Chicks messing with me?

[HeatherT]

I've got 6 chicks all under 3 weeks in a long plastic tub. This morning I went in and they had dumped out all the water in their waterer so that half of the pine shavings were wet. I have no idea how they did this since it wasn't tipped over?... (it's a plastic mason jar waterer meant for chicks)

Sadly I didn't have time to replace the shavings as I was already late, but I quickly put some fresh water back in there. When I got home 3 hours later, the water trough was literally stuffed to the brim with pine shavings. Can chicks pick up shavings and move them? Why would they want to do this? Do they need more space or something? Are they bored?

 

[cjwaldon]

Chicks dig around a lot and send those pine shaving everywhere, which is why I switched to those nipple waterer things. Everything is so much dryer and cleaner now.

 

[tweetysvoice]

I've heard of others putting the waterer on a brick or something like that to keep the shavings from general scratching out there, but yes, my 2 day old chicks are already finding pine shavings by pulling them out from under the paper towels and running with them, so I can easily see them dropping it in the water dish.

 

[blueberrychickens]

they are most likely scratching in the shavings & kicking them into the waterer. Thats what mine are doing anyways & I have 11 2 week olds in a similar set up. They are not deliberately putting shavings in the water 1 at a time.

 

[HeatherT]

Okay, I raised everything up (on microwave rice bowls,haha) and PROBLEM SOLVED. Thanks for the help!

 

[3LilBirds]

Mine did that to me today as well. Right after I had changed their bedding! Little stinkers! lol

 

[gryeyes]

Heather, forgive me if I have the wrong idea, but I think you are a brand-new chickie momma with no prior experience. You will continue to wonder how chickens do the things they do when you aren't looking, and be amazed and astounded by the stupid and/or adorable things they do when you ARE looking.

So, based upon my guess, let me offer some warnings, for newbie chick owners:

When you look in the brooder and they are all dead, do not have a heart attack yet. Tap the side of the brooder first - the chicks will wake up. They just fall asleep like that. Sometimes on their backs, or with their heads across stuff in the brooder (like laying their heads on the chopping block). They DO look dead, but they're just asleep.

When you pick up a chick and feel a tumor on its neck, do not panic then, either. That's a full crop. The chicks are piggies and will stuff themselves. That crop will empty over night and be all normal again in the morning. Not tumors. Whew!

When you see one or another chick on its side, kicking and twitching, it is NOT having a seizure. It may even flap its wings and roll over onto its other side to do it some more. This is dust bathing behavior in the brooder bedding. Perfectly normal. And very silly looking once you know what it is, which is NOT a seizure. Trust me.

And a bonus, fourth warning: You will fall in love with them. This will not change even when they grow up into chickens and start to lay eggs. You will love them more. And I bet you will do a great big dance and run excitedly into the house, screaming with delight when the first one lays her first egg.

 

[HeatherT]

Linda, thanks for all that beautifully written info. On of my chicks in particular has a habit of sleeping like a corpse. Still gets me every morning.

I'm not a pet person, so it surprising how much they are growing on me already! They are a lot of fun.