My 5 week old chicks are afraid of the dark!

[Sharon Bee]

I have moved my 11 chicks to thei new coop that my hubby built in our brick carriage house. They love it except last night they were suddenly afraid of the dark. They had been under a heat lamp 24/7. They have been in the coop since last Sat. No problems. But last night they were clamoring in the corner and peeping loudly when I turned out the light. I hope they get used to it.

I have straw on floor too. Is this good? Over dirt/gravel. Getting a bit stinky. Any suggestions? Thanks

 

[spikennipper]

It was probably the sudden shift from light to darkness that startled them, is there a window where they can receive natural light or do you just use a light switch? if only a light switch perhaps wait until they are resting before turning out the light, if they are eating and generally active the room suddenly going dark will scare them.
As for the straw I would remove it, damp straw can harbour mould which is not good for your chicks, put some sheets of newspaper down and change this daily to keep the smell at bay.

 

[Sharon Bee]

Thank you. Yes there is a big window near their coop area but they have a half wall with chicken wire up the upper half. So down below it is darker.

We also have a hanging light from the ceiling in their coop which I have on part of the day. Last night I went out to check on them a couple of times and put a night light in the carriage house but it's not enough.

Yes I will remove the straw and try sand? It does get smelly. I have read to use PVC? I'm going to ask at our country store if they provide it or not. There are many horse farms in our area.

Also I noticed that even though we love our chicks, I think they would eat us in a heartbeat if we were to keel over in their coop!!! LOL. I had capri pants on this morning standing among them and while I was holding one, I felt the others picking my legs. I looked down and saw they had drawn blood!! OMG! They want to EAT THEIR MOMMY!!!