Australorps breed Thread

[PiecesofAmber]

I got a couple of pictures, it was raining and nobody would pose properly!!

They look happy! I am so happy that I got an Australorp...now I know what to look forward to!

 

[ronott1]

Quote:
Thank you for the picture!

They are nice looking. It will be great to see what they look like when they are older.

Ron

 

[DrunkenPony]

She is really pretty!

Thanks PiecesofAmber! She is such a sweetie and even comes when her name is called. Our neighbor has a very handsome rooster and the two spend all day chatting through the fence. I'm contemplating whether I should add another hen similar in age since our little chicks won't be ready to join Faye for a few more weeks. We decided to keep her coop on the patio next to our sliding glass door, so she can come inside when she pleases and she thoroughly enjoys when I bring the chicks out for some backyard time. She already has excellent mothering skills and has been teaching the babies how to scratch for food.

 

[groche]

Hi folks,
love your attitude and efforts! It's great to see a few more people joining the thread too. I'm beginning with the breed too, so it's good that I'm not just speaking with your experts. Although the current Australian standard has been modified to allow slate- colored legs and beak, I'd still like to aim for the original black, or as near as possible. Just picked up a couple of pullets from the breeder of our current State champ. roo, who also picked up numbers of awards in our Nationals. They've got much darker legs and beaks than my others that I've sent pics of. Nice heads too. They're a bit bigger than I'd prefer and a bit too 'fluffy/orpy' for me, but I'll see what they come up with with my Derrick. I'm still gonna cull hard even though I'm starting with pretty good stock so it's easier over here. If you can't kill 'em and eat'em, nor send them to a 'nice farm in the country', you could at least try to keep your best birds seperate from the dud 'pets'. Because I'm closer to the fine tuning end, I really want to keep track of who layed what. Breeder told me an oldie but a goodie, which your newbies might try - paint around vents with different-colored, non-toxic food dyes and the eggs will be smeared with matching colors as the 'egg-lubricant' will activate the dye. I'll send some pics of my new girls.
Cheers Geoff from Aus

 

[groche]

Hi again,
for the Australorp-obsessed, just in case you've missed this bit of the terrific Australian site, Backyardpoultry. You'll know how to find it from your end and someone can translate my 'guide' into American. In the Keeping, Raising & Breeding >> Breeds and Breeding thread, check out the Post Subject - Utility breeds of old-how good were they? Some great old newspaper pics/ ads/laying stats. See manna gum's June 9,2012 post to see that Langshans contributed a tad more than beaut green sheen to the aussie. Check out the shape, let alone the laying of those 1906 girls! Given the date, could some of these beauties have played a role in creating the aussie?

 

[DeesHens]

Hello fellow fans of BA's.

I was very happy to find this thread. No, actually I was overwhelmed with pure joy.

Two years ago I got my first baby chicks after not having any chickens for many years. After a year of preparing and researching which breed I wanted I was very disappointed when the farm store mistakenly sold me BR instead of BA's. Took me awhile to figure it out. You can imagine. But I am one to make the best of a situation and I do appreciate my two remaining BR's. Were great layers until lately and fairly nice hens overall. But having said that, one hen, Gemini, has some reddish feathers so I know she is a mix. Probably RIR would be my guess. She is pretty peckish toward me as well as the other chickens I have had. She is unlike sweet Betsy, my other BR. She squats to be petted. But Betsy is obsessive food hog and doesn't allow Gemini to eat in peace. Whatever Gemini wants Betsy demands is hers. Anyway, the next time I get chicks I want to definitely make sure they are BA's. I absolutely am wildly mad about them and have been pining for them for several years now. They are not only the most gorgeous chickens in my humble opinion but I appreciate what I have read about them both here and elsewhere. I am up to #70 post on this thread so I have learned much and will continue to learn. But today I decided to post here so I can keep better track of this thread as well as join you with my interest. Enjoy your pics so much as well as the discussions.
All my best to all of you. ~Dee~

 

[ronott1]

Hello fellow fans of BA's.

I was very happy to find this thread. No, actually I was overwhelmed with pure joy.

Two years ago I got my first baby chicks after not having any chickens for many years. After a year of preparing and researching which breed I wanted I was very disappointed when the farm store mistakenly sold me BR instead of BA's. Took me awhile to figure it out. You can imagine. But I am one to make the best of a situation and I do appreciate my two remaining BR's. Were great layers until lately and fairly nice hens overall. But having said that, one hen, Gemini, has some reddish feathers so I know she is a mix. Probably RIR would be my guess. She is pretty peckish toward me as well as the other chickens I have had. She is unlike sweet Betsy, my other BR. She squats to be petted. But Betsy is obsessive food hog and doesn't allow Gemini to eat in peace. Whatever Gemini wants Betsy demands is hers. Anyway, the next time I get chicks I want to definitely make sure they are BA's. I absolutely am wildly mad about them and have been pining for them for several years now. They are not only the most gorgeous chickens in my humble opinion but I appreciate what I have read about them both here and elsewhere. I am up to #70 post on this thread so I have learned much and will continue to learn. But today I decided to post here so I can keep better track of this thread as well as join you with my interest. Enjoy your pics so much as well as the discussions.
All my best to all of you. ~Dee~

DeesHens

You will love having BAs. Mine came from Cackle and they still have the behavior of the original BAs: friendly, good foragers and etc.

Here is Kinra. I took this picture yesterday. She is 17 month old:



Ron

 

[RattlesnakeRidgeWV]

New babies at Rattlesnake Ridge. This is about my 10th hatch this year and I figured I had better start holding on to some! There are 3 SLW's also in the clutch.

 

[aveca]

some pretty nice looking babies rattlesnake ridge..i havnt taken a picture of ben in a long time..hes getting a little tubby ..sometime this weekend i will get some new pics around the farm..heres an old pic. last winter...

 

[DeesHens]

Thank you for your warm welcome Ron.

Great pic of Kinra. She is so very pretty. Imagine you are having such a good time with her. She actually looks rather sweet to me. I like that! I appreciate your encouragement. 17 weeks old now so she will be laying soon right?

I could say "I can't wait to get my BA's!" But unfortunately I will need to wait I think. My thoughts are: it is late into the season so they are difficult to find here locally. Back in the spring our local feed store did have 25 BA chicks on two separate dates but I was not ready then. I only have one small tractor and my two BR's take up most of the room. Besides I was worried with their behavior they would not accept new pullets coming in. I did have four BR's at one time but really that was one too many. So three BA hens would be perfect which is my ultimate goal. So thinking I would have a better chance of getting some nice BA's if I try next spring. I checked some of the hatcheries online but they don't ship three chicks or shipping fees are outrageous. Just wish I would've known if the BR's were not going to lay eggs now because my decisions would have been different.You know the story.

Rattlesnake Ridge certainly has some gorgeous BA chicks. Adorable! Have viewed other pics of your flock & vid of Dundee. Amazing! Dundee takes my breath away. He is an exceptional roo as you know. So fun to see him respond to you sitting on the porch in the vid. Great you shared that one. If you don't mind my asking; how many years have you been involved with BA's?

~Dee~