1 of 8 Chicks Distress Calling Regularly

[Sunshine009]

I have 8 chicks at just about half a week old. All are content, move freely from heat source, drinking and eating. One chick distress calls pretty frequently though. I've seen him drink, eat and go to shelter (i say he based off a very amateur wing sexing i did). He won't do it continuously; he sleeps and goes about his business but will stop and just chirp for awhile. No pasty butt, no lethargy, no issues i can detect. Also not attached to me as far as I can tell.

Just wondering if I should be worried and if so if I should be giving him supplements of some sort. Thanks in advance!

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

He might just want comfort. I got a feather duster and hung it off the wire over the brooder, just off the bottom enough that they can fit under it. Even the older chicks snuggle it sometimes

 

[Sunshine009]

He might just want comfort. I got a feather duster and hung it off the wire over the brooder, just off the bottom enough that they can fit under it. Even the older chicks snuggle it sometimes

Thats a good idea I'll give it a shot

 

[625649]

Mine too!!?? I put a stuffed bear in there along with a heat pad I keep on medium warm and he stops trilling but he's SUPER lazy and sleeps way more than the rest, is that normal? They all seemed to benefit from the stuffed bear. They all sleep on it and snuggle up to it. He also seems to want to be handled more? Like he wants a snuggles? Shrug. Who can say no to a baby roo asking for a cuddles? I also wondered about food water and supplements?

 

[Sunshine009]

Mine too!!?? I put a stuffed bear in there along with a heat pad I keep on medium warm and he stops trilling but he's SUPER lazy and sleeps way more than the rest, is that normal? They all seemed to benefit from the stuffed bear. They all sleep on it and snuggle up to it. He also seems to want to be handled more? Like he wants a snuggles? Shrug. Who can say no to a baby roo asking for a cuddles? I also wondered about food water and supplements?

Thought I'd give an update - my guy ended up fine, stopped calling and is acting normally. I think he might have just been a bit more anxious of the others and was unsure of his environment. I never ended up putting in anything to cuddle up to and he just settled on his own.

He was never lethargic as you described, however. That I might be concerned about. Young chicks sometimes get overstressed from hatching and moving and just learning to exist and don't thrive well. I've heard the best thing to do is feed them a high nutrient supplement such as gently whisked egg yolk (just enough to break it up) or to put a bit of sugar in their water (gotta be careful with this one as it can give them pasty butt). Also make sure he isn't getting bullied off the food and water, that he knows where everything is, and can get to the heat.