Australorps breed Thread

[Blackbetty39]

Hi there, well you are not that far from me

I'm in Kentucky and I have an intense Australorp project going on. This has taken years to locate a diverse selection for my project. Thankfully, after many years of research, trial and error and many lessons learned along the way I am excited for my upcoming generations

. I have only 1 Cockerel Australorp that I may be using with My 2nd generation but I just hatched out some beautiful chicks that I know have many Roos bc that's just my Luck!! Lol!!

The Roo I'm using right now is my "Italian Stallion"

And this will be my first generation with him.. He is still a bit of a shy guy around people but I'm working diligently on that. My girls starting laying around 21 weeks old and have been laying everyday, despite the cold weather. My oldest Australorp "Peacock" which is 6 1/2 yrs old now still lays almost daily, even through Molt but I have noticed a decrease in production since this past winter but I'm still getting an egg from her every 2 days

. I too, want to add to my flock a diverse genetic strucure that produces an excellent layer, conformation, and gentle personality. If this takes me another 5-10 yrs I will continue to strive for the best quality I can produce. Ok, now you said that you are genetically modifying your Austalorps with 1/4 Buckeye (im not familiar with this breed

) so do u still have pure Australorps? Thank God I have never had a problem with mine and frostbite

They seem to do very well with the cold and they have a nice shelter to protect them. However, I do have some breeds that requires me applying Vaseline to their combs and "knock on wood" haven't had one , except for my Cemani that the cold has damaged their comb!

. One more note, are yours good foragers? I am soo pleased to say that mine depend mostly on foraging for their needs, therefore not breaking me up in feed. ( their feed is not cheapI have to make trips to Louisville in order to get the organic feed that works great for my birds). "You are what you eat"

Thank you for your time,
Cindy

 

[Gramma Chick]

Hi there, well you are not that far from me

I'm in Kentucky
2 on here are from West Virginia ...I think they are the closest to you .

 

[Blackbetty39]

OH thank you so much!!

Is one of them called Rattle Snake Ridge farm or something like that? There are so many posts on here and I really couldn't find any sure leads

So I'm gonna keep looking and if you know the right direction to send me I would greatly appreciate it!! Thank you so much for taking the time

 

[MonicainAZ]

Can anyone send a pic of what a 4-5 month old lorp pullet looks like? Thinking about ordering 2 from one of the hatcheries to add to my existing flock. Thanks.

This is what my girls looked like at 4.5-5 months. They had just started to get red in the comb a few weeks before (in fact this one is the most developed of the three. Since then I've noticed hey are filling out and getting fluffy!

I got mine from Meyer Hatchery and I've been pleased with them. Two eggs so far!!!

 

[bruceha2000]

OH thank you so much!!

Is one of them called Rattle Snake Ridge farm or something like that? There are so many posts on here and I really couldn't find any sure leads

So I'm gonna keep looking and if you know the right direction to send me I would greatly appreciate it!! Thank you so much for taking the time

Yes, Kurt "is" Rattlesnake Ridge Farm in Hedgesville, WV. According to the map, that is in the very NE corner of the state, only about 5 miles from Maryland. He's posted some really nice looking BAs.

He posted this last April https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...gs-rattlesnake-ridge-line-pm-for-availibility

 

[getaclue]

Yes, talk to Kurt @ Rattlesnake Ridge. He's got excellent lines of BA's.

 

[Blackbetty39]

Thank You

 

[boazdriver913]

Hi there, well you are not that far from me

I'm in Kentucky and I have an intense Australorp project going on. This has taken years to locate a diverse selection for my project. Thankfully, after many years of research, trial and error and many lessons learned along the way I am excited for my upcoming generations

. I have only 1 Cockerel Australorp that I may be using with My 2nd generation but I just hatched out some beautiful chicks that I know have many Roos bc that's just my Luck!! Lol!!

The Roo I'm using right now is my "Italian Stallion"

And this will be my first generation with him.. He is still a bit of a shy guy around people but I'm working diligently on that. My girls starting laying around 21 weeks old and have been laying everyday, despite the cold weather. My oldest Australorp "Peacock" which is 6 1/2 yrs old now still lays almost daily, even through Molt but I have noticed a decrease in production since this past winter but I'm still getting an egg from her every 2 days

. I too, want to add to my flock a diverse genetic strucure that produces an excellent layer, conformation, and gentle personality. If this takes me another 5-10 yrs I will continue to strive for the best quality I can produce. Ok, now you said that you are genetically modifying your Austalorps with 1/4 Buckeye (im not familiar with this breed

) so do u still have pure Australorps? Thank God I have never had a problem with mine and frostbite

They seem to do very well with the cold and they have a nice shelter to protect them. However, I do have some breeds that requires me applying Vaseline to their combs and "knock on wood" haven't had one , except for my Cemani that the cold has damaged their comb!

. One more note, are yours good foragers? I am soo pleased to say that mine depend mostly on foraging for their needs, therefore not breaking me up in feed. ( their feed is not cheapI have to make trips to Louisville in order to get the organic feed that works great for my birds). "You are what you eat"

Thank you for your time,
Cindy

I do not have pure Australorps, they look like Australorps (all black as I culled the ones with brown from the flock), only with the pea combs. I am trying to get them to around 98% Australorp with pea combs, which means that I need to keep breeding them back to pure Australorp roosters until I get the % up. I am picking the ones that have the nicest pea combs and have the build of the Australorp. I Started with Australorp Hens and Bred them to Buckeye roosters for the first generation and then sold my pure Australorp hens after I had hatched out enough eggs to get around 20 good 1/2 Australorp, 1/2 Buckeye Hens. I then bred those hens to some pure Australorp roosters that I had raised earlier and hatched around 100 eggs and have kept the best 20 hens that are 3/4 Australorp, 1/4 Buckeye and all of them have the pea comb. It sold the rest of them that did not meet the standards I was looking for. So now I am wanting to breed these hens back to 100% pure Australorp roosters and set another 100 eggs and keep around 20 of the best hens they will be 87.5% Australorp. I am wanting to do this two more times. Next time I will take them to 93.75% Australorp and the following time I will take them to 96.875% Australorp. All with pea combs. After that I will decide if I need to breed back more to increase the percentage or just cross breed and then start breeding for pure pea com. I have been doing this for a couple of years and it will take at least couple more years to perfect this. My husband really likes the Australorp breed, but with their big combs and frostbite it makes it hard on them, so I decided to do some genetic breeding. The Buckeye is an Ohio breed that is a little larger with a pea comb. They have a little more meat, but are not as good of layers. My last generation(3/4 Australorp) that I just raised started laying around 21 weeks too, which was the middle of January.

 

[Seatrout00]

As you can see, we got Australorp babies. Sadly they didn't make it. Long story short, the PO delivered them to my house when they were supposed to hold on to them until I picked them up. Next shipment comes the first of next week.

 

[Greg88]

bummer on the first shipment,,,,