Rural/Farm Life

Are they a modern production breed?

My older hens lay reliably all winter if I put a timer on the lights in the coop; I generally don't, because I don't mind them resting. They are dual purpose, even though I rarely eat them; I'll eat cockerels if one gets broody and hatches some out. For 6 months, they keep the flies down and the bugs controlled, especially flies around the barn, and I get eggs most of the year, if I can get to them before the pests do. My birds free range on my 6 acres.

At this point, they are mostly all mixed breed chickens, since they are, all but one, 7 generations from the first mixed flock of day-old chicks.

My one original australorp will be seven this summer. She still lays, has been broody every year except this last, and is a good mom. I wondered if she didn't get broody because of her age, or because we had an unusually cool, cloudy summer; it didn't get hot and sunny until the 2nd half of August.