could use some help

[pamarino17]

my chicks are just starting their third week and i've noticed a couple of things...

they seem to be "flying" around the brooder and getting into each others faces, kind of like seeing who's boss. is that normal?

also, they are huddling under the light even though I also have a heat lamp which is warmer than the light over them. are they looking to be under the light for the light? or for warmth? If they wanted to be warm, why wouldn't the just go under the heat light?

also, they are starting to perch on the feeders. Is this normal?

 

[theFox]

They's chickens and you expect normal?

They are just being chicks from the sounds of it.

 

[lovinlife]

I don't know how big your brooder is, so it's hard to answer some of your questions. First thing I'd ask is if you have a perch of some sort for them to roost on. They will naturally want to sit on something to sleep, so it would be good to provide that.

Second, is the brooder set up to have the light source on half of it and the heat source on the other half? If so, the headed side might be too warm. Check the temp on that side.

Third, if the brooder is too small, they may be getting restless. That's just speculation since you mention that they seem to be flying about. Three weeks is about when they start to get out if you don't have a top on your brooder. I'd say that's normal.

Enjoy your babies!!!

 

[underground chickenman]

Sounds pretty normal to me. They hop up and down facing each other like they are sparring. They chase each other around. They perch on the feeder. They poop in the water (keep that and the feed clean).

The important thing with a brooder is to make sure it is big enough to offer some temperature variations. You want a part of the brooder to have a constant temp, but room for them to move to a cooler area if they choose to do so. The area with the constant temp should be 90-95F the first week, and then 5 degrees cooler each week thereafter until they are fully feathered, or about 6 weeks.

In the pic below, about 25 percent of the brooder (the corner under the lights) is about 90 degrees F. It gets slightly cooler toward the other corners. They move around all over the place. Sometimes they are right under it, sometimes they are spread out all over and sometimes they huddle away from the main heat. They are the best judges of whether they are too hot or too cold. We just have to give them the room to make their own adjustments.

UGCM