Chicks need to be tucked into bed

[emalin]

Do anyone else's chicks need to be tucked in for naps and bedtime? I have three chicks, all of whom cry and cry until they are cuddled and calmed then put under their eco-glow heater. At dusk their routine is to fill their crops to bursting with crumbles then cry until I come for them. Sometimes they need a few rounds of cuddling, but they finally settle down and go to sleep. It's like having toddlers! Insanely adorable.

 

[justplainbatty]

Do anyone else's chicks need to be tucked in for naps and bedtime? I have three chicks, all of whom cry and cry until they are cuddled and calmed then put under their eco-glow heater. At dusk their routine is to fill their crops to bursting with crumbles then cry until I come for them. Sometimes they need a few rounds of cuddling, but they finally settle down and go to sleep. It's like having toddlers! Insanely adorable.

If not in your hands, they should aways have the heat available. If they cry all day, they are probably cold! Cramming their crops full before bed is totally normal. It's nice that they enjoy being cuddled, they see you as mom. They're just so darn cute!

 

[emalin]

They were hatched in an incubator and seem to be somewhat imprinted or at least extremely tame. I'm used to hen-raised chicks, so this is new to me. They are incredibly friendly. They jump into my hands when I reach into the brooder and cry for pets and cuddles. It took a while to figure out what it was that they wanted, but now I know the specific cry that means they need attention. Just want to be clear that they don't cry all day. They have a heater at all times, and are generally calm, happy and healthy chicks. They also go under the heater on their own, but consistently need to be "settled down" before they go to sleep for the night and occasionally before naps. I'm completely enamored with them, of course. It makes me think of The Anatomy of Desire--how plants manipulate human behavior as much as the other way around--only in this case with chickens! These guys will never be dinner. . .even if they turn out to be guys!