My New Favorite Chicken Breed!

My husband loves a white chicken. He has always had a few white leghorns.I have never been real crazy about the looks of a white leghorn. I like big healthy chickens. We were looking for a new chicken last year that would help with our egg production. Of course Mike was suggesting White Leghorns. I didn't want that breed so I started researching chickens. We have had many breeds of chickens during our 31 years together. As a matter of fact there is probably not to many that we haven't tried.

I started by going to all of the hatcheries that I use online and seeing what they had. I was not satisfied with anything that I was seeing but then I found them. My next new type of chicken that I would absolutely fall in love with.

The chicken is a cross between the Black Australorp rooster and a White Leghorn hen. Little did I know that this cross had been around since the early 1900's. They are a white chicken with random black feathers.They are excellent layers throughout the year. Their eggs are a large off white/cream colored. They are considered a heavy breed. Their disposition is calmer than the Leghorns. They are supposed to have good reflexes for predator avoidance but they are white and can be easily seen. We put our chickens up at night just for their own safety. We do let them free range during the day.

My chickens have just started laying and I must say that I am covered in eggs. It is true that they are a great egg layer. They have a good feed to egg ratio. If you love to sit around and just watch your chickens scratch around the yard you will not be disappointed. I love my white Austra's..