Australorps breed Thread

[heyfoe]

Many Questions

did you buy her from someone else ? Hand raised chicks are usually pretty friendly .
Treats she likes can make her more friendly ...some chickens dont like to be picked up
Does someone else take care of them ?
Is she on chick food or layer ?
Could she be hiding eggs ?

 

[Gramma Chick]

Spilled milk. I truly hope someone was smart or lucky enough to have done what my dad lamented having not done for so many years after failing to see what they had.

Hello , I remember your Dad Talking about this ...didnt he sell them to someone near you ?

 

[appps]

I'm bored so I'll take a moment to wax a bit nostalgic here and the information I now post is secondhand, from my dad.

Many years ago, my grand pap bought a line of Black Australorps from a hatchery Situated (I think) in Windsor Mo, called Marti's Hatchery.  The birds were huge, pumped out huge dark brown eggs like a Leghorn and had a very long and useful lifespan.  Those folks are no longer in business but if I had been old enough at the time to understand what a treasure pot was there, I would have kept some of those birds and I would have them to this day.

I'm wondering if any older folks on this thread ever got any of those birds from Marti's?  I kinda' doubt it because I'd have heard about it on this thread or another.  My dad and grand dad crossed them with NNs and produced some large magnificent layers but they should have kept that strain of pure unadulterated Australorps at any cost.  

Spilled milk.  I truly hope someone was smart or lucky enough to have done what my dad lamented having not done for so many years after failing to see what they had.

There are a few threads on here from when they closed and comments on them from people disapointed as they had been ordering from them for years. I wonder if it would be worth posting on those old threads asking if any of those posters still had their australorps?

 

[RattlesnakeRidgeWV]

Just a quick FYI for new comers to the chicken world and senile old men like me. About two weeks ago when the weather started to cool in WV I decided to up some protein and fat for my birds that are molting and growing brand new feathers. Here is where the stupid part comes in and I of all people should know better. I mixed some BOSS, grain, cat food and some cracked corn with their normal vitamin enriched pellets. BIG MISTAKE!!! Every pen of my little darlings sorted thru the pellets pitching them into the rainy mud and only ate the special treats. For the last two weeks they have managed to waste just about all the pellets in a 55 gallon drum that was mixed with the treats. The moral to the story is give treats separately and sparingly, never mix with their daily pellet ration. Also, crumbles are for babies, pellets are for chickens. They love to waste crumbles too!
Kurt

 

[BlueBaby]

Just a quick FYI for new comers to the chicken world and senile old men like me. About two weeks ago when the weather started to cool in WV I decided to up some protein and fat for my birds that are molting and growing brand new feathers. Here is where the stupid part comes in and I of all people should know better. I mixed some BOSS, grain, cat food and some cracked corn with their normal vitamin enriched pellets. BIG MISTAKE!!! Every pen of my little darlings sorted thru the pellets pitching them into the rainy mud and only ate the special treats. For the last two weeks they have managed to waste just about all the pellets in a 55 gallon drum that was mixed with the treats. The moral to the story is give treats separately and sparingly, never mix with their daily pellet ration. Also, crumbles are for babies, pellets are for chickens. They love to waste crumbles too!
Kurt

Hello, Kurt! That is very good advice!

 

[Gramma Chick]

Just a quick FYI for new comers to the chicken world and senile old men like me. About two weeks ago when the weather started to cool in WV I decided to up some protein and fat for my birds that are molting and growing brand new feathers. Here is where the stupid part comes in and I of all people should know better. I mixed some BOSS, grain, cat food and some cracked corn with their normal vitamin enriched pellets. BIG MISTAKE!!! Every pen of my little darlings sorted thru the pellets pitching them into the rainy mud and only ate the special treats. For the last two weeks they have managed to waste just about all the pellets in a 55 gallon drum that was mixed with the treats. The moral to the story is give treats separately and sparingly, never mix with their daily pellet ration. Also, crumbles are for babies, pellets are for chickens. They love to waste crumbles too!
Kurt

Some things work like we expect and some things dont ..
They picked out the good stuff !
they do have a good eye for treats ..you just made it harder for them to find them ..
Im sure the beetles will enjoy the treats you gave them

 

[Turk Raphael]

Hello , I remember your Dad Talking about this ...didnt he sell them to someone near you ?

Dad and Grand pap had totally adulterated the breed, crossing and back crossing the Australorps to NNs before they were sold to a friend of my brother Jason, somewhere in northern Penn.

This made for a tremendous laying flock and I liked the 'NNs' that resulted but I regret not being old enough or smart enough to have preserved the fine birds that were sacrificed. Even though I was young, I still remember the big beautiful Australorps. Dad told me that he bent under pressure from Grand pap after keeping the best of the Australorp flock separated and pure and included them into the open flock, sort of helter-skelter. I wonder how many excellent lines of birds have been damaged or outright ruined in such a way.

I do a bit of cross-breeding myself for meat quality but I also maintain pure breeding flocks and while I do let my birds run together for convenience, I don't even take down my breeding pens from year to year, just add a new one now and again for a new project. Thanks for responding to my post.

 

[bruceha2000]

Just a quick FYI for new comers to the chicken world and senile old men like me. About two weeks ago when the weather started to cool in WV I decided to up some protein and fat for my birds that are molting and growing brand new feathers. Here is where the stupid part comes in and I of all people should know better. I mixed some BOSS, grain, cat food and some cracked corn with their normal vitamin enriched pellets. BIG MISTAKE!!! Every pen of my little darlings sorted thru the pellets pitching them into the rainy mud and only ate the special treats. For the last two weeks they have managed to waste just about all the pellets in a 55 gallon drum that was mixed with the treats. The moral to the story is give treats separately and sparingly, never mix with their daily pellet ration. Also, crumbles are for babies, pellets are for chickens. They love to waste crumbles too!
Kurt

Glad then that I spoil my girls away from their feed!! In the morning they get whatever kitchen scraps I might have and BOSS. Tossed outside the barn in good weather, just inside the doors in bad. Before roost time they get scratch just outside the coop (converted horse stall in an ancient barn). They can eat their pellets when they like and whatever they find outside most of the day (meaning when I get my lazy self down there to open the barn).

 

[Gramma Chick]

Quote: Your Welcome ...Kurt has Nice Aussies ...you should check out his

 

[Gramma Chick]

Where everyone Hiding ? SAYS LUCKY...He hates it when he doesnt know where a hen is