Yes, nearly everything in the Australorp SOP is "medium" but that doesn't make these beauties average or ordinary or commonplace -- it makes them iconic and awesome!
Seriously, the Australorp perfectly fits my mental model of what a chicken ought to be. They have an alert, upright posture, but not unnaturally U-shaped like a Langshan. They're broad and solid, but not so round as to have that feathered basketball look of their distant-ancestor Orpingtons. They have large single combs that aren't so large as to fall over like a Leghorn's. Everything about them is in nice proportion without any extremes.
Their temperament is as moderate as their physical characteristics, being active and alert but not flighty or wild. They get along well in the flock. None of mine are cuddle-pets, because I don't raise them to be that way, but they're friendly and follow me all around as I tend the coop and run. I only have experience with about 8-10 Australorp cockerels and one mature rooster so far, but mine have all been polite and well-behaved and, while any breed has it's outliers, they don't have a reputation for human-aggression.
The hens are good layers, though some do go broody, and reliably provide medium-to-large, light-to-medium brown eggs starting on the early end of the average.
They're tolerant of heat, coming through my steamy North Carolina summers without problems and reputedly take cold equally well, though I have no direct experience of it.
Most Australorps are black, but blues are available from a number of US hatcheries and whites exist, though they are very rare.
IMO, they're as close to a perfect backyard bird as you can get.
Post your Australorp photos and stories here. It's time to give these awesome birds the recognition they deserve!
Seriously, the Australorp perfectly fits my mental model of what a chicken ought to be. They have an alert, upright posture, but not unnaturally U-shaped like a Langshan. They're broad and solid, but not so round as to have that feathered basketball look of their distant-ancestor Orpingtons. They have large single combs that aren't so large as to fall over like a Leghorn's. Everything about them is in nice proportion without any extremes.
Their temperament is as moderate as their physical characteristics, being active and alert but not flighty or wild. They get along well in the flock. None of mine are cuddle-pets, because I don't raise them to be that way, but they're friendly and follow me all around as I tend the coop and run. I only have experience with about 8-10 Australorp cockerels and one mature rooster so far, but mine have all been polite and well-behaved and, while any breed has it's outliers, they don't have a reputation for human-aggression.
The hens are good layers, though some do go broody, and reliably provide medium-to-large, light-to-medium brown eggs starting on the early end of the average.
They're tolerant of heat, coming through my steamy North Carolina summers without problems and reputedly take cold equally well, though I have no direct experience of it.
Most Australorps are black, but blues are available from a number of US hatcheries and whites exist, though they are very rare.
IMO, they're as close to a perfect backyard bird as you can get.
Post your Australorp photos and stories here. It's time to give these awesome birds the recognition they deserve!
