Chickens Australorp - features of breed breeding
The Australorp meat chicken first appeared in Australia in the 19th century. To breed a new subspecies, two breeds were taken: Croad Langshan and Black Orpington. As a result of selective work, an early maturing bird with good meat and egg productivity was bred; it became widespread in Russia in 1946.
Chickens Australorp
Brief information about the breed
- Direction: meat-and-meat.
- Rooster weight: 3.6-4 kg.
- Chicken weight: 2.7-2.9 kg.
- Ovipositor start: first clutch can be expected 135 days after birth.
- Egg production: 160-200 pcs., Sometimes 300 eggs.
- Egg size: 56-58 g.
- Immunity: the bird is resistant to diseases, but does not tolerate cold and sudden changes in temperature.
- Features of the breed: not demanding in nutrition and maintenance, does not like frosts.
- Are newbies suitabley: yes.
general characteristics
The Australorp hen breed has a bright and memorable appearance. The plumage is dense, black with an emerald sheen. Fluff of a resinous tone. The rooster can have a variegated tail and neck.
Main settings:
- the head is compact, rounded, small;
- the crest is red, small, erect, divided into 3-4 segments in both males and females;
- eyes, earrings, lobes and beak are black;
- the chest is wide, the body is well developed, dense;
- the wings are large, fit snugly to the body;
- the tail is of medium length, in relation to the frame is located at an angle of 40-45 ° С.
Culling
The most common defects will help you select healthy chicks and discard those unsuitable for further breeding:
- short, small and narrow body;
- long, black and white tail;
- the lobes are covered with white spots;
- eyes are red or pale pink;
- feathers contain purple or golden brown tint;
- the teeth on the ridge are too narrow or deformed;
- yellow soles;
- variegated plumage.
Temper
The bird is endowed with a calm and peaceful character, which allows it to be kept in the same courtyard with other breeds.
There are no conflicts or fights between the cockerels, they are supportive of the young and the owner.
Types of color
In the USA, only one type is allowed by the standard - black with a marble sheen. In Australia, breeders have used the original breed to breed other subspecies with black, white, black and white and blue plumage.
In South Africa, the color scheme is much more varied, including tribes with dark yellow, gold, wheat-lace and pockmarked colors.
Productivity
Regardless of the weather conditions and the time of year, this bird does not stop rushing. For a year, one laying hen can produce from 160 to 200 eggs, some individuals - up to 300 eggs.
Eggs with a dense, creamy brown shell, average weight 56-58 g.
The first clutch can be expected 135 days after birth.Starting from the age of two, egg productivity decreases, therefore, during this period, old individuals are replaced with pullets.
Birds quickly gain weight: by 8 months, the rooster weighs 3.6-4 kg, the chicken - 2.7-2.9 kg. Young animals have a good survival rate - almost 95%, and adults - 88%.
Advantages and disadvantages
Chickens are unpretentious in care
Based on the description of Australorp chickens, there are several main advantages of the breed.
- High adaptive abilities: they easily adapt to any conditions - moving to another chicken coop, long-term transportation, while not reducing egg production, maintaining good health.
- Performance. Poultry of a universal type - with average indicators of meat and egg production, which is ideal for many farmers.
- Chickens do not require special conditions of detention, are unpretentious in feed, so their breeding is considered a rather profitable business.
- Obedient and not conflicting, which makes it possible to keep them in the same courtyard with other domestic birds.
There are no significant shortcomings, the only thing is the weak productive abilities of young animals when mixed with different breeds.
Features of natural breeding
The black-green australorp has a good hatching instinct - the brood hen independently culls bad eggs from under itself and sits on the nest until all the chicks hatch. She takes care of her offspring until they grow up.
Eggs are usually laid in late April or early May. 15-17 pieces are laid under one chicken. They must be fresh (5-6 days), without cracks.
Select specimens of medium size, with a flat and smooth surface, not too sharp or dull, as chicks hatch from them with defects and abnormalities.
Chicks are born in 20-21 days from the moment the material is adjusted to the quail. During incubation, the hen should be provided with clean drink and balanced feed.
Incubation
Natural breeding does not always give a positive result, therefore, breeders use incubators as a safety net. Material requirements are the same as for home breeding.
No need to wash before laying eggs. The temperature regime is set at 40 ° C. It is lowered by 1 ° C once a week.
Care
The hatched chicks are placed in a wooden or cardboard box covered with warm linen, sawdust or straw.
A lamp is installed at a height of 50 cm, providing a temperature of 32-31 ° C on the first day. Every day it is lowered by 2-3 ° С, bringing it to the mark of 19 ° С.
After 10 days of keeping at home, the chickens can be taken outside - fresh air and the sun have a beneficial effect on the health of the young.
Feeding
Chickens of the black-emerald breed Australorp quickly adapt to new conditions, become active and mobile.
The diet, depending on age, is different:
- on the first day they offer a finely chopped boiled egg;
- the next day, add chopped green onion feathers;
- from the third day, you can give small cereals, fat-free cottage cheese mixed with eggshell powder;
- week-old chickens must be fed with mash of grated boiled vegetables, fruits, root crops, additionally mixed with meat and bone meal and fish meal, as well as fish oil;
- in a month and a half, the grown young growth is transferred to the general diet of adult chickens.
Drinking is no less important - on the first day, they are soldered with a glucose solution (50 g per 1 liter of water). Then they give clean water at room temperature, which is changed daily.
Features of the content
Skillful poultry houses breed offspring
Black Australorp has good resistance to cold and sudden changes in temperature, but when kept in regions with harsh winters, the bird needs to be kept dry and warm.
Poultry house
When arranging a chicken coop, it is necessary to calculate the area: at least 50 m³ will be required for one individual.
All surfaces are disinfected - they are whitened several times with slaked lime, which destroys infections and parasites.
The floor is covered with boards or tin to close all the cracks and block access to the entry of various rodents - disease carriers. A flooring of straw, sawdust, hay is laid on the bottom (thickness in winter about 40 cm, in summer - 15 cm).
Laying is carried out in sunny weather (there should be no rain and humidity) to keep the litter dry.
Along the entire perimeter of the poultry house, perches are arranged at a height that is comfortable for the bird - 40-50 cm. In secluded places, nests are installed - 1 nest for 5 layers. Wooden boxes are suitable as nests.
The required number of feeders and drinkers is placed on the floor at the rate of 4 and 3 cm of access for each individual, respectively. A basin with clay, sand or ash is placed in a place convenient for chickens - dry bathing protects against various parasites.
In the room where birds live, you need to create a good microclimate in which they will rush well, will not get sick and show aggression towards each other:
- temperature in winter 18-20 ° С, in summer - 12-13 ° С;
- humidity not higher than 60%;
- illumination with muted blue or red lamps.
Feeding
Black-marbled Australorp is undemanding to feed, but with good nutrition, productivity increases significantly.
The basis of the diet is compound feed. You can buy it at any poultry store or prepare it yourself.
It is necessary to mix several ingredients - corn, wheat (barley) cereals with meat and bone meal, sunflower meal and minerals in a ratio of 3: 4: 1: 1. At least 120 g is required per day per individual.
- In summer, they give a lot of greenery - dandelion, clover and other herbs. Additionally, they offer grated raw vegetables, roots, fruits. On the walking yard, the bird can eat chalk, gravel, shellfish.
- In the winter season, with an insufficient amount of greenery, sprouted wheat, barley, rye, meat and bone and fish meal can be given. Also, eggshells crushed into powder are mixed into the compound feed, fish oil is added. They eat well boiled grated vegetables, pieces of fresh cabbage, beets.
Also in the off-season, all livestock are given vitamins and minerals.
Drinkers should have fresh and clean water, in winter - at room temperature, in summer - cold. They change it every day.
Place for walking
Breeding this breed in the presence of a walking yard will have a beneficial effect on both health and productivity.
For one individual, 2-3 m2 of area is enough.
The courtyard is fenced off with slate, and covered with a net on top. Such a fence will protect the bird from contact with wild and neighboring individuals.
In early spring it is sown with clover, wheat, rye or oats to have fresh greens by summer. Drinking bowls, feeders, separate containers with chalk, shellfish and gravel are placed on the territory of the yard.
Molting
Usually begins in spring - within 2-3 months the bird completely loses its feather cover and stops rushing.
Shedding chickens are transferred to a separate enclosure to protect bare skin from injury, they are provided with fresh drink and a balanced diet (high in protein and low in calcium).
Under such conditions, the recovery process is reduced by several weeks.
Possible diseases
When bred in the south, black australorpes practically do not get sick; in regions with a cool climate, they often develop colds, especially when kept in a cold and damp poultry house.
First of all, it is necessary to optimize the indoor conditions in accordance with the above described standards. Then carry out treatment with Biomycin or Terramycin.
The second dangerous disease is coccidiosis. The grown-up youngsters, which are kept in a dirty poultry house, are most susceptible; feed and water changes are rarely carried out. Infected individuals are allowed to be slaughtered, since this disease is difficult to cure.
Of the parasites, lice, fluff, feather eaters, bedbugs annoy.They appear when the microclimate is disturbed and the content of chickens is crowded. In the fight against them, Dichlorvos or Chlorophos are used. At the same time, the chicken coop is treated with an aqueous suspension of pyrethrum (10%) or an aqueous emulsion of sevin (0.25%).
For the prevention of diseases and pests, it is necessary to follow all the rules of care, resettlement, regularly examine the birds for damage and move them to quarantine, as well as vaccinate young animals at an early age.
Owner reviews
According to breeders, the Australian breed of chickens needs good living conditions, otherwise it will get sick.
The bird is undemanding in food, but has weak adaptive abilities - it does not tolerate cold, sudden temperature changes, which greatly complicates care when breeding in the north and in the regions of the middle zone.
Many people like the stable productivity of meat and eggs, chickens stop laying only during molting.
A calm disposition and friendliness allows you to keep the livestock together with other chickens, which makes it possible to save space in the hen house and in the courtyard.