About to lose MY MIND!!!!

[Blisschick]

I have three chicks that hatched last Friday. All are healthy and running around, eating and drinking just fine. BUT-- there is this one peep that keeps screaming it's little head off, and I can't figure out why!! I'm about to go insane from the incessant cheeping. The other two are quiet and go about their chick business, but this one will only stop cheeping when I either A. go over and tell it to shut up, or B. pick up and handle it a little while. Then it will eventually begin cheeping again, so I put it back in with the others, only for it to continue screaming it's head off!

What can I do, short of stuffing a sock down it's little throat, to shut it up???

 

[Smartie_Pants]

It wants your attention! Be glad and handle it a lot. You may wind up with a nice lap chicken.

 

[Blisschick]

Handling only works for a short time, then it starts peeping again.

 

[WestKnollAmy]

A nice warm baked potato to lean up against, like Mama hens' chest.

 

[Blisschick]

I'm beginning to think maybe it has some kind of internal distress. I compared him to the two others, and it seems a bit thinner, but that's hard to tell on tiny Serama chicks. I'm going to keep an eye on it and see what happens. It's quiet for now, thankfully.

 

[dgeter]

I just brought home a silkie chick on monday night and am having the screaming problems as well. Its only happy after I handle it for awhile which I definitely have been. Its also happy when I tuck in into and old fluffy purse that I gave it. But as soon as it wonders out of the purse the screaming beggins again. Its 3 weeks old and I'm pretty concerned. It was taking from its siblings so I image thats the problem. I'm going to keep giving it a ton of attention and hopefully after a weeks time it'll calm down and consider my family to be its flock. If it doesnt get better I'll be getting another chick for it to play with but thats a last resort as I have enough pets already.

 

[Buff Hooligans]

Every once in a while, someone has a chick that doesn't have an "off" switch. I never know what happens to those chicks though. Whether they just grow up and shut up, or whether the constant peeping means they're in pain from some sort of internal problem, in which case, do they die?

Let us know the outcome, even if it's a few weeks from now.

 

[Mrs.Puff]

Ha ha! Your chickie has "imprinted" on you. It thinks you're mommy. Maybe you should take a photo of yourself and put it in the brooder w/ it. Hopefully the little guy isn't ill. Some are just noisy.

 

[Heidi]

Put a stuffed animal in there - might help. I've done that before and it seemed to help. The chick usually snuggles up against it. I have a cockerel that keeps crowing in my basement. Everytime I talk he crows and crows. This morning he woke me up at 5:25 a.m. I'm surprised my kids haven't lynched him. He's only 13 weeks so he will be in the house until February - then out into the chicken pole barn. Any ideas?

 

[gumpsgirl]

Quote:
This was going to me my exact suggestion! If you don't have a stuffed animal on hand that you could spare, try a stuffed sock. Good luck with it!