Australorps breed Thread

[MrsBrooke]

I feel like these babies may benefit by being brought inside for a little while... I'm not sure they are fully feathered yet. I see baby fluff on their necks and heads.

A super cheap option is taping together cardboard boxes, putting down some shavings, and cutting some doorways, so they can run around. Just a thought.

Here's a picture of what I'm talking about:



You can't really see it, and this is for quail, but I cut a little door for them to run back and forth to get away from the heat lamp if they wanted to. You could do the same with your chickens. Add more boxes and make the door bigger as needed to adjust for however many birds you have. A window screen works well to keep them in.

Chicks should be *fully* feathered before they go outside.

They are very beautiful babies!

MrsB

 

[bigjohn752000]

does anyone have bantom austrolorps

 

[8machines]

I have (3) 7 week old girls with their feathers. When is it appropriate to put them with my other hens? Thank you

 

[ronott1]

My five-week-old Australorps are all camera shy! LOL! I had to bribe them with meal worms to get them to stop running from the camera.

They all like hanging out in the nesting boxes, especially at night when they huddle together to keep warm. I've read that that's a behavior I should try to stop lest they learned that nesting boxes are for sleeping rather than laying eggs, but I worry that doing so may result in them having a harder time staying warm at night (it's been around freezing every night here this week). Any advice on the matter would be greatly appreciated.

They are very cute!

I have (3) 7 week old girls with their feathers. When is it appropriate to put them with my other hens? Thank you

A general rule of thumb is when the chicks are 2/3 the size of the adults.

Usually 12 to 16 weeks old. You can put them together with work and observation when they are smaller though.

The big ones will either think the little ones are food or they will draw blood and then the blood will make them peck the little one to death.

you can add a separator to the run and or coop for them. A safe place that the little ones can go to hide but the big ones cannot get into can work too.

 

[Gramma Chick]

They all like hanging out in the nesting boxes, especially at night when they huddle together to keep warm. I've read that that's a behavior I should try to stop lest they learned that nesting boxes are for sleeping rather than laying eggs, but I worry that doing so may result in them having a harder time staying warm at night (it's been around freezing every night here this week). Any advice on the matter would be greatly appreciated.

they are kind of young to roost at night ..baby chicks usually huddle .
Give them another place to huddle ...besides the nest boxes ...I think it is good advise to add a light for now ..
It can just be just a 60 watt bulb ...it doesnt have to be a heat lamp . Do you have a lg plastic bin or crate ? that you can put them in ?

 

[DesertChic]

they are kind of young to roost at night ..baby chicks usually huddle .
Give them another place to huddle ...besides the nest boxes ...I think it is good advise to add a light for now ..
It can just be just a 60 watt bulb ...it doesnt have to be a heat lamp . Do you have a lg plastic bin or crate ? that you can put them in ?

they are kind of young to roost at night ..baby chicks usually huddle .
Give them another place to huddle ...besides the nest boxes ...I think it is good advise to add a light for now ..
It can just be just a 60 watt bulb ...it doesnt have to be a heat lamp . Do you have a lg plastic bin or crate ? that you can put them in ?

I feel like these babies may benefit by being brought inside for a little while... I'm not sure they are fully feathered yet. I see baby fluff on their necks and heads.

A super cheap option is taping together cardboard boxes, putting down some shavings, and cutting some doorways, so they can run around. Just a thought.

Here's a picture of what I'm talking about:



You can't really see it, and this is for quail, but I cut a little door for them to run back and forth to get away from the heat lamp if they wanted to. You could do the same with your chickens. Add more boxes and make the door bigger as needed to adjust for however many birds you have. A window screen works well to keep them in.

Chicks should be *fully* feathered before they go outside.

They are very beautiful babies!

MrsB

Thanks for the input!!! Unfortunately, the crate I use as a brooder pen is still in use for the other younger chicks I acquired with the Australorps and is too small to accommodate all of them now, and I don't have anything else on hand. I was advised by their breeder to move them by five weeks, and being a novice I simply followed his advice, but I'm a worrier. I'll try adding a heat source to lure them back down to the corner they used to rest in when they first moved into the coop. Ever since they figured out they can fly all the way up to the top they seem contentedly determined to stay high as often as possible, LOL. Tonight I heard the top chick, Evie, literally summon the others up to the nesting box with a call I've never heard before. She kind of sounded like one of the velociraptors from the third "Jurassic Park" movie, LOL.

 

[Gramma Chick]

Thanks for the input!!! Unfortunately, the crate I use as a brooder pen is still in use for the other younger chicks I acquired with the Australorps and is too small to accommodate all of them now, and I don't have anything else on hand. I was advised by their breeder to move them by five weeks, and being a novice I simply followed his advice, but I'm a worrier. I'll try adding a heat source to lure them back down to the corner they used to rest in when they first moved into the coop. Ever since they figured out they can fly all the way up to the top they seem contentedly determined to stay high as often as possible, LOL. Tonight I heard the top chick, Evie, literally summon the others up to the nesting box with a call I've never heard before. She kind of sounded like one of the velociraptors from the third "Jurassic Park" movie, Is it possible she is a Roo ? Roos call hens to roost at nighttime

Also are your nesting boxes higher than your roosts ? they will go to the higher one . Cover up the nesting boxes if you can so they cant get in .

 

[DesertChic]

Also are your nesting boxes higher than your roosts ? they will go to the higher one . Cover up the nesting boxes if you can so they cant get in .

Their two favorite boxes are higher than the roosts. I guess it's time to make some modifications to my coop.

I've actually been wondering if Evie is actually a Roo, but at 5 weeks I think it's a bit too soon to tell. She was always the most assertive, most curious and the first to greet me every day, as well as the first to start roosting even on the brooder let alone in the coop. I've read that those behaviors can indicate a Roo, but her development matched the other three rather than being delayed, which could negate it. Hopefully in the next few weeks I'll know for sure, but either way, Evie is a personal favorite. Even if Evie turns out to be just "V" (yes, like the movie "V for Vendetta"), I will be keeping her/him. Luckily where I live roosters are not a problem, and I don't mind having one for each breed I keep as long as their temperament permits it. (It wouldn't break my heart to here the pitter patter of little Australorp feet int he future.

)

 

[ronott1]

Their two favorite boxes are higher than the roosts. I guess it's time to make some modifications to my coop.

I've actually been wondering if Evie is actually a Roo, but at 5 weeks I think it's a bit too soon to tell. She was always the most assertive, most curious and the first to greet me every day, as well as the first to start roosting even on the brooder let alone in the coop. I've read that those behaviors can indicate a Roo, but her development matched the other three rather than being delayed, which could negate it. Hopefully in the next few weeks I'll know for sure, but either way, Evie is a personal favorite. Even if Evie turns out to be just "V" (yes, like the movie "V for Vendetta"), I will be keeping her/him. Luckily where I live roosters are not a problem, and I don't mind having one for each breed I keep as long as their temperament permits it. (It wouldn't break my heart to here the pitter patter of little Australorp feet int he future.

)

Post pictures!

Make sure we can see the comb and wattles.

 

[DesertChic]

Post pictures!

Make sure we can see the comb and wattles.

I posted a few pics earlier in this thread, but my Australorps are notoriously camera shy and uncooperative. Here's the best one I could get of the dominant bird, Evie (she's the closer bird in the photo, and her twin is behind her). There's really not much to see in the way of combs and wattles yet.