Australorps breed Thread

[jmc]

eglyn

enormous thanks.

big time.

 

[Inkheart]

Quote:
I am telling you, once you get them you will never regret it. My girls and guy are so friendly, they are already laying at 15 weeks, they free-range in my yard and they are always the last ones in the coop at night because they just cannot give up the scratching and composting they love to do so well. Whenever I go out to feed and collect eggs they are the first ones at my feet, rubbing up against my legs for attention and some snuggle time. My very first pet chicken was an Australorp. She literally followed me everywhere. The unfortunate part is that she was so used to playing (and yes literally playing) with our cats and dogs that when a fox showed up one day she just walked right up to it and that was the end for her. But she was really spoiled and loved so she had a good life.

I have owned RIR, Leghorns, Orpingtons, pretty much every heavy breed out there and growing up we owned them all together and by far the Australorps out egged everyone. They also taste really good barbecued for the 4th of July.

Sorry for those that do not eat their birds but one of the reasons I love Australorps is that they are the perfect dual-purpose bird. Lay great, taste great.

Growing up we always got our birds from two hatcheries, Murray McMurray and a hatcher in South Carolina that is no longer in business. Everyone we got were great birds and Murray used to have a good ratio of sending out SQ birds but it has been about 20 years since I ordered chicks from them so I do not know what their quality is like now. Ideal Hatchery out of TX is where I got this new batch from and I could not be happier. All of the birds are exquisite looking and like I said, we are at 17 weeks and they are laying everyday for me. Ideal has amazing customer service and when I had a few chicks die on me from overexposure from my boys they sent me replacements and then some at no extra cost on my next order.

I love love love chickens, they make great pets, they are fascinating to be around but I am a "justification" person. Everything I own has to have a purpose besides just being pretty or snuggly. So when I picked my flock I got the best producers of eggs and meat with the gentlest temperaments. Australorps, Wyandottes, Orpingtons are my main breeds and then I have some miscellaneous breeds that came along for the ride, BR's, Black Stars (sex-links), two leghorns and three White Crested Polish. I love the Black Stars a lot, they produce almost as well as the Australorps I have had experience with so I am going to continue adding those throughout my flock.

I think you will be very happy with the Australorps. I do not know anyone that has ever regretted getting them. Pretty much anyone that I have run across that did not like them were ppl that did not like "black" chickens but they never actually owned an Australorp nor had they been around them before. They were more into blues, or puff balls or bantams. To me the Australorp's colouring is just out of this world beautiful. But then Green is my all time favourite colour and green on black is just breath-taking.

Wow - is that not a great push to the breed - if i wasnt sold already!

 

[aveca]

That is so true, I also have owned leghorns dominiques, RIRs and cherry eggers ect....The australorps definatly out did them. In fact my freind just asked me if my girls could fill in for her customers for a few weeks till they catch up. I told her I only have 10 hens but I will do what I can. It kept a few of her people happy anyway. Some of the australorps do not lay the biggest eggs ever, But they lay tons of eggs when they are well taken care of. when they first start out and for the first year or so the eggs are not more than medium to large but then they get bigger to large size as time goes on..

 

[aveca]

Quote:
Oh yes!

When you told me how they would lay we just hoped our would be close to that. Well, we culled three pullets a while back because they weren't the best SQ but real nice girls and gave them to the lady down the street. They started laying at 5 months and she calls all the time to tell us that they lay so much and such nice eggs that she feels guilty taking them from us. She had never heard of an Australorp but now they are all she wants, she says they lay better than her RIR's and they are sweeter too. Mom says we made a convert!

Mom says we get so many eggs from her for free that the 3 hens have paid her back for the time they were here. I think everyone should have BA's!
Olivia

i am not interested at all in SQ birds, only laying machines. i would like to get some, but from a hatchery. i assume these could be good layers.

where have you gotten yours???
thank you!!!!!!!!!

I raise THE SQ australorps
My husband has a project going on where only the monster egg layers are selected for the breeding pen,

roosters who carry the genes to produce monster egg layers.are used. I dont know everything about what he is doing and how he knows three generations back the correct genes were put together to produce roosters who will up production in flocks but he knows what hes doing..I do remember he said at one point that some of his origional flock came from murray mcurrays and were selected right of the bat for outstanding production but there were only a few of them rest were culled out first year..and he ocassionally uses one or 2 of mine that are producing well to improve the genes. he takes my girls down and after about 2 months brigs them back up. we have NPIP at both farms. He keeps pretty good records of who is doing what who was culled and why and where they came from origionally, I know he got some from Ithaca NY that were part of a project long time ago.

One thing I have noticed is , his roosters have a sweeter disposition and wouldnt attack you if thier life depended on it.Hens all around them and they are the first to run. My roosters were bred for high fashion looks and are a tad more agressive than his and protective, but when you deal with mine on thier own they are not bad, only when the girls are around do they turn into 10 feet tall and bullet proof. his are so different, you can walk into his pens and relax cause the roosters wont come near you.

Ive been trying to get him to sit down here and kind of explain what hes been doing, The hen of his that laid 240 eggs last year is a cross between one of my hens he selected and one of his roosters. no artificial lights.

 

[jmc]

that is a little concern of mine:

i don't want a bunch of broodies around that i gotta break.
i want layers.
But a REAL BREED of layers that i can reproduce, UNLIKE the hybrids.

the threat of getting a bunch of broodies makes me pause about getting them at all. if i want a bunch of broodies (standard sized) then i'd get BO s. But that ain't what i want!!

 

[aveca]

I am sorry to tell you that broody is a part of australorp being. if it wasnt for that, I am convinced that they would do even more eggs. Only a few of ours havnt gone broody. they are excellent moms thou and it does cut your work down, I employ them to sitting eggs. its just easier for me than running bators all the time. I have one that can take a clutch of 11 or so eggs and get them safley to adulthood and she doesnt give up. We dont breed her for any reason but she LOVES her job evey year. and will sit all summer to hatch eggs, never seen anything like it. when she starts sitting, I remove the eggs she has which are unfetile,m and start taking eggs from the breeding pen and she does the rest, she even raised baby Delawares for a freind. tender mom.

This is one of my husbands culls happened to be such a good mother I kept her she has a tad of barred rock in her. shes caring for baby delawares for a freind, so yep they can go broody and this one was an extream case of mother love, she sat eggs all last summer.

My husband keeps spanking clean water for all of the chickens, he thinks if he cant drink it, neither can they.

 

[jmc]

thanks.

 

[jmc]

Yet, I know several people who have never had their ba s go broody....................

i still might try some. cuz i may want a broody around....................maybe a couple bo s also.

 

[BarredBuff]

Does this hen look SQ?

 

[jc12551]

My two never went broody...and that was one of the reasons I wanted them