Chick sleeping

[catdaddy66]

I don't know if this or the behavior forum is the right spot for this question...
What is the normal sleep pattern of a healthy 3 day old chick? The ones I have seem to sleep for short bursts of only a few minutes and then pop awake when disturbed (ie walked on) by the others.

How long do they nap during the day? Does the continuous lite interrupt the optimal pattern of healthy sleep?

I know grown birds have a stupor that comes over them in the darkness...is this needed for recouperative sleep?

Sorry if these are silly questions but in all the books and threads I have read very little on a chick's sleep needs. Thanks!

 

[emvickrey]

Thats normal. They will stand up and fall asleep with their beaks landing on the floor. I thought mine where dying when I saw this for the first time. I've seen them just fall over asleep. As long as their eating and drinking they should be fine.

 

[Suechick]

Sounds OK to me too. My babies slept for short periods and then would eat and run around then sleep again. They startled easily but when the house was quiet they'd settle down for longer naps, until one of the chicks moved, then they'd all be up again. They are 4 months old now and still have slightly erratic sleeping patterns but are otherwise very healthy birds.

 

[Darlasmum]

That falling asleep on their face w/ the wings spread scared me to death the first time. Then POP!- off n running again. Just like puppies. There really should be a warning out there for newbies. "Shhhhsh- sleeping, NOT dead"

 

[A.T. Hagan]

I don't think young chicks sleep so much as they simply pass out and hit the ground where ever they happen to be standing. Even after brooding hundreds of chicks over the years I still wonder at a few in every batch.

.....Alan.

 

[donnavee]

My DH woke me at 2 am one morning telling me one of our chicks was dead. She was always a bit smaller so I said I wasn't surprised, got out of bed, walked out to the brooder only to find her happily stuffing her beak with food.

DH just looked at me and swore he had been watching her for 30 minutes and she hadn't moved. Sneaky little chick! I think the sleep patterns are pretty erratic when they are small, just whenever and wherever they drop at the moment. Before we moved them outside for good, we started setting their heat lamp on a timer so that it cut off for a little while each night and they could gradually adjust to darkness. Naturally, this was after they were feathered and needed very little heat.