Australorp
Chicken
The Australorp is Australia's own take on the Orpington, bred there in the early 1900s purely for egg production — and it delivered, with one hen setting a world record of 364 eggs in 365 days. Big, soft and glossy black with a green sheen, they're calm, quiet and unflappable, happy to be handled and easy to keep confined. They lay a heavy stream of large brown eggs and keep going through heat and cold alike. Between the temperament and the output, it's one of the best all-around backyard birds a beginner can pick.
Weight
Large fowl (Standard size)
Bantam (Miniature size)
How to spot it
- Comb
Single - Single comb, medium, upright
- Earlobes
- Red
- Legs & feet
- Dark slate/black legs with white foot bottoms, four toes; white skin
- Look for
- Glossy green-sheened black plus dark legs and dark eyes — the dark legs separate it from a black Orpington's pinkish-white ones
Ancestry
How this breed was developed. Historical records, not crosses to make today.
Black Orpingtons taken to Australia, then outcrossed to Minorca, White Leghorn and Langshan for laying — the same three breeds Cook had used to make the Orpington in the first place.
Varieties
Black
Find Australorp breeders near you
75 providers currently list Australorp.
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