Australorps breed Thread

[groche]

Hi folks,
glad to see that some of you like my Derrick. I'm hoping to breed some nice birds from him this season. As to temperament, aussies are generally a friendly, non-aggressive bird. They are not easily bullied though. This is a breed characteristic and part of their attraction. Of course there may be rogue individuals or strains, but I've not come across any in purebreds. Our standard RIR birds here, for example, have a bit of a rep. for throwing up nasty birds a bit too often. I once had a big Welsummer roo that would have been an asset in Afghanistan! Australia, as it should as the home of the breed, has lots of great birds and breeders, BUT, if I go along to our version of a feedstore, and ask for Australorps, I'll get black chooks that don't look much different from your commercial strains. In commercial outlets any black bird is an 'Australorp' and reds are 'RIR'. The difference here is that you can get good pure birds easily. Even here, I think Derrick was a bargain at $20!. A good comb is pretty important in breeding aussies. I'll have to get more expert advice on Derrick's 'faults' so I can try to get rid of them in future generations. I'm going to an auction next week where I'm hoping to pick up some nice new girls for him.

Cheers Geoff from Aus

 

[aveca]

I have never seen a comb that perfect ever! Aveca and Chet what do y'all think of that comb?

Sweet jjees, those are wonderful aussies..superb comb , even spacing between points great birds..the females are fantastic..but they dont look that much different than bob whitneys..

heres the thing..we cant get the bantams just like that..they are scattered here and there and most of those people dont frequent a site like this..its rare to ever see them..
they used orp bantams and crossed into small aussies..took orpington culls that were too tight feathered and worked those in..sometimes what you are seeing is actually a bantam orpington..feathers too tight culled it , somone showed them smartly as an australorp..you shoud contact some of these import stations like greenfire or pampered poultry , not sure who else does that..we talked to one of them in the past , the waiting list was long..couldnt get them...yet they managed to get those polet...the canadians had a super small flock of polet and heres a lesson..they got greedy, held them too close.somone from california got a few...not long after that the whole canadian flock came down with avian virus , died rest had to be destroyed...so its a lesson ..had they gotten more out there tey might have reclaimed them..

during the 1800s right up to the 50s and 60s there was a very active australorp club in america..it was nothing to see 50 australorps at a show..now if you 10 to 15 ...its a banner day..and australorps are not the only one..many breeds suffered when people moved off the farm and into the industrial working world..there was a smaller aussie club in us until a gew years ago and it just dried up..we let these flocks just fall into such a state of disrepair that its more than an uphill climb to get it back..i was going to work blk orp in and back out but got yelled at..dont want to cross like that...but my mind thought..its not really cross breeding is it? aussies base breed is blk orpington.., langshan..the australorps you see here today are either out of a very old and i mean old line..or they are hatchery re-creation..if you can get a look at american standard you see what they want to see...we are a little slow to adapt and evolve..peope are afraid of that..while the rest of the world moves forward, we get stuck in a rut...they want a lot of money for SOP color, and there isnt even a picture of a blk orp in there..im not paying for that doesnt have a picture of what im striving for in it..

 

[aveca]

that has to be ray connors bird or bred by him...it has that look in your avatar..i bought ray connors book, a great read for beginner and expert alike..hes a legend to me..approachable, means to help people with his experience..living legend..it would be a dream come true to get some of those here..when you see what other countries are doing with their birds ..you jut cant ignore it..colors better, lacing is better everything is better..they even took our new hampshires and made a better looking tail on them..im just not sure other than the industrial revolution how we got o be so far behind with this..

you should buy ray connors book..it would probably be bargian for you beings that you live over there..he says in his book, choose females that are strong in areas that your rooster needs improvement..do that every time..that is how he got to be 17 time australian champion.

 

[groche]

Hi folks,
Derrick came from a different breeder but from the same area as my avatar, so they could easily be related. The guy I got it from had changed to a bit bigger roo. Isn't it frustrating when some of the judges seem to promote current 'fashion' rather than look to the original function of the breed. Here, it seems to be for bigger and bigger birds. They're a utility breed, not a bloody meat chook! Hope I didn't offend any RIR lovers earlier.I've kept them for years and to me they're the great American chook. Their contribution to the whole industry worldwide is huge. The most popular commercial/backyard breed in this country is an egg-laying machine called "Isa Brown", which has a lot of RIR in the breeding.RIR's themselves are still popular, albeit mostly in commercial mongrel form, but we do breed some beauties. The bantam strains we have here are more consistant in their temperament than the standards. Every commercial white chook sold here is called a "Leghorn"- bloody aweful, noisy, flighty.... Shutup, Geoff, you're dissing America's best known chook! Foghorn Leghorn's got a lot to answer for in my view!!
Cheers Geoff from Aus

 

[ronott1]

Hi folks,
Derrick came from a different breeder but from the same area as my avatar, so they could easily be related. The guy I got it from had changed to a bit bigger roo. Isn't it frustrating when some of the judges seem to promote current 'fashion' rather than look to the original function of the breed. Here, it seems to be for bigger and bigger birds. They're a utility breed, not a bloody meat chook! Hope I didn't offend any RIR lovers earlier.I've kept them for years and to me they're the great American chook. Their contribution to the whole industry worldwide is huge. The most popular commercial/backyard breed in this country is an egg-laying machine called "Isa Brown", which has a lot of RIR in the breeding.RIR's themselves are still popular, albeit mostly in commercial mongrel form, but we do breed some beauties. The bantam strains we have here are more consistant in their temperament than the standards. Every commercial white chook sold here is called a "Leghorn"- bloody aweful, noisy, flighty.... Shutup, Geoff, you're dissing America's best known chook! Foghorn Leghorn's got a lot to answer for in my view!!
Cheers Geoff from Aus

The RIRs you are talking about probably have leghorn in them and that makes them mean and flighty plus meanness was probably not bred out of them in the rush for better egg laying.

Ron

 

[groche]

Hi Aveca,
not everybody, even here, would agree with me, but, in your circumstances, why not try a bit of smoother orp in there, briefly? Unless we keep Jungle Fowl, fresh out of the jungle, we're all dealing with man-made breed constructs, designed to meet different conditions and requirements. If you think the breed needs some redesign, and you have some knowledge of the original ingredients, why not try revisiting the beginnings of the breed to create whatever you want? They're your chooks and you can aim for a standard that satisfies your own preference. It's not as though you're blowing the whole gene pool, and if it doesn't work out to your satisfaction, you can stop. If you do succeed, I reckon you might sit a few of those judges back on their bums! I might be biased as an Aussie, but is there any real contest as to whether the true form is more attractive than your worst show 'winners'? Not talking about you folks' birds! Have you given much thought to what the Langshan ingredient added to the creation of aussies? I really need to get hold of that Australorp 'bible', don't I? I hope that I've added just a little confidence to your endeavors.
Cheers Geoff from Aus

 

[groche]

Thanks Ron,
glad to hear that your own Leghorns show the same downsides as here. Of course, even here, some people love 'em. They do lay well, but.........!. Good luck with your Heritage RIR's. It's great to be making a contribution to the preservation of a part of your great breed's history.
Cheers Geoff from Aus

 

[aveca]

geoff,t
hey used croad langshan, they took birds being culled for lack of leg feather in other langshans and added them but they ran into some troubles such as very red webbing between toes considered a no no in australia..but not mentioned in US sop..ray connor was pointing this out in his book...they also ran into a problem that crops up occasionally like too much of a V shape underneath....he said to judges to never penelise birds with freckles on their feet but the very red toe webbing..deduct points..i am going to take a try at putting some orp back into the breed here in us only problem i have is these are very big very wide feathered supurb quality blk orps..so its going to be a little challenge..but they are so good that they will settle a lot of issues like the combs with 75 points ect.....there is a guy in here, i keep telling him he could ace the aussie class with some of his creations out of orps..so far he hasnt gone out to show them , but i tell him every chance i get..over on the regular orpington thread he has bunch of pictures..he just likes to tinker and accidently created them..if he really worked at it a bit more he might actually do something..
i think hecdoesnt take me serious..but im hoping he takes one or 2 out this year..you would be suprised how many people have or had some really workable birds..next thing you know, they got out of them and the birds scattered to who knows where.

as for RIR , we all know they are gladiators..they will give you a flogging you wont forget..you have to go in their pen in full helmet, arm protectors, and garbage can lid as your sheild...i had one who really meant it..he would go straight for your face..and darn they can jump that high and straight for your eye balls..i have always thought of them as a mans chicken..men who like a challenge..i didnt like that man killer instinct additude..but the hens are lovley birds and quality egg producers..most RIR roosters wind up in a soup pot unless they are selected for breeding..not a lot of thought was put into temprament, just mounds of brown eggs..

as for foghorn, hes a mediteranian creation so you would have to talk to them about him..they are skittish..but they have terrific ability to fight disease, and are not prone to mereks..its a B factor in their blood

 

[countrybuffs]

I have shown various animals, and it always happens in the show world that fads and fashions are started by what one judge picks. I think we should all work on developing a strain of judges to a SOP, then they would all be consistant and pick the proper types of whatever livestock they are judging!!!

 

[FuzzyButtsFarm]

I had a RIR roo like that. He was on the small side to boot. Met up with a bobcat and lost. Put up a good fight too, feathers everywhere. I can honestly say I wasn't sad to see him go.