Australorp

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!

Love my girls. Incredibly consistent layers, and one leaves double yolkers every second day.

We have a flock of 20+ Australorps on our hobby farm. Having tried Brahmas, Plymouth Rocks, and Delawares, we settled on Australorps as the best breed all-around. They've thrived in our high desert climate, with temps from 15 F to 100 F. Our roo is a perfect gentleman with his ladies, humans (large and small), and other poultry.

I love this breed they are one of my favorites!!! They are so docile and pretty and can make great pets and layers . We have one hen that is laying and lays 5-6 eggs a week . This breed also makes great mother we have one hen that mothered 300 chicks in the coop!!!!

I have had my Australorps for 27 weeks. Today the final one started laying. Seven for seven in January. The first started laying at about 20 weeks. Someone is laying double yolkers!

They are pretty. A really good size. Not flighty. The eggs are large to jumbo once they have been laying for a bit.

Did a trade with a neighbor the hen for my labor. Some may say he got the better deal but to me I did. She will let my 2 year old pet her and if you have been around 2 year olds you know they still are learning the word gentle when it comes to petting animals. I've had her for 5 days now and have gotten an egg every day. This is the breed for me. I plan on raising them to sell also because of how hard it is for me to find them at laying age close to me.

I can't think of a bad thing to say about them.

They go about the business of being a chicken without much interference by me. I feed them a small ration most days out of the week, but they primarily exist on forage. They have chosen a roost spot that is not their pen, but it's not a big deal because they actually herd quite nicely when I tell them "go to bed birds". I do not expect herding behavior from chickens, but the australorp flock walks across the yard and puts themselves to bed when asked to without much effort on my part.

One nice feature is that the roos make it to a decent table/pot weight before they really start to crow, and they're totally fine living together until that time. The hens can be a little snarky, but they're also super at keeping themselves safe from the hawks and owls, so snark away, ladies!

If you're looking for a solid dual purpose homesteader type bird, look no further, this is the breed.

I love my Black Australorps! They are such sweet calm birds, even my Rooster is a cuddle bug! They are great layers. My hens aren't too noisy (although can sound amazingly like a baby is crying outside from time to time). Definitely will continue getting BA's!

This is Thelma, she is about 7.5 months now. What a good girl she is. She has been laying a beautiful brown egg at least 5 times a week since she was 18 weeks old. Very quiet, no drama just a lovely chicken. I'm a first time chicken owner and have a small flock of 4, a SS, BR,EE and BA. If I knew then what I know now I would have gotten a couple more of these.

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!

We have had them for over a year now and there very good layers of a large brown egg, also easy to handle. we can just walk up to one and it will let us pick them up.

I bought my Australorps at 2 weeks old and hand raised them and they have now grown up so much and are 1 month away from leg laying! As a first time chicken owner I did my research before selecting a breed and read through the reviews on this site as well as experiences of other people I know. Everyone person I've spoken to or read about have praised the Australorps as being a great breed that not only is pretty to look at but produces good eggs and wastes no time doing so. My Australorps are extremely intelligent and know exactly what to do when they want their water cleaned out or new food or are looking for something to play with! I would recommend this breed to any first time chicken owners and they are great as they've got it all! A dual purpose bird (meat and eggs!) although I only have them for eggs, look pretty, are hilarious and develop their own little personalities (much more so compared to my ISA chicks) and are definitely not 'bird brains' !
^This photo was taken about 2 months ago and even then as little ones they were adorable! Now they're out and about the backyard and are starting to develop red combs as well as that emerald/greeny metallic colouring in the black coat - a significant trait in Australorps.

Oh my, I LOVE my Australorps! My first flock had 2 Australorps: Crooks (due to a crooked toe) and Dorothy (she developed a red comb early). After a massacre due to a raccoon Crooks was the only survivor. Her injuries healed and she is like a dog now. She comes sprinting to meal worms (or any snacks you have in your hands- watch out!) She sleeps with the silkies but whenever anyone is outside she has to be with us and checking out everything that we are doing. She lets my two year old pet and hold her. Even the day of the attack when she had significant injuries she didn't stop laying her beautiful large light brown egg daily. Now we have a pullet Crow that will be her counterpart when she is old enough who is very sweet already but has yet to start laying. Someone dropped off four Australorp chicks which will also be added to the flock.

I can't speak highly enough about Australorps. I highly recommend them to anyone that asks what breeds I like best. They are reliable layers of large eggs, they are VERY friendly, VERY resilient, and absolutely stunning birds. In the sunlight they are not just black- they are black with glimmering hints of green, blue, and purple. Love, love, love. I do need to get leg bands in order to tell the chicks apart though.

We only have one australorp named Charlie. She is our most consistent egg layer. She shut down for 2 weeks when we put baby chicks in the outside run. She did nothing but follow them back and forth along the fence all day. When we do set some eggs, she will definitely be a good momma.

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 my Australorps. They lay early and consistently and the spare males make for great eating.

My chicks are pretty but a little skiddish!

We started our first flock in October and I originally wanted to have an entire flock of Australorp's, but couldn't find any. I was thrilled to finally find one locally and just LOVE her! She was 8 weeks old when we purchased her. We have a small flock of 5 because we are in the city, but our Australorp, "Patty" is a favorite. Sweet and gentle in every way, she allows my 4 year old son to come right up to her and pick her up. Patty is calm and quiet, and is as easy going as they come. She goes along with the flock, but doesn't get picked on either. Patty will even patiently wait for her treats so as not to create a commotion. I think she is just gorgeous too, we have nicknamed her "Black Beauty"-- I think she likes it because she will come to either name . I love that she is all black, even her legs, but has white toenails. One of our bravest girls, she is usually the first to step up to try new foods we offer while the others are still looking it over, deciding if its food or not.
I highly recommend this breed!

Just hatched out(with surrogate broody) ba chix and that is the ONLY reason allowing the roo to remain for awhile. He looks for every opportunity to spur me(especially when feeding/passing close) but the hens are dolls.Only breed for MY use and won't pass on stupid roos tempermant(assume you can breed it in like with dogs?) but like I said the hens have been gentle, productive and beautiful fowl to watch.