Find out why Australorps - a heritage breed originally from Australia - are our favorite homestead chicken breed. Hint: Think lots of eggs and sweet personalities...plus more! Blog: www.Proverbs31Homestead.com
We recently got 20 chicks, four different breeds. But I've got to say my 5 australorps have to be my favorites, everytime I go to their coop they come over to greet me
Thank you for the video. Not knowing much I was given some Old English game foul chicks about 3 months ago. I have since then realized it was a big mistake. After some research I decided on purchaseing Austrolorps and just got 6 babies 2 days ago. I was hoping to get the right ones for my little homestead and your video has reaffirmed that I did Now I have to get rid of the OEG chickens which isn't going to be easy for me.
I call them Goth Ninja Chickens. 😄 But seriously, I lived on a mini farm for a year, and at first they had Leghorn chickens, but one day he had someone come pick them up, then another guy come and drop off Australorps. The Leghorns were an unruly bunch, kind of like spoiled kids running around Toy-R-Us, but the Australorps seemed to read our minds, and when it was time to round em up and get em in the coop, they would automatically start heading for the coop. And the egg production was a world of difference. Those chickens were mellow and friendly. I even thought that we should start naming them. 😆
I like Australorps too. Mine are about 8 weeks old now and I don't know if they are male or female. Twenty eight years ago we had Rhode Island Reds. Those were really fun chickens to have. Our chickens back then just ran around the farm. We lost some to foxes and hawks. Now I am keeping these ones in a pen and a locked shed converted to a chicken coop. I picked these up at Tractor Supply during the last week of August. I got 15 chicks at .40 cents each. Eight look like Bard Rock and the other seven are Australorp.
Wow the price of chickens 4 yes ago. I just paid 3.99 a chicken for 4 minimum. Only reason I got 5 because they let me take a bird that didn't look so well this thing was twitching and on its back, couldn't stand. The lady at tractor supply said she'd give it to me for free(amerucanas) if I bought 4. Her name is Tiny now and she's strong and running around with the black australorps i bought just the week earlier. I seriously love these chickens. They are so friendly and funny!
We live in Australia and we are 3 weeks into winter ( 24/6/23 ), and have just been Blessed with 4 beautiful little black and white Australorp chickens . As we don’t have a rooster at this stage , we bought some eggs and gave them to a gorgeous Isa Brown hen , 30weeks old , who became clucky for the first time . She is the most caring and delightful mother you could wish for -the 4 chicks don’t know how lucky they are ( only 8 days old ) . The Australorps will have a job to be better than our darling Isa Brown - we call her and her sister “ The Jazzy Girls “ as they are very vocal !!!!!
I started 8 Australorps in a brooder in my bedroom too! Mine moved into their 'teenager housing' a couple of days ago int the tractor shed, they are loving the extra space. Maybe two more weeks and out into the home paddock to forage and play, we're in Australia so it's late spring and perfect timing.
@@renatajastrzebski3081 mine are currently living outside. Its getting cold at night but their doing great. I have 7 australorp living with 6 cochins, 2 jersey giants, and 5 ayam cemani. They are occupying the big coop. I call it the love shack lol We are in kentucky in the U.S.
Kristina, I was told black australorps were the quietest of all hens and I was thinking of just two or three being in a rural area where we are just 16' feet from our neighbors and I'm really worried about their noise. I would love to hear from you on how loud they are or maybe a video of actually recording what they sound like 6am wanting to get out of their coups, etc. Right now I'm really on the fence over whether to give this a shot or not (wish there was a mute chicken...lol).
We have mixed breeds right now, though we are switching back to all Australops very soon!), so I can't video them for you. But Australops are very quiet. Unlike out other hens, they dont squabble amongst themselves!
My 3 Australorps are probably my favorite ones too. Coming in as equally as good are Isa Browns. Do you mix your own feed? If so, would be nice to see a video.
Hens, in general, are not very noisy. In my experience, Australops are less likely to argue with each other, which makes them quieter. They still like to announce that they've laid an egg, though.
Is your rooster around any children? Curious as to their disposition around my grandkids 3 and 5 years old. I'm ordering 10 hens and was considering a rooster too,if they're fairly easy going.
@@azurehue2248 I appreciate your input. I'll think about it this week and see what I come up with. I've got 3 other hens(mixed breeds) that were give to me and the kids love them. I'll be building a new coop and run separate from my current one for the new chickens. The grandkids love them and it's good to help with teaching them responsibility. Thanks again,god bless!
Not typically. All hens tend to sing a "I laid an egg song," however. The only time my chickens are noisy is when they detect danger from a predator or they are arguing over a nesting box. (It doesn't matter how many nesting boxes you supply, they all want to lay in the same one :) ) I would talk to your neighbor and offer to bring them backyard fresh eggs periodically :)
Australorp seems to be my favorite right now. I’m getting a rooster tomorrow and I just can’t wait. We had to fix up our coop and run better bc something got in there and got all but one ISA Brown so she needs a friend plus I’m getting black Australorp chicks What’s a good breed roster should I have with my ISA Brown hens.
Question: Do they need a lot of coop space in order to lay well? I have had 2 of these this year that I bought from someone else. After 6 weeks of not getting a single egg I sold her but the new owners insists she started laying for them immediately (and they have a MUCH larger coop than me). I bought another one a few weeks ago. After 1 week I got an egg (to be expected due to the stress of moving)....then 3 days later another egg....then a week after that a 3rd egg. Nothing since then and it has been a month. There is a chance she is hiding them in a very nearby wooded lot but I haven't been able to find any. She shares a coop with 3 OEB's; 2 hens and a roo but I sold them a few days ago. The only other chicken in there is an ISA brown. I do not see her getting picked on. Very frustrating because I LOVE this breed but pointless to keep her if she's not gonna lay.
The rule of thumb is 2 to 3 square feet per bird, for health reasons. More is better. BUT time of year matters, too, as does the age of the bird. Chickens don't lay much when they are molting, and slow down when there is less light in winter. If chickens are allowed to lay naturally, their laying peters out at around age 3. If someone stimulates them to lay more by putting artificial light in the coop, this will happen faster. Also, poulets (I call them teenage hens) don't lay consistently. And yes, it's possible for hens to have nests hidden somewhere if they free range.
Hi , Kristina , im planning on getting a few all purpose chickens soon ? Could you tell me if these Australorp are very quiet ? This is the biggest hurdle for me to find . I don't want neighbor complaining about the noise is all . I want quiet chickens ! Lol. HELP ! LOL
I generally find them pretty quiet. They do announce it when they lay an egg, but otherwise, I've found them well suited to both suburban and rural living.
Kristina Seleshanko Thank you very much for the reply! I don’t mind the egg song...laying an egg is something to be proud of. I look forward to raising them.
How are your Roosters? I was given 3 hens and 1 Rooster all about a year. He is good with his hens but wants to chase me if I get to close. I haven't been able to pick them up but one sweet hen comes running to me thinking I have food. She will actually eat out of my hand.
Are this bird better off then most when it comes to hawks? I've heard hawks think they are Crows and don't take them as often. Is this true? Anyone know?
I have recent experience with this! We've never had a hawk problem because of tree cover over our run, but recently had a hawk tried to steal a hen. Black Australorps did not frighten it, but it was a particularly aggressive type of hawk.
In general, hens are good layers for their first three years. After that, their laying will slowly drop off. If you put lights on your hens to make them lay more eggs during winter, they may only lay well for a couple of years. Thanks for subscribing!
After about 3 years, their laying slows some. A bit sooner if you supplement with light during the winter and make them lay more than they normally would.
Generally, no. They live peacefully together. They sing an "egg song" when they lay eggs, and they can squabble over the nesting box (even if you have more than one), just like other hens. But in my experience, they squabble much less (and much less obnoxiously) than other breeds.
I have read that some hawks will leave them alone because they look like large crows, but this past year, we had a hawk try to steal one of our hens. It wasn't an Australorp, but black Australorps were right there beside it. The hawk, however, was a more aggressive Northern Goshawk.
True...but wild chicken relatives are very different from the modern domesticated chicken. I've seen too many chickens become ill when they eat only forage.
Kristina Seleshanko They’ve been domesticated, not genetically mutated, but ok, I’ll allow that because I don’t want to sit here typing for an hour, explaining evolution. Fortunately for me, I have never seen an ill chicken from eating only a wild and foraging diet. I’ve also never heard of another Australorp laying 364 eggs in one year save for that single chicken from 98 years ago. Are people still really going crazy about a world record older than my grandma? Each to their own 😊.
@@makyronkingoferidu3016 I mean to be in touch with you through email, what'sapp or Facebook,, as am currently raising few chicken however I need to have someone who I rely on to answer some of my questions and guide me through the process
