Fighting?

[whispurr]

I have 6 Buff Orpington's that are 4 weeks old today. They are being noisy in their box, like they're fighting. I can't see it because they stop and look at me if I go near them. I have 4 hens and 2 roosters. My coop won't be here for a few weeks. Would it be advisable to go down to one rooster? Or I can move them outside into a screen room to wait for their coop? I don't know what is too small for their box. They take up about 1/3 of the box.

Thanks!

 

[NatJ]

I don't know what is too small for their box. They take up about 1/3 of the box.

I've seen guidelines that call for 1/2 square foot of space per chick until they are 4 weeks old, then 1 to 2 square feet per chick up to age 8 weeks. Around age 8 weeks, you should provide the full adult space of 4 square feet each.

So you could measure your box and see how big it is. For 6 chicks at age 4 weeks, you would want 6 to 12 square feet of space. More is always fine.

I have 4 hens and 2 roosters. My coop won't be here for a few weeks. Would it be advisable to go down to one rooster?

That might be a good idea, unless you intend to get a lot more hens.
But while they are still so young, I do not think the male/female ratio is the cause of the trouble.

Or I can move them outside into a screen room to wait for their coop?

If that is safe from predators, and bigger than where they are living now, it is probably a good thing to do.

 

[whispurr]

It's going to dip down to 45 this week. Is that too cold to put them out there? Or would a heat lamp keep them warm?

 

[Lor]

It's going to dip down to 45 this week. Is that too cold to put them out there? Or would a heat lamp keep them warm?

As long as no wind is blowing on them and they have that heat lamp to get under they should be fine.

 

[NatJ]

It's going to dip down to 45 this week. Is that too cold to put them out there? Or would a heat lamp keep them warm?

If they have all their feathers, and no wind is blowing on them, 45 degrees should be fine.

If they do not have all their feathers, you should probably provide a heat lamp at that temperature. But make sure the lamp only heats a small part of their space. They need to be able to get away from the heat when they want to. You do not want overheated chicks during the warm parts of the day!

When dealing with temperatures that go way up and way down, it really helps to have a LARGE brooder. If it is 6 to 8 feet long, you can have a heat lamp at one end and the other end can stay cool, and the chicks can run back and forth to warm up or cool down no matter what the outdoor temperature does. It is often possible to make a big brooder out of several cardboard boxes.

 

[3KillerBs]

How big is the brooder?

Crowding almost always causes behavioral problems.

If the chicks are fully-feathered and have been acclimated to outdoors then 45 is not a problem. If they're not fully-feathered or have been kept under heat with no exposure to cool outdoor air then they have to have heat still.

This is my brooder -- outdoors, with my Easter hatch in it.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/run-to-outdoor-brooder-conversion.76634/

They were day-old, new hatched chicks with temperatures below 40F expected overnight. That's why instead of just having either the plate or the Big Red Bulb they have dual heat.

In the 50F daytime temperatures they were running around the brooder, ducking back into the warm spots when they needed too -- perfectly fine.

The 6-week-old chicks in their integration pen in the big coop had had all their feathers from 4 weeks (mostly Australorp crosses so fast-maturing), and I didn't take any precautions about them except that their pen was, of course, set up with draft-free shelters available.

I'd booted them out of the brooder when they stopped sleeping anywhere near the heat plate but, instead, chose the corner by the vent.

 

[3KillerBs]

Crowding almost always causes behavioral problems.

On re-reading, I should say that while behavior problems can be caused by many factors and crop up in birds that do have plenty of space, crowding will very frequently cause trouble so if you know your birds are in tight quarters the first thing to consider is giving them more elbow room.