Australorp
Australorp rooster
|
|
| Conservation status |
|
|---|---|
| Other names |
|
| Nicknames | Australs |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Standard | Australorp Club of Australia |
| Use | Dual-purpose breed: eggs, meat |
| Traits | |
| Weight |
|
| Skin color | White |
| Egg color | Brown |
| Comb type | Single |
| Classification | |
| APA | English |
| ABA | Single Comb and Clean Legged |
| PCGB | Soft Feather: Heavy |
| APS | Heavy breed softfeather |
The Australorp is a chicken breed of Australian origin, developed as utility breed with a focus on egg laying. It achieved world wide popularity in the 1920s after the breed broke numerous world records for number of eggs laid and has been a popular breed in the western world since. It is considered the honorary National Chicken Breed of Australia, and The most popular colour of the breed is black, which is the only colour recognised in the United States of America, but blue and white are also recognised in its home country and the Poultry Club South Africa recognises buff, splash, wheaten laced and golden in addition.
The original stock used in the development of the Australorp was imported to Australia from England out of the Black Orpington yards of William Cook and Joseph Partington in the period from 1890 to the early 1900s with Rhode Island Red. Local breeders used this stock together with judicious out-crossings of Minorca, White Leghorn and Langshan blood to improve the utility features of the imported Orpingtons. There is even a report of some Plymouth Rock blood also being used. The emphasis of the early breeders was on utility features. At this time, the resulting birds were known as Australian Black Orpingtons (Austral-orp).
The origin of the name "Australorp" seems to be shrouded in as much controversy as the attempts to obtain agreement between the States over a suitable national Standard. The earliest claim to the name was made by one of poultry fancy's institutions, Wiliam Wallace Scott, before the First World War. From 1925 Wal Scott set to work to have Australorp recognized as a breed with the Poultry Society as he developed the breed. Equally as persuasive a claim came in 1919 from Arthur Harwood who suggested that the "Australian Laying Orpingtons" be named "Australs". The letters "orp" were suggested as a suffix to denote the major breed in the fowl's development. A further overseas claim to the name came from Britain's W. Powell-Owen who drafted the British Standard for the breed in 1921 following the importation of the "Australian Utility Black Orpingtons." It is certain that the name "Australorp" was being used in the early 1920s when the breed was launched internationally. In 1929, the Australorp was admitted to the Standard of Perfection.
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Wikipedia