Australorps breed Thread

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hellbender said:
I'm curious, just what kind of 'heat lamp' is being used here? 65*F is not cold by any standard and I'd think long and hard before I were to throw anything at all over the brooder. Can I assume you have at least one thermometer in the brooder?

If you really have to close anything off, I would suggest using something like cardboard on two sides of the brooder and then check for temp.
Click to expand...

A standard red brooder/heat bulb in a clamped-to-the-wood style metal socket thing. It's plenty warm where they are, and you assume correctly - I do have a thermometer, so I know they are warm enough in that regard. :)

I feel like they may be a little stressed from the move. Their temporary brooder consisted of two conjoined cardboard boxes in our spare bedroom... They could see the ceiling and maybe part of the walls. In the garage, they have a full 360 degree view of everything, and I imagine they feel a little exposed.

Could I put one of my pullets in with them to show them it's all good? There's PLENTY of room for several full grown chickens in with them, and I have several lovely hens that might take to "mothering"... We built it large enough to accommodate future hatching plans... A large 8x4x3 "fenced" area with shavings on a tarp. Of course, they have food and water, too. ^_^ No one is doing the alarm peeping or anything, so I'm confident they are at least comfortable... If a little overwhelmed. :)

Thoughts on adding a mama hen (monitored, of course)? Or am I over-thinking it? :p

MrsB

EDIT: Here are some pics of our set up.



(without pine shavings installed)



"PLEASE, HELP US. EVERYTHING IS TERRIBLE."
I've since removed this box... They've just scooted over towards the lamp... still in a weird little hydra clump. :p
 
Last edited:
MrsBrooke said:
A standard red brooder/heat bulb in a clamped-to-the-wood style metal socket thing. It's plenty warm where they are, and you assume correctly - I do have a thermometer, so I know they are warm enough in that regard. :)

I feel like they may be a little stressed from the move. Their temporary brooder consisted of two conjoined cardboard boxes in our spare bedroom... They could see the ceiling and maybe part of the walls. In the garage, they have a full 360 degree view of everything, and I imagine they feel a little exposed.

Could I put one of my pullets in with them to show them it's all good? There's PLENTY of room for several full grown chickens in with them, and I have several lovely hens that might take to "mothering"... We built it large enough to accommodate future hatching plans... A large 8x4x3 "fenced" area with shavings on a tarp. Of course, they have food and water, too. ^_^ No one is doing the alarm peeping or anything, so I'm confident they are at least comfortable... If a little overwhelmed. :)

Thoughts on adding a mama hen (monitored, of course)? Or am I over-thinking it? :p

MrsB

EDIT: Here are some pics of our set up.



(without pine shavings installed)



"PLEASE, HELP US. EVERYTHING IS TERRIBLE."
I've since removed this box... They've just scooted over towards the lamp... still in a weird little hydra clump. :p
Click to expand...
That looks like an excellent brooder (if you have an easy way in and out for yourself). Looks like you have two heat lamps which could be over-kill in your climate. As long as the temp stays around 85*F with no serious drafts, they are good to go. I would leave the box out. put down about 2 or 3 inches of bedding, make sure all doors are closed except when someone is coming or going (I would leave the cars outside for now if possible because of the exhaust, even a little could be dangerous), don't let the kids rip and run around them for a few days and the chicks will settle in before you know it.

Chicks are very adaptable. It wouldn't hurt to give them some chicken electrolytes in their water for a while...I give it to my chicks right through 6 weeks and back off at that time...still give it every day but at ever decreasing amounts for about a month. I then give it to them full dosage one day a week.....as long as they are alive. It doesn't cost much and it's good for them.

If you haven't wormed them, I'd get that done next week some time. Should have been done a couple or so before you moved them but wouldn't want to stress them with it just now...they can wait another week, if they haven't been wormed.

Again...just my opinions, based upon a lifetime of messin' with chickens.

EDIT: A standard red brooder light...you do mean 250 watts?

If you think they would be happier, you could divide the brooder in half with a piece of heavy cardboard or better, a piece of thin cheap plywood that can be screwed on, and easily removed.

NO mamma hens...no other birds at all. Talk about stressing them out!
 
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I have more pictures from the new years day hatch. They are under a brooder plate from premier1. I also have chicks hatched form Trader Joe's fertile eggs.





 
1000

Fireball the Australorp /Rhode Island Red
 
hellbender said:
That looks like an excellent brooder (if you have an easy way in and out for yourself). Looks like you have two heat lamps which could be over-kill in your climate. As long as the temp stays around 85*F with no serious drafts, they are good to go. I would leave the box out. put down about 2 or 3 inches of bedding, make sure all doors are closed except when someone is coming or going (I would leave the cars outside for now if possible because of the exhaust, even a little could be dangerous), don't let the kids rip and run around them for a few days and the chicks will settle in before you know it.

Chicks are very adaptable. It wouldn't hurt to give them some chicken electrolytes in their water for a while...I give it to my chicks right through 6 weeks and back off at that time...still give it every day but at ever decreasing amounts for about a month. I then give it to them full dosage one day a week.....as long as they are alive. It doesn't cost much and it's good for them.

If you haven't wormed them, I'd get that done next week some time. Should have been done a couple or so before you moved them but wouldn't want to stress them with it just now...they can wait another week, if they haven't been wormed.

Again...just my opinions, based upon a lifetime of messin' with chickens.

EDIT: A standard red brooder light...you do mean 250 watts?

If you think they would be happier, you could divide the brooder in half with a piece of heavy cardboard or better, a piece of thin cheap plywood that can be screwed on, and easily removed.

NO mamma hens...no other birds at all. Talk about stressing them out!
Click to expand...

goodpost.gif
I've got to second every Hellbender's advice, and would also like to add in my own experience with Aussies. Mine were from the start and remain the most skittish in my flock. I learned pretty quickly that the best way to handle them is in steps. When I moved them to their coop I did so by letting them spend just a couple hours in it the first day, and then increasing the amount of time they spent out there each day until they finally showed me they were comfortable by their behavior. It took nearly an entire week. Then when I transitioned the remainder of the brooder chicks out to the coop a few weeks later, I had to repeat the process until the Aussies got used to the company. For the longest time they would spend the entire day up on the perches or in the nesting boxes and stare down at their new housemates...the same birds they had co-habitated with in the brooder. They would only come down for food and water and then escape back to the safety of the nest boxes and roosts. Even when I finished the run and opened the door of the coop for the birds to come out, my Aussie held back for days while the others, all of which were younger than they were, plowed onward with glee. For whatever reason I think Aussies just have a hard time with change.
 

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