Australorps breed Thread

[ronott1]

Quote: Yes! They are supposed to by leaner than Orpingtons.

 

[FuzzyButtsFarm]

I think it's the angle of the camera that makes it look that way. He does need to fill out some but he's still young. So far all the Aussie boys get along. It's the two mutt roos that hatched the same time I got the Aussies that are turning out to be a PITA. LOL

 

[huppfarm]

Orpingtons have a very short tail that virtually should blend with the backside fluff and run strait back from the neck at 30 degrees or less.
That Australorp has a great tail at 40 degrees or less, this is what we breed for, a nice low tail.
Too many folks are happy to continue to breed squirrel tail birds that just create more squirrel tailed birds, that is not what the standard calls for unless you raise Langshans or Japs.
If you want to see what Black Australorps are supposed to look like: go to the Australian Australorp Club online and see what its really about!

 

[plantcityhomestead]

Orpingtons have a very short tail that virtually should blend with the backside fluff and run strait back from the neck at 30 degrees or less.
That Australorp has a great tail at 40 degrees or less, this is what we breed for, a nice low tail.
Too many folks are happy to continue to breed squirrel tail birds that just create more squirrel tailed birds, that is not what the standard calls for unless you raise Langshans or Japs.
If you want to see what Black Australorps are supposed to look like: go to the Australian Australorp Club online and see what its really about!

I agree. I love that tail. My poor Aussie cock has no tail at the moment. The guinea pulled out all his feathers.

The club pictures are why I asked the question about the back. They seem to have a very short and wide back between the neck and tail. Are the standards for the Australian birds the same as for American? I have some of tigercreeks Aussies too, and I am trying to learn.

Cindy

 

[Red Barn Farms]

I'm so glad I found this thread. I recently received three one week old little chicks from an Amish family. They hatched a bunch just last week. Here are the ones I received from them!

Sorry for the poor image quality. I need a new camera. Do they look to be full breed and not mutts? Even if they are I still love emz!

 

[huppfarm]

I agree. I love that tail. My poor Aussie cock has no tail at the moment. The guinea pulled out all his feathers.

The club pictures are why I asked the question about the back. They seem to have a very short and wide back between the neck and tail. Are the standards for the Australian birds the same as for American? I have some of tigercreeks Aussies too, and I am trying to learn.

Cindy

Howdy Cindy, hats off to you for wanting to learn! The standard is the same, Its the American Judges that allow the breed to fall on its face or knows the bird's owners and allows favoritism, which I have personally seen here in Arizona and don't think that doesn't happen in other states too!

I have attended many poultry shows over the years and am amazed at what is allowed to even get best of breed or large fowl champion, sometimes it makes me sick to think that straying so far from the standard of perfection is being allowed at some shows.

It boils down to breeders not taking enough care to cull out undesirable traits in chicks they hatch out or buy in a box.
I think its about being impatient and "Show whatever you have" syndrome, just to show something or anything to have a reason to put a bird in a show-cage. Or is it about the money I spent on these birds and I'm not going to take the time to raise them just to cull them.

Birds that you see on the webpages can either be great birds or yard-birds. Most folks are happy just having the last one because the first one takes years to develope. I tell everyone that likes great birds, "You can raise 100 birds from the egg and you are going to get 1-2 percent of that flock to become worthy of the standard", it pertains to dogs, cats, horses and any other creature that we humans use for exhibit purposes and there is a standard for each breed that must be complied with.

We here at BYC love to show our birds, no matter what, depending on the individual and their appreciation for the particular breed they love. Not everyone cares what their bird looks like, they just know that they were told that they have a Black Australorp and that is all they care about. Black feathers with a Green Sheen, Red Comb and feet, they are thrilled!

Someone makes a comment about the bird and it makes the owner wonder, maybe I should do some checking on my bird and see what they were talking about.
They do the research, now they understand and want to have a better bird, but they still love the one they have, even though it has a squirrel tail or red eyes or yellow skin or white legs or white earlobes.
They keep the bird and end up breeding it to the nicer bird, only to create more mutt chickens because they dont want to cull to keep the breed true to the standard.

That is the whole point to this long drawn out story.

Research the breed first, find folks who know about the breed you want and raise them exclusively and proudly.

Hatcheries are for kids to learn how to take care of chickens or folks who just want to have something with feathers to run around the yard and make them laugh.
Anyone who raises hundreds upon hundreds of chickens of all different breeds and sizes are not concerned about the quality of their stock, just how fast they can handle orders and get them sold..........bottom line!

This February We spent $200 on 25 chicks from a known Black Australorp Breeder who is an A.P.A. judge, of course we are going to get a good flock of BA's right?

NOT!!!

So we've fed and nurtured these birds for 5 months.....5 females, 2 w/yellow eyes, white face.......20 males most with very long tails and multiple points on the comb.
I have culled and processed most of the flock, I have a nice expensive BBQ chicken supply in the freezer.

If we are lucky perhaps 3-4 chickens will make it to the breeding pens, but that is yet to be seen as they are just about fully mature at 11-12 month of age.

If we here in the USA plan on competing with the perfect BA's of Australia, then we need to cull for perfection and raise the standard of our breeding pens way higher than being done presently to create perfection.

 

[aveca]

Chet, w e need to put tigercreek on our must have list for next year
i bought from somone, im not going to say names in here aussie hatch eggs..great looking pics she sent me just like tiger creek and ben look..she sent me quite a few pics..i studied them carefully..in one out of 11 pics the rooster had a bit of a dropped wing but none of the other males or females showed that..the packing was poor all newspaper..4 eggs broke badley...all of the rest of the eggs hatched for me.she sent pleanty of extras.............guess what.......solid mustard yellow foot sole on all of them...i mean dark mustard yellow.and that color got darker every day..it really stood out next to my 2 aussie babies and the pink toed english orps...i wrote her..sheapologised and said the kid that works for her collected from wrong group that she would send me more asap and collect them herself..i said thats OK, ive already put the incubator away for the year, it gets too humid up here even with dehumidifier..i just gave them all to 4 hers..im spoiled to hinkjc..ask , make arrangements, everything arrives intact and its what you asked for.. i told her just make sure your kid knows the giants from the aussie pen..im still an easter bunny farmer, can eat eggs all day long but you'd have to talk me into eating the birds.

 

[aveca]

these are some australian national champions both standard and bantam.

the australians bred english orpington and croad langshan back into their birds thus the beautiful lacing on the blue bantam..always mindful to keep a very good round dark eye..the round underneath comes from english orpington..a visual so people can visibly see the difference.

American version...curves from nose to tail , australias version below ray connor info.


a
lso included info on ray connor who won national title 17 times

http://www.australorps.com/ray_connor_abc_27.html




t

 

[plantcityhomestead]

Howdy Cindy, hats off to you for wanting to learn! The standard is the same, Its the American Judges that allow the breed to fall on its face or knows the bird's owners and allows favoritism, which I have personally seen here in Arizona and don't think that doesn't happen in other states too!

I can't believe the standard is the same. I've never seen a bird that looks like the Australian birds. Most of the birds that I have seen don't even meet the basic description of an Australorp.


It boils down to breeders not taking enough care to cull out undesirable traits in chicks they hatch out or buy in a box.
I think its about being impatient and "Show whatever you have" syndrome, just to show something or anything to have a reason to put a bird in a show-cage. Or is it about the money I spent on these birds and I'm not going to take the time to raise them just to cull them.

I admit that I am going to have a hard time culling my birds. Do you think it is OK to give them to people who want pet birds, or should we just keep those birds that are not up to snuff out of the gene pool in case those people do breed them?

Someone makes a comment about the bird and it makes the owner wonder, maybe I should do some checking on my bird and see what they were talking about.
They do the research, now they understand and want to have a better bird, but they still love the one they have, even though it has a squirrel tail or red eyes or yellow skin or white legs or white earlobes.
They keep the bird and end up breeding it to the nicer bird, only to create more mutt chickens because they dont want to cull to keep the breed true to the standard.

I admit I thought about doing this, but thanks to the good folks here, that is now not an option. Just have to keep building more pens to make sure they all stay separated. I am keeping a couple of my bad cocks because they are really good protectors of the hens when they are free ranging.

That is the whole point to this long drawn out story.

Research the breed first, find folks who know about the breed you want and raise them exclusively and proudly.

Only one breed. I doubt I will ever be able to narrow it down that far, but I have gone from 15 to 5 that I want to raise.


This February We spent $200 on 25 chicks from a known Black Australorp Breeder who is an A.P.A. judge, of course we are going to get a good flock of BA's right?

NOT!!!

So we've fed and nurtured these birds for 5 months.....5 females, 2 w/yellow eyes, white face.......20 males most with very long tails and multiple points on the comb.
I have culled and processed most of the flock, I have a nice expensive BBQ chicken supply in the freezer.

That is horrible. I can't believe a judge would sell such bad birds. Good lesson for the rest of us.


If we here in the USA plan on competing with the perfect BA's of Australia, then we need to cull for perfection and raise the standard of our breeding pens way higher than being done presently to create perfection.

I will do my best. Having some of Stan's birds has been a good start for me, and I love the way the Australian birds look.

Thanks for the feedback.

Cindy

 

[groche]

Gooday, mate,
like your insight into the breed. Could you help me get my post to this thread rather than on the general breed thread where it's gone at the moment.
Cheers Geoff from Downunder