Australorps v.s. Buff Orlingtons

[Brennan2026]

What about Silkies? These chickens will be allowed and invited inside the house btw.

 

[3KillerBs]

Will australorps be good for Florida? Should I get a color other than black? Are Austra Whites any different than BA's in terms of personality? Those articles were a great help for picking my coop, btw. @3KillerBs thanks

Australorps are a good choice for a hot climate. They only come in Black and Blue. I wish they did come in more colors/patterns.

I'm unfamiliar with Austra Whites.

 

[NatJ]

Australorps are a good choice for a hot climate. They only come in Black and Blue. I wish they did come in more colors/patterns.

I believe that is true in the USA, but that some other countries have them in other colors as well. (Since the OP lives in Florida, they can probably only get black ones and blue ones, plus a chance of splash from the blues, but anyone from another country may find that their country has other options.)

 

[3KillerBs]

I believe that is true in the USA, but that some other countries have them in other colors as well. (Since the OP lives in Florida, they can probably only get black ones and blue ones, plus a chance of splash from the blues, but anyone from another country may find that their country has other options.)

I know that whites exist, but they're rare.

I don't know of any other Australorp colors beyond that.

 

[NatJ]

I know that whites exist, but they're rare.

I don't know of any other Australorp colors beyond that.

Wikipedia says,
"The most popular colour of the breed is black, which is the only colour recognised in the United States of America, but blue and white are also recognised in Australia and the Poultry Club South Africa recognises buff, splash, wheaten laced and golden in addition."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australorp

That's where I got the idea of them having other colors, but not available in all countries.

 

[3KillerBs]

Wikipedia says,
"The most popular colour of the breed is black, which is the only colour recognised in the United States of America, but blue and white are also recognised in Australia and the Poultry Club South Africa recognises buff, splash, wheaten laced and golden in addition."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australorp

That's where I got the idea of them having other colors, but not available in all countries.

I had no idea that South Africa had fancy Australorps. That's cool!

IIRC, the photos I've seen of White Australorps were from a South African flock.

 

[TillyPeeps]

I've never owned orpingtons, but my Australorps are mostly quite friendly. They all have their individual personalities though, and I think it can really vairy depending on how often you handle them.
My Easter eggers are also pretty sweet birds, I've had to earn their trust, but they've come around. They lay pretty blue and green eggs too. Ameraucanas are another great option if you want something pure bred (they also lay blue eggs).
Something to keep in mind is that the color of the bird doesn't effect egg production, friendliness, or any other quailties. So if you decide to stick to one breed there are often many colors you can get

I think chicken personality also depends on the strain, not just breed. My blue Ameraucana from a hatchery was skittish, while all my 5 black and lavender Ameraucanas from a show line love to cuddle! They are more calm and cuddling than my orpington. My orpington is friendly and calm too, but don't want to be hold. If order pet chickens from a hatchery, I suggest to check what's the feedback from people ordered the same breed at the same hatchery.

 

[TXchickmum]

I live in Texas where the heat is a huge factor in the summer. -had both Australorps and Buff Orpingtons. The Australorps were very heat tolerant. -top of my pecking order, but still sweet and fine with being held. The Buff Orpingtons did fine, and also were very sweet and fine with being held. I do think that handling them when they're chicks and being in close contact with them regularly probably has a lot to do with their "temperaments". (and when my daughter was younger, she would regularly tote chickens in the house. -would find her with about three roosting on her whilst she worked on her computer )

 

[BurbCoop]

We started out seven years ago with three Buff Orpington hens. All three had completely different personalities and temperaments.

As others have mentioned, Buff Orpingtons can be prone to going broody on a regular basis. Some are more difficult to break than others. They are not too friendly or pleasant to be around when broody

Handling them early on can help in some cases, however, it really comes down to the individual in our experience.

 

[XAshleyX]

Both my black australorp and buff Orpington are very friendly!! I have 4 black australorps and one is a total lap chicken, one is very friendly, one is okay-will jump up occasionally, and the other is skittish. My buff Orpington will fly on me and lay down often. I also narrowed down these two breeds in terms of friendliest chickens when I was selecting breeds for my flock.