!

 

[4chickymama]

Oh dear, only 19 to go.

So I was buying some meat chickens the other day, 25 CXR and 25 Dixie Rainbows, or Pioneers, as McMurray calls them. I got the CXR locally, but wanted to try out more than one breed, so I put in an order at McMurray. We live in the sticks, in a rented duplex, and we are only going to be here until April when the homeowners return from abroad, so time enough for broilers, but not so much for layers here. Our neighbors downstairs have a young flock they started this past spring, mixed breeds of pullets, there were three cockerels but now down to one BJG, and a few ducks. The broilers we got to share between families, and since she has more experience, she's really been doing most of the raising. Of course living here makes me dream about "what if's", and if I could have my own flock I'd want to stick to a single breed, which led me to researching the Australorps, which led me to tacking a few onto my McMurray order, even though it really doesn't make any sense right now. Oops. They will probably begin laying after we've moved on, but they'll have a nice home here at least.

I've got the girls in a separate brooder from the dinner, they are in the house, while the others are in a brooder out in the coop. I'm hoping that at the least it will be an educational experience for my kids, raising the BBQ as well as our little friends. So far, their chicken experience hasn't been pleasant and I'm hoping we can change their minds. My oldest is 4.5, and one of the cockerels that was sent to freezer camp recently had it out for her. I don't know what triggered it, because she would be minding her own business in the yard and he'd see her and go nuts. Perhaps her size, combined with her bright red hair, made him feel like his role was being threatened? Anyway, I now have to hold her hand when we walk by ANY chickens, because she's that scared of them. My next is 3, and he's been afraid since day one. The girls thought he had treats for them or something, or they were just curious and were checking him out, and he was "trapped" in a corner just for a moment. Since then he's convinced that chickens eat little boys.

So my hope is that these Aussie girls, with SUPERVISED interaction, might help them get past their initial experiences.

I know that they are just hatchery birds, and not SOP or even nearly, but that's fine for now. When we start our own flock, someday, we will put a lot more planning into where our birds come from.

I'd love to hear from other Aussie owners that have very young children!

 

[adam73]

Welcome to BYC

 

[4chickymama]

Ha! Same to you, Adam73!

 

[adam73]

4chickymama...by Aussie do you mean Australorp? Because i raise black australorps

 

[lightchick]

4chickymama...by Aussie do you mean Australorp? Because i raise black australorps

Yes, I think she does. Aussie is short for Australorp.