Australorp

The Australorp has to be the ultimate backyard chicken.

My first flock was mixed and the Australorps stood out as the best layers, and having the best personality and temperament. Though much larger than the other breeds, they sat in the middle of the pecking order, not that there was much pecking on their part.

After 7 years of neglect, only the Australorps are left. I had figured them to be at the end of their productive life and bought chicks to "replace" them (I can't see Gertrude and Myrtle ending up in a pot), then come Spring they started laying 3-4 eggs each a week down from 5-6 in their peak laying years. Once the new pullets start laying, I'll need to start actively selling to keep from being buried in eggs. Should be able to run a slight profit with them at a bargain price.

They are very friendly and not the least be flighty. They are talkative, but not loud. They always call to me if they see me in the yard asking for treats, which are usually weeds or kitchen scraps. Man, they love weeds and I wish I could let them forage more, but concerns over avian flu and a Russell terrier mix keeps me from letting them forage unsupervised. The dog has finally learned to leave them be for the most part after 3 years, but she got a couple hens before that.

Mine went broody a couple months ago and hasn't laid since after I got her off of it. Before she went broody she laid huge eggs, alot. Also make sure you have on a 20% protein diet to keep their feathers looking good, like a flock raiser feed or a all flock feed. Very pretty, even without laying in a while. I dont mind it.

I got mine as a rescue, brought in same day -from a local farm, with few other shabby looking birds- whose physical appearance would give out right away their story. Though I didn't ask-for it was obvious; also- every person working there had a different story about the background of the birds- whether they lay eggs or not (one said every day, they just laid eggs today, another says - not for a long time, so you have to buy them this layer food, third says these hens were just fooling with the rooster- so you are getting eggs tonight!! and the rooster looks like he had a career as a fighter in Argentina)... so I pick up my Gailina (hen in Spanish) and I am surprised she is so timid as her size is quite large- yet her beak is broken off; and she had big skin tags as well-visible signs of abuse or neglect; but then again- I bought her during the winter - when no one is selling egg layers, so I was like -ok! I will nurture her back to health.
Gailina seemed like the sweetest thing, until I put her in a flock with other small chicks- she made the duck bleed; dug out all my lettuce from my greenhouse, ate my new apple trees, then finished off with the tomato sprouts bed- and all of that while she still wasn't laying! Well-after ravishing my greenhouse I thought enough! - I am bringing this hen back! And the next day there it goes - she lays; next day yet again, and again! Then she starts to be sweet with me; seeks attention, yet the only way for her to not be territorial with the other chicks is to be left in her coop. She would leave her food, while all birds are eating, only to sneak behind the others-so to bully them out of their food-even when that is not the food she likes eating-Just to pick on them!! -and this is when I find out she feels rather sleepy and needs to go back to her coop. Somehow I feel like she challenges me to be hard with her- because she doesn't have a rooster her size; I have about given up she would lay eggs until she killed greenhouse produce which got me so mad I locked her up right away and she started laying! The day before she would come around me picking on my construction gloves while I was working on my pond. It was hard to chase her off! Its very interesting, temperamental hen; would also swing her tail a lot. Is that normal?

I love my Black Australorp, Jasmine. She’s so sweet, friendly, and gorgeous!

She is now a good layer. I’m not sure if they are usually late bloomers, but Jasmine didn’t start laying for a year.

For a while, she was top of the pecking order, and would sometimes peck our toes. Not very nice, but ok.

Then, one day, she was attacked. She and her flock mates had been free ranging in the yard. Usually dogs don’t roam free in the neighborhood, (many people keep chickens) but the neighbors dog escaped. The dog ran down the street, and bit Jasmine hard.

I thought Jasmine was a goner. She was barely alive. She couldn’t walk, and had huge teeth marks on her back. We took her to an avian vet, who said she had bad nerve damage, and there was only the slightest chance she would ever be able to join the flock again. It was either months of medicine, thousands of dollars, and Jasmine living in the house, or she would have to be out down.

The medicine was what was chosen. Although it was expensive, we wanted to give her the chance of survival. She stayed in the house for months. (And let me tell you, a chicken loving in the spare bedroom is stinky!) but after those long months, she slowly learned to walk on one foot, and use her wings to move farther. And guess what? She’s all the way back to normal! And much sweeter to. A few months after that, she lauded her first egg. (Oops, Sorry about this ramble!)

Anyway, I love Australorps, and recommend them to anyone.

I love my Australorp hens! They're beautiful and so soft. Both are friendly and don't mind attention. One of them likes to crawl into my husband's lap and snuggle regardless of what he's doing or if he's in the mood for chicken love. They get along well with everyone else in our mixed flock. I've never seen them pick on anyone else and nobody really picks on them. They're just the bff to everyone else. Oh, and eggs for days! They consistently lay an egg a day. We've rarely missed one and when we thought they were slowing down, we found a rat snake in the coop so I can't blame that week on the girls

Consistent layer of large eggs and quiet most of the time. May become noisy if they perceive something is amiss. Loves to free range. Not very friendly but does remain curious when I offer corn, bread or any other snack.

They are so sweet!! I had 3 of them!! Those names are duck, margarita, and forgot the last name of my other bird. Duck was the runt out of them, the first day we got them she played in the water!! Day old chicks!! She was debeaked!! I love them so much!!

This isn’t a true review as I have had my 4 chicks only 5 days. But since I was getting so few and they are truly “pets with benefits” I based my 4 choices on the reviews of others. So far ... perfect!

Like the breed well enough i got two more Australorp chicks when adding to my flock.

I has a rooster named Duke and a hen named Raven a while back. What a beautiful chicken. Beautiful black glossy feathers with green/purple/blue tinges of color. Duke very protective of the girls and would call them when he found something good to eat. She laid all year and into the winter. They are quiet, cold hardy, dual chicken. Duke was a big boy, came up to my mid thigh. These are wonderful chickens for anyone to have.

Good producers, but not meant for the southern states brutal summers.

I currently have one Australorp, they are good layers and gorgeous looking. Originally had two, the other was lovely (she died unfortunately) this one however is soo bossy and sometimes aggressive, even the dog is scared of her, she will sometimes fly at me and peck me. She is friendly but sometimes it seems like she wants to be a rooster, she also gets quite broody though.

We have several Australorps in our flock, they are very friendly sweet birds. Our girls run up to us every time we go to the coop you have to be careful where you step as to not step on them as they are always underfoot. They are very calm and have very laid back personalities. They are a bit lower on the pecking order but not bullied by the others in the flock. We never have any issues introducing new birds into the flock the Australorps are always very welcoming to the new girls. They are fantastic layers!

I love raising this breed, and I'm always touched by their sweetness. I've raised them for 18 years, and I will be adding new chicks to my flock next Spring. They are wonderful, and really smart!

Over protective over food and me, two of them attack my other breeds when I touch or feed them. They will eat just about anything you put in front of them but when they only receive layer pellet, they follow me around clucking and begging for snacks. They are very broody and will sit on their eggs for hours and when i take them away they go sit on my duck egg nests. But these girls are so social, they walk right into the house and dont flinch when the 80 pound dogs sprint by (or over) them. These are the girls I have harnesses for that will follow me around the feed store!

My Australorps are sweet and beautiful. My head hen can be a little bossy to the other flock members but for the most part gets along great with the other hens. When we are ready to set her she will be an excellent mother. Very dedicated. Goes broody too frequently though. Great interaction with humans. Fun, loving personalities!