We're very new to chickens, just in the learning phase at the moment. After doing a bit of online research, we settled on black australorps, as all the major sites I checked said they're very docile, friendly, and easygoing, which is a concern for us since we have three (soon to be four) kids under the age of 6. However, I just read in Sue Weaver's book on chickens that australorps are not particularly heat-hardy, which contradicts what I've read online. She also didn't list them among the particularly easygoing breeds.
So now I'm in a quandry as to what to start with. Here are our particulars:
- We've got young children, and we would like them to be involved in caring for the flock, so we'd like a docile, friendly breed.
- We live in the northwest corner of AL, about 10 miles from the MS state line and 45 miles from TN. Our temps are a bit higher than the average year-round, summer afternoon highs in the upper 80s, winter evening lows in the upper 20s, although this past winter we had a number of significantly colder days and significantly warmer days last summer. Humidity stays higher than average year-round as well, 80-90% most summer days. We have a good bit of space on the property, but not much shade other than from the house.
- Don't particularly care about egg color, although I like brown eggs. Large eggs are preferable to medium ones.
- I'd prefer a dual-purpose or heritage breed. On a personal level, I just don't feel good about the way meat birds and super-layers have been breed to exhibit unnatural characteristics. We'd like to have meat occasionally, but egg production is a bit higher on the priority list, as we go through a fair number of eggs in a week.
- We also considered buff orpingtons, but opted for the australorp since it lays more frequently.
Any advice you all could offer would be most appreciated!
So now I'm in a quandry as to what to start with. Here are our particulars:
- We've got young children, and we would like them to be involved in caring for the flock, so we'd like a docile, friendly breed.
- We live in the northwest corner of AL, about 10 miles from the MS state line and 45 miles from TN. Our temps are a bit higher than the average year-round, summer afternoon highs in the upper 80s, winter evening lows in the upper 20s, although this past winter we had a number of significantly colder days and significantly warmer days last summer. Humidity stays higher than average year-round as well, 80-90% most summer days. We have a good bit of space on the property, but not much shade other than from the house.
- Don't particularly care about egg color, although I like brown eggs. Large eggs are preferable to medium ones.
- I'd prefer a dual-purpose or heritage breed. On a personal level, I just don't feel good about the way meat birds and super-layers have been breed to exhibit unnatural characteristics. We'd like to have meat occasionally, but egg production is a bit higher on the priority list, as we go through a fair number of eggs in a week.
- We also considered buff orpingtons, but opted for the australorp since it lays more frequently.
Any advice you all could offer would be most appreciated!
