Australorps breed Thread

[blueclip]

Kurt,

I'm confused as to why you're saying to keep the dom rooster instead of one of the lorps. Why is that a better option than "crossing?"

 

[Gramma Chick]

Hey Kurt,

I'm actually not breeding them. I wanted australorp hens but these guys ended up being cockerels. Should I pick the "leader" of the group? He seems to be forthcoming to me and eats out of my hand and seems decent physically...

I believe aussie roo s are somewhat docile ...I would say keep all till they become a problem ..
That is what I do with my younger roos ( I have half breeds too. cuckoo Maran / Aussies )
being able to sex at hatch is a bonus ..with cockerels being barred

 

[bruceha2000]

Hey Kurt,

... and they are hard to find where I am at, so I'll keep one and I hope he's good ....

I would add my location to my signature were I you

You might find that there are people near you with BAs

 

[appps]

What do you guys think the smallest hole an Aussie could get through would be? Now I have three full grown Aussies their food mad brains mean they are literally running over the top of all the other breeds to get to the food. My silkie is barely eating and spending most of her days in the coop away from them and even all the other hens that are higher in the pecking order are starting to hang back when I put treats out for fear of being trampled. One of my faverolles has lost a heap of weight as well.

I'm thinking of putting a sort of doggy door into another area so that the smaller hens can get in there to eat in peace but then get out again. I was thinking of buying one of those birdcage fronts with a large parrot size door that I could clip open for them?

Any other ideas?

 

[RattlesnakeRidgeWV]

Blue,
What do you want to accomplish by crossing an Australorp with a Dominique?
It is my understanding that you already have a Dom cock bird or cockerel and some Dom pullets or hens, correct? So why not hatch eggs from them and either incubate or use a broody or just buy some more Dom hens. You have to remember that I breed certain breeds and try to do my best for that breed to improve that line. I know a lot of breeds were crossed to make what we have today but there are so many lets say purebreds that need help. Why just make another crossbred mutt that you may not be able to duplicate even if you like the cross? It takes about 5 generations to get any trait close to being fixed in my own experience. Doms have been around forever, but still need help to meet APA SOP. The ones I have seen forage well, lay a nice sized brown egg and a spare cockerels are edible just like Australorps. There is no telling if the BA and Dom cross will be any better or worst than the original breeds so why bother. Just because somebody gives you something for free does not make it a good idea to use it, usually the contrary. Not to many things are free in this world or are without consequences! Does any of this make sense to you?
Kurt

 

[Birdrain92]

Blue,
What do you want to accomplish by crossing an Australorp with a Dominique?
It is my understanding that you already have a Dom cock bird or cockerel and some Dom pullets or hens, correct? So why not hatch eggs from them and either incubate or use a broody or just buy some more Dom hens. You have to remember that I breed certain breeds and try to do my best for that breed to improve that line. I know a lot of breeds were crossed to make what we have today but there are so many lets say purebreds that need help. Why just make another crossbred mutt that you may not be able to duplicate even if you like the cross? It takes about 5 generations to get any trait close to being fixed in my own experience. Doms have been around forever, but still need help to meet APA SOP. The ones I have seen forage well, lay a nice sized brown egg and a spare cockerels are edible just like Australorps. There is no telling if the BA and Dom cross will be any better or worst than the original breeds so why bother. Just because somebody gives you something for free does not make it a good idea to use it, usually the contrary. Not to many things are free in this world or are without consequences! Does any of this make sense to you?
Kurt

I don't mean for this to sound mean or anything but why is it that birds should follow the APA SOP? Not everyone is wants to show poultry in the advanced level, and some people prefer utility strains instead of SOP. SOP is more for show instead of utility like eggs and meat.

 

[Birdrain92]

I like purebreds as well since there's already crossbreeds but crossbreeds aren't always bad. For example the Sex link hens for brown egg laying, Cornish Cross mostly used for broilers.

 

[blueclip]

Blue,
What do you want to accomplish by crossing an Australorp with a Dominique?
It is my understanding that you already have a Dom cock bird or cockerel and some Dom pullets or hens, correct? So why not hatch eggs from them and either incubate or use a broody or just buy some more Dom hens. You have to remember that I breed certain breeds and try to do my best for that breed to improve that line. I know a lot of breeds were crossed to make what we have today but there are so many lets say purebreds that need help. Why just make another crossbred mutt that you may not be able to duplicate even if you like the cross? It takes about 5 generations to get any trait close to being fixed in my own experience. Doms have been around forever, but still need help to meet APA SOP. The ones I have seen forage well, lay a nice sized brown egg and a spare cockerels are edible just like Australorps. There is no telling if the BA and Dom cross will be any better or worst than the original breeds so why bother. Just because somebody gives you something for free does not make it a good idea to use it, usually the contrary. Not to many things are free in this world or are without consequences! Does any of this make sense to you?
Kurt

I get what you're saying but maybe you missed some information that I originally stated. 1) My doms are siblings to one another. In the event that chicks DID hatch out, I wouldn't want inbreds. 2) I want a bigger rooster around. No profound reason, more for ornamental purposes and the fact that there would be some variety to the flock. & 3) I'm not looking to breed ANY rooster, whether I keep my dom or one of the lorps. So you see, I'm not trying to "accomplish" anything because I'm not trying to cross in the first place. My rooster(s) is/are just there to protect the flock, and I like having them around. I do not breed nor do I have the slightest clue as to how it's done. I'm sorry if I lead you to believe that I somehow wanted to use one of the aussies for breeding/crossing whatever but if you look back at my posts I explained that these were not my motives for choosing one of the cockerels. It's no big deal, I just simply wanted to get the opinion of someone who knows a lot more about this breed on which one I should keep...that's it.

 

[RattlesnakeRidgeWV]

Blue,
I have looked back at your posts and you are correct. You have said nothing about breeding or crossing. You did say that you dropped the Aussies in with your Dom hens and your rooster. When you combine cockerels and hens or pullets and roosters together there will be problems and crossbreeding whether you like it or not. That is why I thought that you were crossbreeding. As far as protecting the flock, there will be a lot more breeding going on than protecting, trust me. Just pick the Aussie cockerel that fits in the best with your flock and get rid of the other two and the Dom rooster because I do not think they will get along too much longer. If they all grew up together and were never separated then they would be good for about a year and then all bets are off.
Kurt

 

[duluthralphie]

I get what you're saying but maybe you missed some information that I originally stated. 1) My doms are siblings to one another. In the event that chicks DID hatch out, I wouldn't want inbreds. 2) I want a bigger rooster around. No profound reason, more for ornamental purposes and the fact that there would be some variety to the flock. & 3) I'm not looking to breed ANY rooster, whether I keep my dom or one of the lorps. So you see, I'm not trying to "accomplish" anything because I'm not trying to cross in the first place. My rooster(s) is/are just there to protect the flock, and I like having them around. I do not breed nor do I have the slightest clue as to how it's done. I'm sorry if I lead you to believe that I somehow wanted to use one of the aussies for breeding/crossing whatever but if you look back at my posts I explained that these were not my motives for choosing one of the cockerels. It's no big deal, I just simply wanted to get the opinion of someone who knows a lot more about this breed on which one I should keep...that's it.

Inbreeding is not a problem in chickens, as long as you look for and cull the weak, as a matter of fact line breeding and inbreeding is the way traits are cemented. This is not like marrying your sister/brother.

That said diversity is nice when possible, but breeds are not always that diverse.

While the word hybrid is bantied about on this site, it is misused. Hybrid is a horse and a mule, a cow and a bison, not a chicken and a chicken. that is a cross breed when talking about varieties and not species. This is all the fault of seed companies that purposely misuse the word hybrid.

Blue,
What do you want to accomplish by crossing an Australorp with a Dominique?
It is my understanding that you already have a Dom cock bird or cockerel and some Dom pullets or hens, correct? So why not hatch eggs from them and either incubate or use a broody or just buy some more Dom hens. You have to remember that I breed certain breeds and try to do my best for that breed to improve that line. I know a lot of breeds were crossed to make what we have today but there are so many lets say purebreds that need help. Why just make another crossbred mutt that you may not be able to duplicate even if you like the cross? It takes about 5 generations to get any trait close to being fixed in my own experience. Doms have been around forever, but still need help to meet APA SOP. The ones I have seen forage well, lay a nice sized brown egg and a spare cockerels are edible just like Australorps. There is no telling if the BA and Dom cross will be any better or worst than the original breeds so why bother. Just because somebody gives you something for free does not make it a good idea to use it, usually the contrary. Not to many things are free in this world or are without consequences! Does any of this make sense to you?
Kurt

Breeding animals on the livestock conservatory's endangered list is not breeding to SOP. It is breeding a pure variety/line to keep it around. These are heritage birds. I have a line of DOM's. I plan to breed just to keep them around, beside the fact they are great foragers.

I have several new "breed's and some old, I keep them all separate for breeding season. That said I am crossing a group of BA's. but I am doing it to try and eliminate the single comb, while keeping the other traits I like. I was doing good on f3....f4 is a flop though, the single comb is back,,,,,,,dang

The single combs are bad in the cold where I live.