Breed of the Month: Black Australorp

   I thought it would be fun to highlight a specific breed of farm animal every month and of course I had to start with my favorite! Our current flock started with a dozen Black Australorp chicks and my daughter raised a dozen more for 4-H. I honestly wasn't too thrilled about my husbands breed choice at first. They seemed boring to me and I wanted a fancy, colorful bird. As chicks they were quite skittish and I was worried they weren't going to let us handle them (I love snuggling my animals). Go figure as they grew I fell head over heels for these chickens.
   Black Australorps originate from Australia and were bred from Black Orpingtons, hence their name. They're considered a heritage breed and according to the American Livestock Conservancy are recovering. So, by keeping this breed of chicken your helping to keep part of the history of homesteading alive. How cool is that?!?! If you want to know more about heritage breeds I suggest you visit http://www.livestockconservancy.org/. There's so much to love about the Black Australorp so I put together a breed summary with lots of pictures...

                                                           BLACK AUSTRALORP

• Breed Purpose- These are dual purpose chickens, meaning they are used for eggs and meat. They are fast growing with roos coming in at about 8.5lbs. and hens at 7lbs. We have butchered three Australorps and got quite a bit of delicious, tender meat from them.
     
• One of the Australorp roosters that we butchered
• Temperament- Australorps have to be one of the sweetest breeds we own. Our girls follow us around like little puppies and we hold them constantly. Our girls are very chatty as well, they talk and talk all day! As for the roos, they take their job seriously. They always keep an out for their hens and run them to safety if need be. With that said, I've been spurred on three separate occasions, by three different Australorp roosters (these would be the ones we butchered), So if you're looking for a rooster with some people skills, this probably isn't the breed for you.
  

                                                                    My sweet Tallulah

• Egg Laying- These chickens are fabulous egg layers. Black Australorps have broken the world egg laying record on several different occasions. One Australorp hen even went as far as laying 364 eggs in 365 days! They're winter hardy so, they'll continue to lay through the cold weather season. They lay large, light brown eggs.
  

                                                                     Australorp eggs

• Broodiness- I've seen many websites classify the Australorps broodiness as "average". From experience I can say that seems accurate. We had a few of our girls go broody this year but, not all of them. If you're thinking about hatching eggs under a hen, I would definitely recommend this breed. One of our Australorps recently hatched two chicks and she has been an excellent mother. She's very watchful and protective of her babies, but has always allowed us to handle them.
  
                                                  Mama our Australorp hatching chicks
  
  

                                                              Here she is with her babies

   Whether you're just planning out your flock or are looking to add a new breed, I would highly recommend the Black Australorp. They've made an excellent addition to our homestead and we're absolutely in love with our girls. Happy Homesteading!