Chicks Piling on each other - some are crying!

[mlh2]

We put our chicks (now almost 8 weeks old) out into their "real" coop last week. While there are plenty of roost space for all 36 chicks, only about 10 sit on the roosts. This would be okay, except that the rest of them pile into a corner of the coop (right in front of the door no less). They are actually piling on each other and you can hear one or two cry out because they are being squashed or hurt. My son and I spent nearly 30 minutes trying to get them to spread apart just a little bit (I know they probably wanted to cuddle because it was cool - about 48 degrees) but this was beyond cuddling. My son was very worried (so was I, but I didn't want to tell him that). Is this normal?

 

[JerseyGiantfolk]

Try to put a heat lamp in there if you can. They should be at a steady 65 degrees F right now.

 

[mlh2]

Ok Thanks - we were hesitant to put them out since the temps at night have been anywhere from 40-50 degrees, but the hatchery that we ordered them from said that they should be okay if they were in a draft free coop and if they had all of their feathers. We'll put some heat in there and see how they do. Hopefully that's all it takes. Thanks

 

[Retri33]

Ok Thanks - we were hesitant to put them out since the temps at night have been anywhere from 40-50 degrees, but the hatchery that we ordered them from said that they should be okay if they were in a draft free coop and if they had all of their feathers. We'll put some heat in there and see how they do. Hopefully that's all it takes. Thanks

I have four girls, one who is about a month older than the other three and they did/do the same thing every night....pile into a corner and huddle under the bigger one. We were also told from the person we got them from that as long as the temp didn't go below 40 degrees that they would be fine inside their draft-free coop. They have been with us for almost three weeks now and when we put them to bed each night, they all pile in the corner as usual and huddle under the bigger one. They have bedding, 2 roosts and plent of space, but they seem to prefer things this way in the corner. I too worried they would be too cold, but they are all healthy and happy and have their faces pasted against the window ready to come out in the morning

 

[Fred's Hens]

Was there an adjustment period? If chicks, even feathered out 8 week old chicks, get moved from 80 degrees to a 40-50 degree environment, coupled with being in a strange place, they'll act like this for a day or two. A slight circle of medium warmth, just what a 150 watt bulb, safely hung 3 feet off the floor, will provide just enough warmth for them to make the transition with more calmness.

Sure 8 week old chicks can take 40 degrees, but sudden transitions can disturb them. After a few days, with nicer weather coming in May? They'll be just fine without any help at all.

Training wheel roosts, lower to the floor, are also helpful in teaching them to roost.

 

[mlh2]

Thanks for the reassurance.

 

[mlh2]

Yes, about a week before we put them out, we turned off one of their heat lamps (it was a 250 watt heat bulb about 6 feet above them - we had been raising it weekly little by little). Then about 3 days before they went out, we turned the other heat bulb off. They were in the basement of our old farmhouse which is always about 65 degrees on its best day. So, I think they should have been conditioned for the coop b/c it was reaching daytime temps of 65/70 and then it would get fairly cold at night 35-50 degrees. But, maybe they're still cold and scared of their new environment. Though, this is WAY bigger than their brooder pen.

 

[CorinneP]

Is your coop set up so you could maybe put temporary separation and divide them in half with 30 they may accidentally crush a smaller chicken . I think the light will help too .

 

[azahn]

I have this same scenario. 48 chicks, kept in brooder, adjusted temp each week and welcomed them to brand new coop with plenty of room and roosts when fully feathered. They will roost in the day, then pile up at night, even though it's 55 degrees and draft free. We attached a very secure run to the coop, so I decided that we would give them 24/7 access to inside/outside. While half are snuggled up inside the corner of the coop, the other half are snuggled up outside the coop. Not a single one on the roost. They seem happy though, so I've stopped worrying about it (but it's nice to know other chickens do the same thing!).