Australorps breed Thread

[FuzzyButtsFarm]

Thank-you stan, but I didn't really do anything. Your birds did. All I wanted was chickens that would lay well in the winter. I never expected to get birds this good. So far they have been better that average usually get 5 eggs a day. Fri and Sat I got 6. Sunday they all took the day off. Today I got 5. I'm going to be setting eggs soon. The two BYM roo hatch mates have been out of their pen 4 wks now. Which I've been told is long enough to ensure the BA roos are the fathers.

 

[ImissBuford]

These are mainly for groche, who asked me to post update pics of my 6 young ladies. I guess he wants to keep track with what us Americans are doing with their Aussie breed. I took these photos today. The girls are exactly 8 weeks old.










This is just a temporary run, as you can see I'm setting the 4x4's for their permanent run.

 

[aveca]

Good job Ingrid, AKA Fuzzybutt!! Looks like you did a great job of growing them out. Wish I had a decent rooster to put back on mine. My guy has about 9 or 10 points, but a decent body I think. Congrats!! You are off to the races now. .........stan

fantastic birds stan..you did a great job..that seems to be one of the problems are too many comb points..i have it down to about 7 this year lol..the chick has 6.

 

[groche]

Thanks Fuzzybut,
nice looking chooks. Am I right in thinking that the girls are a bit 'cleaner' in the face than most American birds? Are there any pics of attempts at Orp. crosses?
Cheers Geoff from Aus

 

[laura625]

Do Your Australorps lay in winter? I have Very cold( well below 0° F) winters. The RIR and barre ock laid through last year.

 

[aveca]

yes, every year , never a dissapointment..we had relativly mild winter last year, but in years past, they out did the other breeds we had, that was why we chose to keep them going..they slow down in jan for about 2 weeks then start right back up again. over the years we have had , leghorn, domonique, cherry eggers, rir, black sexlink which were also top on the list, new hampshire, sebrights, and assortment of cross breeds ..we finnally settled on australorp.. but its all personal preference..its whatever you want , and like best..the rirs were pretty shiney birds, wonderful hens but the roosters were a handful, you had to be dressed like a gladiator to go anywhere near them..they would go right for your face and eyes..

 

[aveca]

Well, I'm always so happy for the kids when they do well..that's what its all about..got the cutest email from a girl in La. Sent her some hatching eggs maybe 2 years ago for her projects..she had better hens than i did, they got a big rooster out of a couple eggs ( and they were lost in the mail for near 2 weeks).. still got a few to hatch..in her pm..and i encourage everyone to give these kids a hand up in poultry..dont discourage them, they are the future, if they are willing to put in the time and work at it..they will be life long members of clubs and shows and buy poultry in the future. the pm just siad that her rooster and hens produced some extra cockerals they sold to some 4 hers, one of the cockerals was best in show for that county. so cute.

 

[groche]

Hi folks,
flat out incubating and building new coops as it's full on breeding season in my part of the world. As our countries are so big and in different hemispheres, it's hard to get a handle on who's doing what where. My first eggs are due to hatch next week - small numbers as they've just started laying and I've only got small numbers at the moment. Sharing incubation with a fellow local breeder helps to make sure that the 'bators are full. Just bought an expensive but highly recommended R-Com 50. So far I'm lovin' it as it seems quite idiot-proof - add water, switch on, select breed and push start. Love hearing those eggs rolling!
Cheers Geoff from Aus

 

[Rachel'sFlock]

Just wondering, is it normal to have a sharp decrease in egg production during August? My 9 hens were giving me 5-6 eggs a day all thru Summer, then one went broody, and my egg production dropped to 2-3 a day. None of the others have gone broody, but the eggs just aren't coming.
It isn't hot at all, in fact we have only had a few days above 70 degrees F, so I am really puzzled by the drop.
Any thoughts?
(4 hens are 2.5 years old, 3 are 1.5 yrs old and 1 is not yet a year old, but has been laying since February)

 

[aveca]

boy it could be about anything..sometimes if something scares them, or mild illness..so many things, something scares them, even at night and they probably will let up.