Baby chicks hanging out on top of Brinsea brooder

[Physaliaphysalia]

Hi All! All 7 of our baby chicks (~8 days old) are perching on top of the Brinsea Ecoglow20 brooder heat source. Is this an indication that they are hot or feeling cramped and we should move the brooder up to the next height setting? Thanks!

 

[bobbi-j]

Probably both. I’d put them in a brooder big enough that they can move around and get away from the heat if they need to.

 

[NatJ]

Hi All! All 7 of our baby chicks (~8 days old) are perching on top of the Brinsea Ecoglow20 brooder heat source. Is this an indication that they are hot or feeling cramped and we should move the brooder up to the next height setting? Thanks!

How much space do they have that is not under the heat source?

Chicks do like to sit on things, so that's one more possible explanation.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Perching or sleeping? Perching is when they play up on things. Roosting is when they sleep up there. Two different things. It could be either. Where are they sleeping?

If you watch a broody hen raise chicks in cold weather you learn a lot about how well they can manage cold weather. Chicks even a few days old spend a surprising amount of time out looking for food and playing, then go back under Mama when they need to warm up. I'm talking about temperatures around freezing, not the balmy temperatures inside a climate-controlled house.

If they were cold they would not be up there relaxing. They'd be giving a plaintive chirp that gets you in your soul. Just hearing it you'd now something is wrong.

I'm not there looking at them so I can't be sure of anything over the internet but if they are acting content, they are content.

 

[yakitori]

Birds like to be higher up, chicks are no different! make sure you have ample space so they can choose their preferred temperature inside the brooder. And if they’re running around and chirping happily to each other, I wouldn’t worry about it. I put a mesh over my brooder within the first week, they can jump pretty high by then!

 

[Physaliaphysalia]

Thanks to all who answered! The brooder area is a little more than 3x the size of the brinsea ecoglow20, so they have room to roam. They seem to both perch and roost on the ecoglow. They are all feisty and seem happy, but weren’t going underneath much anymore. I raised it up and some are still on top of it, but some are under, too. I think they are content. They are growing faster than I expected!