Chicken breed
Australorp
Also called Black Australorp, Australian Laying Orpington (historic name)
The Australorp was developed in Australia from Black Orpingtons for egg production and once set world laying records. Hens are calm, lay well, and suit beginners and children. Their black feathers mean they need shade in hot weather.
At a glance
250–300eggs a year
4–6eggs a week
15–20weeks to first egg
6.5 lbhen weight
8.5 lbrooster weight
Largeegg size
Traits
- Cold hardyhigh
- Heat tolerantmedium
- Goes broodymedium
- Fine in a small runhigh
- Egg colour
- tinted to light brown
- Temperament
- calm, docile, friendly
- Good with kids
- Usually, yes
- Noise
- quiet
- Origin
- Australia (from imported Black Orpingtons)
- Comb
- single
- Bantam size
- Available
- APA standard
- Recognized
- Conservation
- Graduated 2023 (no longer on the Conservation Priority List)
- Purpose
- dual, eggs
Good for
- beginners
- families with children
- egg production
- cold climates
Watch out for
- black plumage absorbs heat; provide shade
- can get fat if kept only in confinement without foraging
Looks and feathers
Black plumage with a beetle-green sheen; only the Black variety is recognized in the US.
Our drawing shows the most common US variety; colours vary.
Similar breeds
All breedsSources
- 1Australorp Chicken (breed facts)The Livestock Conservancy
- 2Black Australorp (product/breed profile)Cackle Hatchery
- 3Accepted Breeds & VarietiesAmerican Poultry Association
- 4Black Australorp Day Old Chicks (product/breed profile)Meyer Hatchery
- 5Australorp (breed page)My Pet Chicken
- 6Managing Chickens From Chicks to Peak Egg ProductionUtah State University Extension (J. Okoh, E. Perry; October 2025)
- 7Chicken Breeds & Varieties (A2880), incl. APA standard weightsUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension
Hatcheries often disagree on eggs a year; ranges span every source we read. How we check the facts.