i have 2 roos, 4 hens in black australorps. i get 22-25 eggs a week from these 2 trios, with over 90% fertility. they seem to be very disease resistant, i would rate them as a pretty good on cold hardiness, their combs do frostbite easily. some vasaline rubbed on them does help with this.
i love the dark brown eggs, not as dark as my marans, but way darker than my rocks. being a larger bird, they do need a decent amount of protein, don't expect them to lay well cooped up if your not feeding a good quality feed.
i love the dark brown eggs, not as dark as my marans, but way darker than my rocks. being a larger bird, they do need a decent amount of protein, don't expect them to lay well cooped up if your not feeding a good quality feed.