Chicks afraid of the dark??

[ninafe]

Do you have a heat lamp for them?

Yes I do! I have a heating plate for them, which caused a bit of drama this morning. For the past two days they've been sleeping on top of the plate instead of under, so I thought they no longer needed the supplemental heat. I turned off the plate this morning and all FREAKED out so i had to turn it back on. I feel like my chicks are all drama queens.

 

[Moorechicks1]

Since you all have had small chicks- a random question for ya! Have you had problem with their feet having too much poop stuck on the bottom?? I tried to clean them with a soft tissue but they hated it. Would it naturally fall off or should I indeed clean them once in a while?

Don't pull the poop off. You can tear the skin. Soak their feet in warm water and slowly work it off. It's a sign you need to put down more shavings or clean the brooders.. Poop on the feet can dry like cement after a few hours and because of the high nitrogen can burn their skin.

 

[Ccort]

Morning guys! I have four 2.5 week old chicks that are currently being housed in our first floor guest bedroom. The blinds are up all day so they get plenty of sunlight. However I noticed that in the evening, after I shut the blinds and the room becomes dark, they start screaming in a way that sounds like they are really really terrified when I turn off the light. As soon as I turn the light back on, they fall peacefully asleep... It's really cute! But...Is this normal behavior?

Mine did this too. I gave them a night light and it made a world of difference.

 

[ninafe]

Don't pull the poop off. You can tear the skin. Soak their feet in warm water and slowly work it off. It's a sign you need to put down more shavings or clean the brooders.. Poop on the feet can dry like cement after a few hours and because of the high nitrogen can burn their skin.

Got it! Yes I gave each of them a warm foot bath and pedicure hahah. Gotta say they looked like they were really enjoying having their tiny feet soaked in a plastic container with bubbles. Fast forward four weeks later! They are more grown up and no longer have the poopy feet problem now that they’ve upgraded from puppy pads to pine shavings thanks for your advice!

 

[Blooie]

My chicks never, ever see an artificial light of any kind. When the sun goes down, they duck under their heating pad and sleep straight through the night, just as they would under a broody hen. She has no night lights under her wings.

That screaming and fussing is a first class chickie temper tantrum, and the only time I ever went through that (weaning my first ever batch of chicks, heat lamp and indoor raised, off the lamp) I handled it exactly as I would a two year old’s tantrum. They just had to get over it, and I had to get through it. They survived. They forgave me. That was 8 years ago. And I never raised chicks with any kind of light again.

 

[Iluveggers]

I’m a sucker. I had a strand of about 12 white Christmas lights, only about 2 feet long. I set that up hanging next to their brooder. It helped a lot but didn’t cause confusion day & night. And I felt better. Lol