8 week old chicks behaving "sad"?

[Brummie Pekin]

I have four 8 week old chicks that stay outside most of the time. They have a nice little coup and run built for them but they seem to look very "sad" these last couple of days and stay in their little coop most of the time. They look healthy and at some point in the day they get very energetic and run and jump around but for most of the day they are sad. We are not getting very good weather recently with it raining a lot, Could that be the case? I am completely confused as to why they are behaving like this. Any help would be appreciated as to why this is happening.

 

[Brummie Pekin]

And they only run outside into the run when I am outside

 

[rebrascora]

I would say they are either frightened of something (dog or cat maybe prowling around or even crows/jackdaws which seem to really upset my pekins)...... or they are coming down with something. At that age and with wet weather, coccidiosis may be starting to overwhelm their systems, so keep a close eye on their poop and watch out for any hunched posture and have some Coxoid (Harkers do a nice small bottle for pigeons which is handy to have in the first aid kit) ready to treat if necessary.

 

[Hawgfan]

That sounds very similar to the way my 20 wk old flock does, although I never thought they seemed sad. Mine are most active in the morning and evening, when the sun is lower. During mid day, they're happier lounging around in the coop. They also don't particularly care for rain. I have larger breeds that aren't prone to being flighty. It might be of benefit to everyone if you mention the type(s) you have.

 

[lazy gardener]

As long as they are acting healthy, I'd not be concerned. But, here's a ? for you.... how many birds? What is the size of the coop and run, (give measurements please, including height). What is the substrate of the run? (grass, soil, or deep litter) If their run is bare soil, your chicks have nothing to do! They were created to be scratching and digging for their daily feed. So, you need to be sure they have a natural environment so they can. If you have bare soil, I urge you to convert their run to a deep composting litter. You can do so by adding a bit of spent litter from their coop, grass clippings, hay, piles of leaves, garden debris. Your birds will happily sift through this material looking for goodies, while they churn it into a nice black healthy compost for your gardens. Aim to make the DL at least 6" thick, and occasionally toss a bit of scratch into it to keep them digging. The DL will also sop up all of the rain that you've been getting, and create a much healthier environment for them.

 

[sourland]

It may be the gloomy weather, possible predator in the area, or even the possibility of illness. Keep an eye on them and medicate if signs of illness appear. lazy gardener suggests some good ideas.

 

[Brummie Pekin]

I would say they are either frightened of something (dog or cat maybe prowling around or even crows/jackdaws which seem to really upset my pekins)...... or they are coming down with something. At that age and with wet weather, coccidiosis may be starting to overwhelm their systems, so keep a close eye on their poop and watch out for any hunched posture and have some Coxoid (Harkers do a nice small bottle for pigeons which is handy to have in the first aid kit) ready to treat if necessary.

There has been a neighbour's cat that has repeatedly come into our yard and sit next to the chicks but it doesn't attack and the chicks have gotten used to this so they seem pretty calm around the cat.

 

[Brummie Pekin]

As long as they are acting healthy, I'd not be concerned. But, here's a ? for you.... how many birds? What is the size of the coop and run, (give measurements please, including height). What is the substrate of the run? (grass, soil, or deep litter) If their run is bare soil, your chicks have nothing to do! They were created to be scratching and digging for their daily feed. So, you need to be sure they have a natural environment so they can. If you have bare soil, I urge you to convert their run to a deep composting litter. You can do so by adding a bit of spent litter from their coop, grass clippings, hay, piles of leaves, garden debris. Your birds will happily sift through this material looking for goodies, while they churn it into a nice black healthy compost for your gardens. Aim to make the DL at least 6" thick, and occasionally toss a bit of scratch into it to keep them digging. The DL will also sop up all of the rain that you've been getting, and create a much healthier environment for them.

The coop and run is an ok size for now but I am looking to buy a much bigger one very soon. The flooring they have outside is grass and soil but boredom might be plausible because they don't have a lot of things to do in the run.

 

[Brummie Pekin]

That sounds very similar to the way my 20 wk old flock does, although I never thought they seemed sad. Mine are most active in the morning and evening, when the sun is lower. During mid day, they're happier lounging around in the coop. They also don't particularly care for rain. I have larger breeds that aren't prone to being flighty. It might be of benefit to everyone if you mention the type(s) you have.

By types I am guessing you mean breed. The bread is a mix of Mostly Pekin and a bit of Silkie