Poultry Talk Ontario (pto.ca)

A good Standard bred bird is a good production bird.
But, in all breeds of poultry you need to pay attention to line and strain. This knowledge is strengthened by years. So when you get your birds and pay attention to the traits you feel are important to your farm.
Duel purpose birds are just that duel. If you want a great meat bird then egg production will be less and visa versa, egg production is less than a meat bird.
The Australorp is a slow maturing bird much like the JG. Meaning you will need to grow out your bird to at least 26 weeks to have a body for the table that is not mostly bone.
That being said. Any standard breed is great for a newbie. Just be clear that your expectations meets the same as a birds genetic makeup.

with la-chicken

scottishpet wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 05, 2018 8:31 pm

windwalkingwolf, you seem to know a wee bit about Australorps. Do you think they are a good choice of a newbie who wants a heritage breed and good quality egg layer? :question:

How much I know is debatable, but I would say absolutely, yes, perfect choice, but with a caveat: find yourself a breeder if you can. Most breeders won't suffer aggressive birds, and some people (I think @Killerbunny ? ) have found hatchery 'Lorps can be nasty to each other.

Yes I found the line I had very aggressive. The boys scalped one of my hens (Princess) and tried to kill the chicks of a broody. I eventually sent Little Mama to Jan and she fitted in just fine there. Interestingly I still have one of her daughters and she is just fine, still laying at 5 years.

I don't think you should expect them to go broody either as they were bred for egg production originally.

See those wee nuggets of info are worth their weight in gold! I shall try to find a breeder then, thanks for the heads up. I had originally thought about a duel purpose heritage breed, but since I want to eventually get into some chicken tractors and raise some broilers, I perhaps should just focus on a good laying breed(s) for the coop and the broilers are a different goal or breed completely at least to start with. Old hens can go for raw dog food so a "meat" type bird is not a worry. A bonus when the breed does both, but the Australorp seems to me to be a good choice. I think it will really come down to finding the breed/breeder locally or within a shortish distance so I can keep in touch and ask if what my wee flock is doing is normal or not. I also think if I am hearing right from several different posts,when someone is doing with their chickens what I want to do, it is a good place to start. If they are showing their birds and they live in isolation, perhaps their particular line of that breed may be atypical to what one might expect. :lightbulb:

This is really good information! Thanks.
Other than getting some hatching experience under my belt, the only other thing that may be stopping me from getting a purebred / heritage breed is the price tag for them. That being said, if I really want them, then I would need to learn about poultry breeding, lineage, etc., which is another "chapter".

I only keep exhibition quality Australorps now. I had some large white Cornish for a while but they were too flighty in my opinion.