All you need to know before buying a chicken breed

 While you're putting the final touches on your coop, it's time - if you haven't already - to focus your attention on finding Australorp chickens for sale. Finding chickens to suit you and your chicken dreams is one of the most interesting and exciting aspects of the whole undertaking.

If you've chosen a local source for your chicks or pullets, you can probably have them at home that same day. If you order from a hatchery, it may take about a week for you to have birds in hand, though many hatcheries now ship your peeping package overnight.

But before you approach anybody who has Australorp chickens for sale, you need to decide on what type of chickens you want. 

here is the list of things to consider before buying a chicken breed

Egg production -  Many breeds have been cultured simply with an eye on productivity. Some birds can lay 360 eggs a year.

Egg color and size - Eggs won't very much in taste or nutrition, though there is a wide range in size and color (lily-white, deep chocolate-brown, or sky-blue).

Temperament - Breeds vary in temperament. Because of children or household pets, you'll want a more docile chicken. If you're going to mix breeds, you'll want those that get along well in mixed flocks

Beauty - To a true chicken aficionado, every chicken is beautiful. Breeds with fantastic coloring and fabulous feathers can lend a lot to your chicken watching. As with certain vegetables, like tomatoes, there are heirloom breeds that need conservation.

Reproduction - You may want to raise your own chicks, so you'll want to find a breed known to have good broody hens.

Cold-weather hardiness - If you live in a climate that has rough winters, you'll need a breed that is acclimated and will produce even though temperatures may drop.

With these attributes in mind, your best bet is to call a hatchery for assistance. You can also go online, punch "Australorp chickens for sale" into your browser and find breeds that suit your style and your situation. For example, Golden Comets mature early and lay beautiful brown eggs. Orrington’s are quiet and docile. Black Australorps are eye-catching with a green sheen to their black feathers and they are good producers.

Another important consideration is whether you want to start with chicks or pullets. Chicks will be recently hatched, pullets are usually about a month old, sometimes older.

And if you need more information about raising chickens, particularly if you need help with your coop, you can contact us at https://red-farms.com/.

Best Pet Chickens - Which Breed to Keep

 If you want to keep chickens then your choice of which breed to keep will depend upon the reason you want to keep chickens - eggs, meat or a combination of both.

Egg Production

It helps to keep pet chickens whose selective breeding has removed most of the instinct to go 'broody'. This means that they lay more eggs because time is not taken out to hatch and rear chickens.

Crossbreds are the most common chicken for egg production. This is a hen usually produced by crossing the White Leghorn and the Australorp, or sometimes the White Leghorn and the New Hampshire. The Crossbred hen is also the most readily available type of bird.

Some people prefer a specific breed to keep as pet chickens - in that case, choose a breed that is known for its egg-laying capabilities. This also gives you the option of more easily raising your own pet chickens from eggs. Listed below are some of these breeds.

Ancona - are handsome birds that lay large white eggs at a rate of about 180 per year. They are black with white spots and are, like most egg layers, rather thin and flighty.

Araucana - lays colored eggs, which range in color from blue, green, and turquoise to khaki. They are very hardy, good foragers, and excellent layers. Flightiness can be a problem.

Australorp - is a hardy, docile dual-purpose bird. They produce a light brown egg and are also excellent table birds with very white flesh.

White Leghorn - are active, hardy, and prolific egg layers, producing around 240 eggs a year. They are non-broody birds and are one of the progenitors of the Crossbred.

New Hampshire - is a chestnut-colored fast-growing, vigorous and hardy bird that is a prolific producer of large brown eggs.

If you have small children a great way to introduce them to having pet chickens is to keep a few bantams. These are a smaller version of many of the larger breeds plus some that only come in bantam size. They are really great fun!

Meat Production

If keeping chickens for meat is a consideration then it's probably not a good idea to refer to them as pet chickens. It is interesting to note that the homegrown variety is better than any commercially bred poultry. The difference between your home-grown chickens and a commercial product is in the life it has led, its natural diet, and its freedom from disease, which means that large-scale dosing with medication has not occurred. Some breeds are 'dual purpose' which means they are good eating birds as well as being good layers. I have listed a few breeds below that are known as good 'table', or eating, birds.

Light Sussex - excellent bird for eating and can be eaten from 8 to 9 months of age.

Rhode Island Reds - the meat is slightly darker and the fat more yellow than the Light Sussex.

All About Australorp chicken

Even many chicken enthusiasts have not heard about Australorps. This is somewhat of a surprise and shame because it's a wonderful breed of chicken with many great qualities. Here is a little bit about it, and why it would be a good addition to any home or farm.

Characteristics of Australorp chickens

This large breed is black, with black legs and black eyes. They are known for their beautiful, shiny feathers, which can look green in the sunlight. Often people confuse them with the Black Jersey Giant, but there are two noticeable differences. For one, the Australorp is smaller, weighing between 6 to 9 pounds, depending on if it's a hen or a rooster. They also differ from Black Jersey Giants in the color of the bottoms of their feet. Jerseys have yellow on their feet, whereas Australorps have a pinkish-white color.

Its name comes from its breeding background. It is an Australian breed derived from English Orpington stock. It was deliberately bred as a utility chicken with the dual purpose of providing meat and eggs. It became recognized officially as a breed in the late 1920s.

This breed is renowned for its prolific egg-laying. Rumor has it that one hen set a record by laying 364 eggs in 365 days. The record is under dispute, but one thing is not: hens of this breed that are happy will typically lay anywhere from 250-300 eggs per year, which means they keep laying in winter! The eggs are pretty light brown and will be medium to large in size.

As dual-purpose birds, they are also good for meat. This is great if you plan on having chickens as part of a subsistence farm. These birds are good brooders as well, meaning they will sit on eggs and care for them diligently until they hatch. With them being meat chickens, you can make good use of any old laying hens or extra roosters.

Besides being great meat and egg providers, this breed has a truly wonderful temperament. They are very friendly, a little shy, and so completely docile that they are often kept as pets! If you think they might be too heavy for your kids to pick up, look for the bantam version of the breed.

This is really an excellent breed to choose no matter what your needs might be. They are exceptionally winter-hardy, great layers, brooders, and good meat birds. Another bonus is that they do not generally like to fly too high, so you can keep them in a fenced area without worrying about them escaping.

If you want to get some blackaustralorp chicks in Pakistan, there are many online hatcheries that will be able to send you day-old chicks. They ship them via mail as a perishable item (the chicks do not need food or water the first couple days as they get the nutrition from the egg). Make sure you are able to take them home as soon as they arrive, then just follow whatever directions the hatchery sends with the chicks. Enjoy these truly wonderful chickens!

For more great tips and advice on the Australorps chicken visit. https://red-farms.com/australorp-farming-in-pakistan/