Featured Breed/Variety for the month of July 2012

Black Australorps 

I can honestly say that My Australorps are about the best layers that I have. The Black Australorp was developed in Australia, from Black Orpingtons imported from England, hence the name: Austral for Australia and Orp for Orpington. Before the name was widely adopted they were also called Australian Orpingtons and Australian Laying Orpingtons. The first Australorps in the United States were imported in the early 1920s, and they were accepted into the American Poultry Association’s Standard of Perfection in 1929. They are  extremely docile, dignified, calm, and sweet and they don’t mind being confined and tend to be a little shy.Australorps are smaller than English Orpingtons and are more dependable layers. They will lay in excess of 200 brown eggs each year, and some have been known to lay as many as 300. One hen set a record by laying 364 eggs in 365 days! Black Australorps, while smaller than the English Orpingtons from which they were originally derived, are still heavy chickens. They have big, stately bodies. The bottoms of their feet are pink, and they have a comb with five points. My Australorps are from Jeff Thornton. He got his start from APA breeder Mr. Wiley.