Doyens Number 1 Australorp. Ray Connor. Paperback

Doyens of Poultry No 1, 150mm x 210mm 16 colour plates. Reprint 2016. The first breed monograph in the Doyens of Poultry series. The purpose of the series is to bring to poultry breeders and fanciers a series of breed books designed to be used as a reference source as well as for instructional purposes. Very little knowledge is assumed on the part of the reader but it is expected that by the end of the book the reader will know enough about the breed to set out on the challenge of breeding and exhibiting. They have been written from extensive interviews conducted by Adrian Kuys with the leading breeders of our time. Most of the photographs are of real chooks belonging to the breeder. The authority for the content of the books lies with the featured breeder, also extensive research has been conducted into the Australian History of each featured breed with a view to giving readers some picture of the breed's development in this country.

The Australorp - The first breed in the series, the Australorp, was chosen to lead the way because of its significance as Australia's Premier National Breed. It is unique in Australian poultry because it has its roots firmly in the Poultry Exhibition Pavilion. It is the only Australian Breed to be recognised immediately world-wide. Ray Connor, the authority behind the Australorp Book, is possibly the most respected and certinly one of the most sought after judges in the country. His successes at the Sydney Royal Show with his Australorps are unprecedented being 17 times Champion Softfeathered Fowl in the last twenty five years. To find a genuine breeder with this degree of success is particularly difficult.