Australorps breed Thread

[Seatrout00]

Wow~!! That's surely surprising! I would have expected the larger BA to have laid more ... but yes, genetics are interesting and no two chickens are exactly the same, unless of course they are twins - and even then ... well.

I am still very excited about the BAs and hope to get some in January!

 

[ronott1]

Wow~!! That's surely surprising! I would have expected the larger BA to have laid more ... but yes, genetics are interesting and no two chickens are exactly the same, unless of course they are twins - and even then ... well.

I am still very excited about the BAs and hope to get some in January!

Size sometimes lowers egg laying because more energy is going into keeping up the body then for egg production.

 

[Birdrain92]

Wow~!! That's surely surprising! I would have expected the larger BA to have laid more ... but yes, genetics are interesting and no two chickens are exactly the same, unless of course they are twins - and even then ... well.

I am still very excited about the BAs and hope to get some in January!

You only want them so big. If they're too lean it becomes more difficult to lay as well as if they are too fat. You need to find that right spot. In my opinion you want a hen that has wide hips, little on the lean side but not to lean.

 

[Birdrain92]

I reading up on this thread - but offhand, would you all say that Australorps are great egg layers? I've read on some sites that list them at the very top, even over RIRs, while other sites list them under RIRs and BRs ... its a might confusing! I am talking about the most common of the breed, the black Australorps.

In my opinion it is mainly based on two things; strain and nutrition. If you don't have these two working together you won't get as much as you could when working together. Each breeder can have a different strain. Maybe one breeder is breeding show quality instead of egg or meat; another eggs instead of meat or show; meat instead of eggs or show; or meat from the roosters and eggs from the hens. Then the nutrition has to be right. If you have a chicken with meat genes on egg laying diet your meat will not be great. If you have an egg laying chicken on a meat diet your egg production will tank. You just need to get everything to the right spot. So far I have 3 hens that have been laying every day after the first week of laying. Their first week of laying they would lay every other day. Just as how right now I have 24 pullets and I got 15-22 eggs a day and I've yet to add any additional lighting.

 

[hellbender]

Some folks use extra lighting with great success but a mon avis, the up-tick in production is front-loaded and the bird and production will be depleted sooner than later.

I use no artificial lighting and if my layers can't provide adequate egg counts throughout the coldest months, I'd be searching for a different breed or perhaps a different strain known for winter production that could fill the bill (or at least partially fill the egg basket).

Hellbender

 

[bruceha2000]

Broody is when a hen wants to sit on a clutch of eggs to hatch them.

I wouldn't say "want" I would say "has a hormonal NEED". If you want them to hatch eggs, this is a good thing.

But there is no requirement to have eggs under them to have this need. I have no rooster so even if my broody girls had eggs it would be a wasted effort. My broodies will clamp down in a nest box that has nothing but pine shavings in it. I've not had any hens hatch eggs but my understanding is that a bird actually hatching eggs will get off the nest daily to eat, drink and poop. My broodies trying to hatch shavings will not get off on their own in that fashion.

I don't let them stay broody, it isn't good for their bodies. Incubation is 21 days but a "problem" broody won't quit just because the clock runs out. They do if you stuff some 1 or 2 day old chicks under them at 0 dark thirty and you don't have to wait until the 21st day.

Apparently little cheeping bodies is the alarm.

 

[ronott1]

I wouldn't say "want" I would say "has a hormonal NEED". If you want them to hatch eggs, this is a good thing.

But there is no requirement to have eggs under them to have this need. I have no rooster so even if my broody girls had eggs it would be a wasted effort. My broodies will clamp down in a nest box that has nothing but pine shavings in it. I've not had any hens hatch eggs but my understanding is that a bird actually hatching eggs will get off the nest daily to eat, drink and poop. My broodies trying to hatch shavings will not get off on their own in that fashion.

I don't let them stay broody, it isn't good for their bodies. Incubation is 21 days but a "problem" broody won't quit just because the clock runs out. They do if you stuff some 1 or 2 day old chicks under them at 0 dark thirty and you don't have to wait until the 21st day.

Apparently little cheeping bodies is the alarm.

I have had them try to hatch rocks!

I have a wire bird cage in the garage and if I do not want them to hatch chicks, I put a broody in there for several days. That usually breaks them. Giving them some chicks works too--even if they just see them.

 

[appps]

I wouldn't say "want" I would say "has a hormonal NEED". If you want them to hatch eggs, this is a good thing.

But there is no requirement to have eggs under them to have this need. I have no rooster so even if my broody girls had eggs it would be a wasted effort. My broodies will clamp down in a nest box that has nothing but pine shavings in it. I've not had any hens hatch eggs but my understanding is that a bird actually hatching eggs will get off the nest daily to eat, drink and poop. My broodies trying to hatch shavings will not get off on their own in that fashion.

I don't let them stay broody, it isn't good for their bodies. Incubation is 21 days but a "problem" broody won't quit just because the clock runs out. They do if you stuff some 1 or 2 day old chicks under them at 0 dark thirty and you don't have to wait until the 21st day.   Apparently little cheeping bodies is the alarm.

Yeah tried that with my broody with this last two. She tried to kill them duh. Tried 3 times before giving up and resigning myself to having to set up a brooder area for them myself.

 

[ronott1]

I have 3 BA's. They aren't laying yet or haven't since nov. 1 is 2 yrs this spring and the other will be 4 yrs old. How many years would you guess they would be productive for eggs. Before they almost stop laying? And also what does broody mean? Sorry for the inexperience but u got to start some where.

The Daylight bulbs are best--more yellow than blue.

Look for that type of LED light.

 

[Clinton 78]

I let my 5 hens out to feed today after the storms passed here in Ga. I put my dogs up in a pen then let my hens out. Looked back outside and a dog killed one of my Domqu. But my BA's were ok. The other Domqu didn't come back in the yard for about 2 hrs. I thought it was gone too. I hate it those 2 hens were old and had not laid in about 2 yrs. but the boys pawpaw gave them to us. And they really loved them.