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FreshFarmEggs said:
Ok, think I finally got to the IL page. New at the forums thing. In N central IL...
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welcome-byc.gif
and to the Illinois thread!
I'm in Lee County....where are you in N central IL?

No Austrolorps here...just Icelandics and New Hampshires.
 
FreshFarmEggs said:
Ok, think I finally got to the IL page. New at the forums thing. In N central IL...
Click to expand...
welcome-byc.gif


No Blk Australorps here, but I tried to get some this year. I was looking for an egg laying machine to pick up the slack for my orpingtons. I like the way BAs look, but settled for RIR & Isa-brown. Hope one of them will do well in my mixed flock.

Just curious, are your BAs affectionate & docile? I hear so many mixed reviews. I had one a few years ago who never came when called. Whenever she was given lap time, she pooped on us! (Most chickens stand or fidget to let you know they need to go back. No warning, then poop!) Her nickname became "Poopie Poo" & soon no one remembered her name was supposed to be Licorice. She was kind of skittish like our Leghorn mix and disliked being picked up. She laid well. However since I label our eggs with the date & hen's name, no one wanted to eat Poopie Poo eggs. Abbreviation "PP" didn't help much! We ended up rehoming her because we have limited coop space. She wasn't bad, but her personality wasn't a good fit. (We're used to chickens who come running & flapping when called & also fly into our laps as soon as we sit down.) She also became a little bossy & terrorized the new flock members. I'm not sure if she was unusual or if BAs are a more dominant breed.

How about RIR & Isa-Browns? Does anyone have experience with them?
 
Faraday40 said:
:welcome

No Blk Australorps here, but I tried to get some this year. I was looking for an egg laying machine to pick up the slack for my orpingtons.  I like the way BAs look, but settled for RIR & Isa-brown.  Hope one of them will  do well in my mixed flock.

Just curious, are your BAs affectionate & docile?  I hear so many mixed reviews.   I had one a few years ago who never came when called.  Whenever she was given lap time, she pooped on us! (Most chickens stand or fidget to let you know they need to go back.  No warning, then poop!)  Her nickname became "Poopie Poo" & soon no one remembered her name was supposed to be Licorice.  She was kind of skittish like our Leghorn mix and disliked being picked up.  She laid well. However since I label our eggs with the date & hen's name, no one wanted to eat Poopie Poo eggs.  Abbreviation "PP" didn't help much!  We ended up rehoming her because we have limited coop space.  She wasn't bad, but her personality wasn't a good fit. (We're used to chickens who come running & flapping when called & also fly into our laps as soon as we sit down.)   She also became a little bossy & terrorized the new flock members.  I'm not sure if she was unusual or if BAs are a more dominant breed.

How about RIR & Isa-Browns? Does anyone have experience with them?
Click to expand...


We have four Isa browns from last year and they have been pretty wonderful for us in our mixed flock. We do have one that never really warmed up to us but for the most part they're very sweet and friendly. We also have two of them that pull on your pant legs like small children wanting attention. They're great and we would consider more in the future which is saying something since I was originally worried about their hybrid nature. They are pretty calm and friendly and very curious from our experience.
 
Faraday40 said:
:welcome

No Blk Australorps here, but I tried to get some this year. I was looking for an egg laying machine to pick up the slack for my orpingtons.  I like the way BAs look, but settled for RIR & Isa-brown.  Hope one of them will  do well in my mixed flock.

Just curious, are your BAs affectionate & docile?  I hear so many mixed reviews.   I had one a few years ago who never came when called.  Whenever she was given lap time, she pooped on us! (Most chickens stand or fidget to let you know they need to go back.  No warning, then poop!)  Her nickname became "Poopie Poo" & soon no one remembered her name was supposed to be Licorice.  She was kind of skittish like our Leghorn mix and disliked being picked up.  She laid well. However since I label our eggs with the date & hen's name, no one wanted to eat Poopie Poo eggs.  Abbreviation "PP" didn't help much!  We ended up rehoming her because we have limited coop space.  She wasn't bad, but her personality wasn't a good fit. (We're used to chickens who come running & flapping when called & also fly into our laps as soon as we sit down.)   She also became a little bossy & terrorized the new flock members.  I'm not sure if she was unusual or if BAs are a more dominant breed.

How about RIR & Isa-Browns? Does anyone have experience with them?
Click to expand...

I have some of both personalities. It seems as they get older, they get sweeter as my younger girls are kinda skittish. They are not aggressive by my standards, but they are definitely leaders and keep an organized flock for sure. When they first hatch they are very docile and then juveniles are bonkers and then they seem to settle down again once they start laying consistently. I haven't had any other breed lay the way they do. I have eggs year round except for molt. They are by far my favorites as a rule. I have a couple of other breeds, but only several of each are as sweet as the Austrolorps. Had RIR and didn't care for them much compared to the BA. Have a few PR and they actually can be very sweet, but are more aggressive in a flock as they are terrible peckers. Have some Hampshire crosses and they're my middle grounders. Have some barred and they are not real hip on aggressors as they would like to be bossy, but my older girls won't let them.
 
FreshFarmEggs said:
Thank You!! Any Austrolorp people here?
Click to expand...
In my mixed flock, I have about twenty Australorps. They are a very nice bird and good egg layer, but I was surprised at how broody they can be. I had three different mothers go broody on me between late last winter and summer time last year. I had one successfully hatch out some chicks and the other two adopted chicks I bought. They are great mothers. Then toward mid summer last year, I had three go broody on me at the same time. By this time I had my own fertile eggs. I gave each one six eggs and they ended up hatching out 15 of them and raised them all together as a team.
 

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