Australorp Chickens: The Record-Breaking Layer

From Orpington to Australorp

According to The Livestock Conservancy, Black Orpingtons from the English breeders William Cook and Joseph Partington were imported into Australia between 1890 and about 1900. Australian breeders focused hard on laying ability, adding a little Minorca, White Leghorn and Langshan blood, and developed several bloodlines between 1900 and 1922. The name, short for Australian Black Orpington, was settled in the early 1920s.

The breed's reputation was made in egg-laying contests. The Conservancy records a pen of six hens at Geelong, Victoria, that laid 1,857 eggs in 365 days in 1922 to 1923, an average of more than 309 each, and individual hens later laid 347 and even 364 eggs in a year. The American Poultry Association recognized the Australorp in 1929.

Appearance and size

In the US only the black variety is recognized, though other colors exist abroad. In sunlight the black feathers show a beautiful green-purple sheen. Australorps have fairly close-fitting feathers, a moderately large single red comb, red earlobes, dark brown eyes, a black beak and slate-colored legs with pinkish-white soles.

The Livestock Conservancy lists weights of about 8.5 pounds for roosters and 6.5 pounds for hens, making them medium-heavy birds, lighter and tighter-feathered than their Orpington ancestors. The extension service notes Australorps are dark-feathered and slower growing than broiler strains, and are sometimes raised as meat birds too.

Eggs

The Conservancy says a backyard Australorp lays 250 or more medium to large, tinted to light brown eggs a year, which puts it among the most productive heritage breeds. The extension service also lists it as an egg breed that lays brown eggs. Hens usually start laying at around five to six months and keep up good production through their first few years.

Laying slows in the short days of winter and pauses during the annual molt. Feed a complete layer ration once hens begin laying, with oyster shell on the side, and keep them lean: the Conservancy notes Australorps can get fat if kept fully confined, which can reduce laying.

Temperament

Australorps are friendly, active and gentle, and the Livestock Conservancy notes that this includes the roosters, which is unusual. It calls them a good breed for children showing in 4-H and youth competitions, and says they get along well with other calm breeds. Many become tame enough to eat from your hand.

Although breeders tried to reduce broodiness, the breed is generally considered a good sitter and mother, so a hen may go broody in spring or summer. They do well in confinement if they also get time to forage, and they are not strong fliers, so a standard fence usually keeps them in.

Is an Australorp right for you?

Choose Australorps if you want a high egg count without giving up a friendly, easy-to-handle bird, a breed that children can show, or a hen that copes with cold winters. They fit well in mixed flocks of calm breeds and are content in a roomy run with some foraging time.

Think twice if you live somewhere very hot with little shade, since black feathers absorb heat, or if you want white eggs. Many keepers pair Australorps with a lighter-colored breed so the flock is easy to tell apart and the egg basket stays full all year.

Housing and climate

Their dense black feathering helps them cope with cold winters, but black birds absorb heat, and the Conservancy specifically says Australorps need ample shade in warm weather to avoid overheating. In the South, provide shaded runs, good airflow in the coop and plenty of cool water. Single combs can get frostbite in harsh northern winters, so keep the coop dry and ventilated. Our chicken coops, such as this wooden chicken coop, and nesting boxes, such as the chicken nest box, cover the housing side, and the chicken coop buying guide explains what to look for.

Plan at least 4 square feet per bird in the coop and 10 square feet in the run, with a nest box for every four or five hens. Call a vet who treats poultry if a hen pants heavily with her wings held out in heat, stops eating, sits hunched and fluffed, or has trouble breathing.

This page is general information, not veterinary advice, and it cannot replace advice from a veterinarian who treats poultry.