Australorp and sussex chickens incoming! HELP! :O

[magicpigeon]

I am getting sussex and australorp chicks in 2 days and am totally freaking out
I've only got experience with silkies and don't know how fast these chickens grow? Do disposable boxes work as temporary "homes"? Can I use sugar cane mulch as bedding?
I have to go to Malaysia in 1 month and 2 weeks and am not sure if the chicks will be old enough to live outside by then as currently they are only a day old...
I'm worried that they might get bullied by the silkies or worse, raped by the silkies! Can this happen? Does anybody know how noisy sussexes and australorps are, in comparison to silkies? Right now I have no noise pollution issues but in the event of me getting a rooster..............

thanks

 

[Wheat]

I 2 roosters that I have kept in my flock. One is an australorp. He is my favorite. He has a very good personality. Very large bird. (He eats a little too much). HA.

He crows very loud. About every 2-3 hours starting from about 5am. Also any time someone comes over, or makes any loud noises he comes out and crows.

If he see's me in the yard, he crows. Pretty much if anything is out of the ordinary of complete silence he crows.

They have a mid - deep... loud... traditional sounding crow.


But his personality makes him. He is not shy of people. He will walk right up to you, even let you reach down and pet him a little whenever you'd like. He seems to love people. He will follow me around the yard.

My australorp hens are quiet, and very kind.

I don't own any sussex, but my neighbor has some. I want some. They seem to wander more than his other chickens. I fish his pond, and often a lone sussex will walk down and kinda hang out around me. The pond is at least 500 feet from his chicken house.