Chicks piling in corner at night

[Birdygirl]

My chicks are six weeks old. We put them in the hen house about a 2 weeks ago with a heat lamp.
We stopped using the heat lamp a week ago and it is getting so hot here (90) today that we stopped using it.
They are huddling in one corner on top of each other practically..... they are not roosting at night. They do like the roost during the day to play on.
Is this normal behaviour for chicks to huddle(pile) like that?
I think the nightime temp is about 60, they have tons of feathers now.
Just curious....cause the temp out there is 75 right now and its dark.
Thanks!!

 

[MayberrySaint]

Half of my flock is still doing that at 13 weeks of age. It is stifiling in the coop tonight and there are 16 pullets piled in the corner...

 

[wallace]

My chicks did this at first. They would practically pile on top of each other, all in one corner. Same deal - it was maybe getting down to 60 at night, but they had plenty of feathers. That was three or four weeks ago, and they're perfectly fine now. Now they get up on roosts, but they still huddle up pretty tight and it's plenty warm here at night.

 

[hinkjc]

I think the piling is more fear of the dark, than them being too cool. They certainly sound like they are mature enough to handle the temps, so maybe they're just scared. They should ease up as time goes on. You could try placing them on the roost at night next to each other in the dark to get them used to what they should do.

Jody

 

[Birdygirl]

Thank you!
My husband placed a small solar garden light out there(very tiny light). Maybe it will help as well.
Tomorrow night we will sneak them on the roost...lol

 

[lurky]

mine are 10 weeks old and the just in the past few days started roosting alot.....but they also still huddle too. I think they just figure it out and grow into it.

 

[cookinmom]

Yep, I think that's what it is too. Mine did it til about 9 or 10 weeks, even with the light on. Crazy things! Funny part was, the very night my friend came and took my seven little cockerels, every one of the girls hopped up on the roost to sleep where they have been ever since!