Are Australorps good for showing?

Yes. They're exhibited in the APA's **English** class, with the **Black** variety recognized in the US. Judges reward the breed's lustrous **beetle-green sheen** on black plumage, a full soft coat, and a deep body, so condition and feather quality matter.

How hard are Australorps to hatch?

No harder than any chicken — **99.5–100°F, lockdown day 18, 21-day hatch**. There are no breed-specific incubation quirks, and hens often go broody and hatch their own eggs well.

What's the difference between an Australorp and an Orpington?

The Australorp is the Australian laying strain developed from the Black Orpington. It was selected for egg production, so it's leaner and far more prolific, while the Orpington remained a heavier, fluffier show-and-table bird.

How many eggs do Australorps lay?

Typically **250 or more brown eggs a year** in a backyard flock. The breed is famous for the historic record of **364 eggs in 365 days** set in Australian laying trials in the 1920s.

Are Australorps broody?

Moderately. Broodiness isn't their defining trait, but many hens will go broody and make good, reliable mothers — useful if you'd rather hatch under a hen than run an incubator.

Australorp: The Record-Setting Brown-Egg Layer

Q: What color eggs do Australorps lay?

**Light brown** eggs — a warm, medium-light brown. They lay them prolifically, typically 250+ a year, and are known as dependable winter layers.

Verified September 2026Brown eggs

The short version

The Australorp is a dual-purpose English-class breed developed in Australia from imported Black Orpington stock, then selected hard for egg production. It lays a light brown egg, is a famously reliable 250+ eggs/year layer, and holds the historic laying record of 364 eggs in 365 days. In the APA (US) only the Black variety is Standard-recognized (added in 1929); Blue and White are recognized in other registries or kept as project colors. Its signature show trait is a deep beetle-green sheen on the black plumage.

APA class: English

Egg color: Brown

Broodiness: Occasionally broody

Varieties: 1

Egg-color genetics

Australorps lay a light-to-medium brown egg. Brown shell color is a surface pigment (protoporphyrin) laid down over a base shell in the last hours before the egg is laid, so a brown egg is tinted on the outside while the inner shell stays pale — unlike a blue egg, which is pigmented through its full thickness. Australorp brown is on the lighter, warmer end of the brown range rather than a deep chocolate.

Australorp vs Orpington

The two are directly related but bred for opposite priorities. The Orpington was created in England by William Cook as a soft-feathered, deep-bodied show and table bird. When Black Orpingtons were exported to Australia around the turn of the 20th century, Australian breeders crossed and then selected them purely for laying performance, producing a lighter-boned, more productive strain that was eventually named the Australorp (a contraction of 'Australian Orpington').

So an Orpington is the fluffier, heavier show bird, while an Australorp is the lean, hard-laying utility version of the same foundation — which is why the Australorp, not the Orpington, holds the historic egg-laying records.

What color eggs do Australorps lay?

A light-to-medium brown egg. Backyard Australorps typically lay 250 or more brown eggs a year, and they are prized as steady winter layers that keep producing through short days when many breeds slow down. The shade is a warm light brown rather than a dark chocolate, and it does not vary the way an Easter Egger's does — every Australorp lays brown.

Breeding notes

The Australorp is the Australian utility offshoot of the Black Orpington: breeders there kept the Orpington's soft-feathered heavy body but selected relentlessly for laying, which is why the breed became a laying-competition champion while the parent Orpington stayed a show-and-meat bird.
Breed for the beetle-green sheen. The Black should carry a lustrous green iridescence in sunlight — never a purple or 'bronzy' cast. Select breeders that green out strongly and cull purple sheen, which is a common fault in black plumage.
Keep type without sacrificing lay. Because the breed's whole identity is production, save hatching eggs from your best layers as well as your best-typed birds, or generations of show selection alone will erode the laying ability that defines the breed.
In the US work within the recognized Black; if you keep Blue or White, treat them as project or other-registry stock and pen them separately, since Blue (a black dilution) does not breed true and will throw Black and Splash offspring.
Watch for single-comb faults, white in the earlobes or feathers, and any leg color other than the dark slate-to-black the breed calls for.

Showing notes

The Australorp is exhibited in the APA's English class. In the US, enter the Black variety; Blue and White may be shown under registries that recognize them rather than the APA Standard.
Sheen wins classes. Judges reward a clean, lustrous beetle-green sheen over the entire black surface; purple barring or a dull, sun-bleached coat is penalized, so keep birds out of harsh sun before a show to protect feather color.
Condition to the breed's soft, full plumage and deep, U-shaped body with a single upright comb of even points, bright red face and wattles, and dark eyes — present a well-fleshed, glossy bird rather than a lean one.

Hatching & incubation

No special incubation requirements — Australorp eggs hatch on the standard chicken schedule: 99.5–100°F forced-air, lockdown at day 18, 21-day hatch.
As a heavy dual-purpose breed the hens can go broody and will often hatch and brood a clutch reliably, which gives you a natural alternative to the incubator.

Recognized varieties

Black

Frequently asked questions

What color eggs do Australorps lay?: Light brown eggs — a warm, medium-light brown. They lay them prolifically, typically 250+ a year, and are known as dependable winter layers.
Are Australorps good for showing?: Yes. They're exhibited in the APA's English class, with the Black variety recognized in the US. Judges reward the breed's lustrous beetle-green sheen on black plumage, a full soft coat, and a deep body, so condition and feather quality matter.
How hard are Australorps to hatch?: No harder than any chicken — 99.5–100°F, lockdown day 18, 21-day hatch. There are no breed-specific incubation quirks, and hens often go broody and hatch their own eggs well.
What's the difference between an Australorp and an Orpington?: The Australorp is the Australian laying strain developed from the Black Orpington. It was selected for egg production, so it's leaner and far more prolific, while the Orpington remained a heavier, fluffier show-and-table bird.
How many eggs do Australorps lay?: Typically 250 or more brown eggs a year in a backyard flock. The breed is famous for the historic record of 364 eggs in 365 days set in Australian laying trials in the 1920s.
Are Australorps broody?: Moderately. Broodiness isn't their defining trait, but many hens will go broody and make good, reliable mothers — useful if you'd rather hatch under a hen than run an incubator.

Sources

Australorp Chicken (breed history, egg records & status) — The Livestock Conservancy (Reference)
Black Australorp (egg color, laying & origin) — Cackle Hatchery (Hatchery)

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