3 day old chicks

[JEN4444]

I am brand new at this and have four ~3-day-old chicks. I brought them home from the local feed store two days ago after they were mailed to them that morning. I'm guessing they were born on Thursday. They're a mixed bunch: one Easter Egger, one Wellsummer, one Wyandotte, and one Salmon Faverolle. Now it's Sunday morning. The chicks are inside, in our small laundry room, in a box brooder with a space heater in the room set on low and a home-made heating pad warm space. Using an instant-read candy thermometer, the temperature in the room is 73 degrees and when I press the thermometer against the underside of the heating pad arrangement, the temp is 93 degrees. I've been worried about temperature, so would turn the space heater up, but yesterday they were pecking each other, particularly the smallest one, the Wyandotte. I saw a bird grabbing the Wyandotte's wing feather and pulling on it a few times. I checked and found no wound. Initially, the space available to them was just under 4 square feet including the warming space (heating pads suspended with one end close to floor and other end at ~ 6" above floor like the mama heating pad instructions show in this forum), but when I saw pecking behavior yesterday, I opened up the box so they have 8 square feet and turned down the space heater. In addition to the chick feeder (with feed store-recommended chick food) and chick waterer, there are two other small lids with feed in them and two small containers with water. I also added a very short roost, some small pieces of scrap wood, a small mirror, which the Faverolle spends a lot of time in front of. Sometimes they're huddled under the heating pads and sometimes running around the brooder, eating. They seem to be cheeping constantly when they're not huddled under the heating pads. Can I stop worrying about the temperature in their space, is there anything that I should be doing differently?

 

[JEN4444]

Here are photos from above and from the side looking into the heating pad warmer. Any thioughts? The heat thing is tricky--it's hard to know if they're happy and healthy and warm enough/not too warm when you've never had chicks before!

 

[Chicken Chat]

I think your temp and set up are just fine. Chicks make a lot of noise peeping to themselves when they aren't sleeping. They are busy little bees and then pass out like a puppy. Congratulations on your new fuzz babies.

 

[saysfaa]

Wonderful!

 

[JEN4444]

I think your temp and set up are just fine. Chicks make a lot of noise peeping to themselves when they aren't sleeping. They are busy little bees and then pass out like a puppy. Congratulations on your new fuzz babies.

Thank you! Yes, they are very busy running around, cheeping, looking in the mirror, eating, drinking, then suddenly they all head for the heating pad area and cuddle up together and are quiet.... They are very fun to watch. We had ducks years ago, but chicks are different! Thanks again for the reassurance!

 

[JEN4444]

Wonderful!

Thank you!!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Leave the space heater off. If they're going under the heating pad to warm up and then otherwise running about and active, that's perfect.

 

[JEN4444]

Leave the space heater off. If they're going under the heating pad to warm up and then otherwise running about and active, that's perfect.

Okay, what you say makes sense--the only time their behavior seemed really worrisome was when I had the space heater on and it got very warm in their room. Thank you!!

 

[JEN4444]

Leave the space heater off. If they're going under the heating pad to warm up and then otherwise running about and active, that's perfect.

Thanks, rosemarythyme! I meant to reply to you, but made a separate post. Still learning.

 

[Ponypoor]

I agree with the others - sounds like they r ding well. Wait until they start flying out of that box!!! It won't be long either, by two weeks they will be flapping around everywhere