Chicks won’t leave the heater?

[TwistyTW]

So I just hatched two healthy little chicks. I moved them to the brooder last night and they’ve fluffed up a bunch since then, and have been huddled under the heater ever since. It’s been about 10 hours. Should I be concerned? They haven’t come out to eat or drink, and while I know they can survive for the first couple days off of the yolk, I still want to make sure they won’t starve themselves by being too cold. Thoughts?

 

[sourland]

If you're concerned, take them from under the heater, dip their beaks in the water, and offer feed.

 

[ButtonHoarder]

What’s the temperature in the brooder?

 

[neo71665]

What’s the temperature in the brooder?

??

 

[TwistyTW]

What’s the temperature in the brooder?

Around 66 Fahrenheit or 19 Celsius outside of the heater

 

[neo71665]

Your freezing them, it needs to be about 95-100F for the first 2 weeks and drop it by 5 degrees every week after.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Should I be concerned?

I would not be. How do you know they haven't come out for food and drink? Have you been watching them the entire ten ours? They can be pretty sneaky.

Typically with a broody hen the chicks spend a lot of their first couple of days under her. They will come out some, they will eat and drink some, but they spend a lot of time under her.

When I put chicks in the brooder straight from the incubator they typically spend a lot of the first couple of days near the heat. They are just not that active for a couple of days. They will roam a bit and eat and drink a bit but they seem to rest a lot. Hatching can be hard work.

How warm is it in the room where you have the brooder? If it is in a climate controlled area where you are comfortable and a breeze is not hitting them they can spend a fair length of time away from the heat source. Mine will in that weather if a broody hen tells them to. But left to themselves they can appear to be pretty lazy.

Moving them out and dipping their beak in water to make sure they know where it is would be OK. Putting them next to their food and tapping it with your fingers to try to entice them tp peck at it would be OK. Just moving them away from the heat a little and see if they go back would be OK. I kind of do that whenever I put them in the brooder. I always dip each beak and set some of them down where they have food. I put some near the heat. My broods are typically in the range of 20 chicks. They learn from each other.

If the chicks get cold, hungry, or thirsty they should start giving the distress peeping. That's a consistent slow peeping that tears at your heart. You know something is wrong just by the sound. If you hear that you need to so something. Until you hear that you don't have to do anything but you can if you want to. As long as you are gentle you won't harm the chicks and it may make you feel better.

 

[TwistyTW]

Your freezing them, it needs to be about 95-100F for the first 2 weeks and drop it by 5 degrees every week after.

The entire brooder should be that temp? The heat pad is warmed up perfectly fine

 

[TwistyTW]

Thank you for the reply. The room itself is a bit chilly as it’s in the basement. Around 19 Celsius. I’d move them upstairs, but there’s cats and dogs that could easily get at them and I wouldn’t want that to happen. I’ve tried dipping their beaks in the water and tapping food for them, even taking a pinch of food and putting it on the ground near the heater, and they still refuse to come out. Should I think about moving them to a different room?

I would not be. How do you know they haven't come out for food and drink? Have you been watching them the entire ten ours? They can be pretty sneaky.

Typically with a broody hen the chicks spend a lot of their first couple of days under her. They will come out some, they will eat and drink some, but they spend a lot of time under her.

When I put chicks in the brooder straight from the incubator they typically spend a lot of the first couple of days near the heat. They are just not that active for a couple of days. They will roam a bit and eat and drink a bit but they seem to rest a lot. Hatching can be hard work.

How warm is it in the room where you have the brooder? If it is in a climate controlled area where you are comfortable and a breeze is not hitting them they can spend a fair length of time away from the heat source. Mine will in that weather if a broody hen tells them to. But left to themselves they can appear to be pretty lazy.

Moving them out and dipping their beak in water to make sure they know where it is would be OK. Putting them next to their food and tapping it with your fingers to try to entice them tp peck at it would be OK. Just moving them away from the heat a little and see if they go back would be OK. I kind of do that whenever I put them in the brooder. I always dip each beak and set some of them down where they have food. I put some near the heat. My broods are typically in the range of 20 chicks. They learn from each other.

If the chicks get cold, hungry, or thirsty they should start giving the distress peeping. That's a consistent slow peeping that tears at your heart. You know something is wrong just by the sound. If you hear that you need to so something. Until you hear that you don't have to do anything but you can if you want to. As long as you are gentle you won't harm the chicks and it may make you feel better.

 

[neo71665]

The entire brooder should be that temp? The heat pad is warmed up perfectly fine

The base of the brooder near the heating pad needs to be that temp. You should have it at one side and the other side cooler so if they get hot they can go over there.