Chicks piling on top of each other. Cold?

[brewfarm]

My Rhode Island Red chicks are 8 1/2 weeks old. They are out of the brooder, no heat lamps, hanging out with my hens. Last week I lost 5 chicks in one night. It looked like the chicks huddled up with the hens, sleeping on the floor of the coop, and some of them got trampled. Today I went out to collect eggs. All of the hens were out in the yard. But about half of the chicks were in the back of the coop huddled together. At least one was on top of another. I found 2 dead chicks at the bottom of the pile.
Did I take away the heat lamps to early? Did I integrate to early? The low temps have been in the 50s and it has been raining. Could the chicks be getting too wet and/or too cold? Did I let them out into the yard too early? Should I set up a couple of heat lamps, in a corner, for them to dry out warm up?
I thought I'd read that if I used heat lamps for too long that they won't grow all their feathers and then they could get sick when they start going outside.
Why else would chicks be piling on top of each other like that? How do I get them to stop?

 

[Spartan22]

Did you integrate with see no touch first? Before you let them be totally with the mature hens? When chicks including hens are scared and not comfortable they tend to pile up causing stampede and cause to suffocate. I don’t think not much of the temps except if you have very drafty coop. I normally don’t totally integrate until 12 to 14 wks unless they’ve seen and get used to one another for quite sometime, even then they normally hang around with their peers until months later when they restablished that so called pecking order and can challenge one another to each hierarchy.

 

[ChickNanny13]

At 8 1/2wks chicks are fully feathered and should be able to handle being in the coop. Did you acclimate them to the weather temps (from the brooder) gradually, or just set them out? Did you integrate (See but no touch) slowly, or just set them in the coop from the brooder? Are they getting wet & chilled? Depending on your coop, are they out of the draft? If they're getting wet & chilling, yes they need a "huddle box" to prevent chill.

They're "huddled" in the corner on top of each other, sounds more like they're being terrorized by the adults. You could section off part of the coop, put feed & water for the chicks but the adults can't get to them. If they're getting wet & not dried off before night fall, I'd add the warmth for them.

 

[brewfarm]

I did see no touch for 2 weeks before I let them loose. I did try to acclimate them to weather gradually. I raised the heat lamps higher than they were originally and then shut them off. I don't think they're being terrorized by the adults because they all seem to get along when I'm watching them.
I'm thinking they are getting wet and chilly. I'll have to look up "huddle box."

 

[Bit by Bit]

Unfortunately chicks really aren't that smart. I just lost 7 in two nights and they will be 7 weeks in 4 days. I've gone out there at night when it's roughly 80 degrees and the chicks are piled on top of each other. Unfortunately, at night chicks cannot see and they're kind of of in a vegetable state. so when there's suffocated, they just go to sleep. they have no way of escaping it. I found that the only way to prevent piling is by sticking a non heated light in their pen, which gives them a fighting chance if piling occurs, because it takes them out of a vegetable state

 

[ChickNanny13]

@Bit by Bit - I would think if they're piling on top of each other, they may be cold/chilled? Are they protected from any draft/breeze?

 

[aart]

I'm thinking they are getting wet and chilly. I'll have to look up "huddle box."

They will pile out of fright too....and just because that's what they do to feel safe.
I've seen piles, well more like rafts, of 12wo chicks all crammed together even tho it was 90°F outside...they were all panting. SMH.

In this case, the hens contributed to the weight the youngers birds couldn't overcome.
Not sure a huddle box will help, and could make it worse.
Make sure the coop is dry(no leaks or rain coming in windows or vents) and draft free.
Sorry for your loss.

 

[Bit by Bit]

@Bit by Bit - I would think if they're piling on top of each other, they may be cold/chilled? Are they protected from any draft/breeze?

Normally they lay flat in a pancake formation. Most of the time when I go out there when they're piling they're usually panting. I believe piling is some sort of survival habit, but I don't know I could be wrong.

 

[ChickNanny13]

They will pile out of fright too....and just because that's what they do to feel safe.
I've seen piles, well more like rafts, of 12wo chicks all crammed together even tho it was 90°F outside...they were all panting. SMH.

In this case, the hens contributed to the weight the youngers birds couldn't overcome.
Not sure a huddle box will help, and could make it worse.
Make sure the coop is dry(no leaks or rain coming in windows or vents) and draft free.
Sorry for your loss.

We've got two different posters .... brew farm the original OP and

@Bit by Bit - If the non - heated light is working then aart got it, they're scared.

 

[Mrs. K]

Get them up on roosts? Mine are all roosting by5 weeks. Put a board up on your roosts if you need to. Maybe a roost away from your big girls. But I think a couple of nights of putting them on roosts will help.

However, do you have hideouts, multiple feeders, and how crowded are they?

Mrs K