Chukar chick is freaking out

[mtgrl]

Hi, this is the first time I've ever raised poultry and I don't know what I'm doing. I have a pair of chukar partridges. They've laid maybe 15-20 eggs so far and have been laying almost every day. The only problem is, they'll take care of the eggs for a couple days or so but then they have a tendency to eat them. So I put them in an incubator next to the chukars' cage, in my room. Well, yesterday morning, the first egg hatched. I put him in about a 4 foot long box with some paper towels and a heat lamp, some water and crushed feed. He hasn't eaten or drank anything yet, but I can tell he's healthy, because he's running around at the speed of lightning, he's growing before my eyes, and now he's almost strong enough to jump right out of the box. But that is also a problem. He just won't calm down. He's been running around the perimeter of the box day and night frantically, and cheeping constantly. I thought he'd be used to having me around, but he's very afraid of me. And he seems to be calling for his mother. He keeps going to the corner closest to their cage and cheeping really loudly. They seem curious, but they aren't responding to the calls, and I'm really nervous about attempting to put him in with them seeing how they treated their unhatched young, and I'm sure they wouldn't recognize the chick as their own. He's probably heard them in his egg, so he recognizes their voice and wants to be with them, even though he's never seen them, but I just don't want to chance it when he's this young. He seems healthy, but I feel bad for him. He's just absolutely freaking out. I think it's also a little hot in there, the temp reads 110 in the middle of the box, but further away from the lamp is probably cooler. I read you're supposed to decrease the temp every week, but I don't really know how to do that since the lamp clips to the side of the box. Anyway, he doesn't really seem to be worried with the temperature, he's not trying to avoid the lamp, he just seems intent on getting out.

 

[flyladyrocks]

Okay, so i am a newbie at this too - but my understanding is Chickens are social creatures so maybe this little guy is too? I wonder if he is just lonely. Hopefully another one will hatch soon and give him some company.

He also may be hot - I aim for the ideal temp in the middle of my brooder, where the thermometer is. I have the lamp at one end - that way the chicks can regulate themselves and choose to go warmer or cooler. You could make it cooler by having him in a taller box/container so the lamp is further away from the bottom.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

Yes, 110 is too hot! Lower the temperature quickly, you'll be aiming for around 90 under the lamp, the rest of the brooder should be much cooler. I aim my lamp in a corner so they just have one little place to warm themselves, like they would under a hen.

It's also highly likely he lonely. He hears the other birds and wants to be with them. You could try giving him a mirror, stuffed animal or feather duster for company, but it'd be MUCH better if he had a baby buddy to hang with. Do you have other eggs due to hatch? If not, I'd consider finding someone to keep him company.

 

[mtgrl]

I don't think he's too hot, the thermometer reads 82 degrees at the far end of the box.

Yeah, I think he's lonely. Unfortunately, none of the other eggs have hatched yet. I put one egg in a day after him, but it hasn't hatched, and the other eggs I put in a few weeks later. A stuffed animal is a good idea though, what kind would be appropriate? I don't want to give him anything that could be toxic.

 

[mtgrl]

So, this morning the second chick finally hatched. The first chick is now 4 days old, and has been running around nonstop-now, he's focused mainly on obsessing over this little fold of newspaper. He climbs on it, hops down, pecks it, goes underneath it, climbs on top again, etc. It's really weird. When the new chick came, he largely ignored it. The baby chick was still crawling around, not yet able to stand or open its eyes, and has been sleeping almost all day. When he crawled under the older chick's newspaper fold, the older chick flipped out and started pecking it and when I reached down to stop him, he started running around like crazy and freaking out again. After that he kept trying to peck the baby chick, so I stayed around and babysat them all day to make sure he didn't hurt the baby chick. I wanted to wait until the baby was at least able to walk to let them be together without supervision. It's been about 12 hours now, and the baby chick can now walk, and run a little bit, and he's eating and drinking and is about as big as his older sibling. Whenever I reach my hand into the cage, the older chick runs away, but the baby chick hops into my hand and falls asleep. He's much calmer, trusting, and less aggressive than his older sibling, but now, after being picked on all day, he's starting to learn to fight back. I'm starting to let them fight under supervision, because I assume they're going to do it sooner or later, and now that he seems to be able to defend himself, I'm letting them sort it out. He still can't run as fast or walk as well, but a lot of the time he chases the older chick away. The other one's still just a little stronger because it's constantly jumping around. I think tomorrow, the younger will probably be the bigger chick, though. They haven't seriously hurt each other yet, but I'm just a little concerned about leaving them alone. Do you think they will be okay if I let them have at it by themselves, or will they end up hurting each other? I especially don't want the younger one to get hurt, he's still only half a day old, and the older one keeps pecking him while he's sleeping.

Also, the older chick is still chirping like crazy and running around while the other one's trying to sleep, and calling for his mom. The new chick hasn't changed anything

 

[mtgrl]

So, after a long restless night of the chick running around like mad and chirping like the dickens while all the others were asleep, the poor little newborn chick looked really weak and tired, and the older chick kept stepping on him while he was trying to sleep. So I finally put a divider between them, and they both seem to have calmed down and have gotten good rest now. Hopefully I can now too.