Your problem is solved so I’ll get a little philosophical. It sounds like it was just change that had them upset. Chickens will fairly quickly adapt to a new environment but that change can be stressful to them.
I’ve had chicks give that distress call in different situations. If a chick gets separated from a broody hen, say by a fence, it gives the call. I’ve had them get trapped in a tight spot. With that chirp it’s easy to find them and know something is wrong. One time I had a five-day-old just standing around and giving that chirp. Although I had dipped its beak when I put it in and the others were drinking it never learned how. When I dipped its beak in the water it just stood there and guzzled water. There are a wide range of things that might cause that distress call but it does mean they are not happy.
Birds of a feather flock together. They do, but after observing my flock over the years I don’t limit that to color. They do recognize color, that can be a factor. I once had a broody hen hatch out a couple of red chicks and bonded with them. When I added some other chicks a couple of days later (my incubator hatch was later than her hatch although they were started the same day. Interestingly, her hatch was two days early, the incubator was on time) she accepted the red ones but rejected the black chicks.
I’ve noticed hens that were raised together tend to hang out together even after they have fully matured regardless of color. Not always but to me there is a clear tendency.
I think personality has a lot to do with it. Some take confinement well, some like to roam. Some are just more adventurous than others. There are breed tendencies along these lines. I think that’s why it is so color dependent when people first get chicks. But after they have inbred a bit and personality and colors get mixed, I see a lot less of that split along color lines. Birds of a feather do flock together but “feather” doesn’t always mean color.
Azygous sure sounds like a convert to Blooie’s “Cult of the Mama Heating Pad”. Don’t get me wrong, it is a great system. It can work really well but Blooie has admitted that other systems also work. I still use heat lamps. I’ve been using them for years and am set up for it. I brood in the coop summer and winter. Occasionally the far end of the brooder is iced over on a really cold morning but the end of the brooder where the chicks are is toasty. That’s where I keep the water, not right under the heat but in the zone that doesn’t freeze. If I were to switch to another system like the heating pad cave I’d have to come up with a way to keep the water thawed on those icy mornings. It can be done, but I don’t want to hook up another electric line to another electric device down there to keep the water thawed. You have to look at the entire brooder system not just one component.
I can remember living off of a loaf of French bread over the weekend while at college, waiting for my meal ticket to kick back in Sunday night. No peanut butter or jelly, just that loaf of French bread. There was a donut shop off campus that had a bottomless cup of coffee for a dime. I’d load each cup with free sugar and milk and made it through the weekend. Let’s just say I understand how money can be tight for a student. If you have a system that works I don’t see a reason spend money to change right now.
Sorry Azygous old buddy, we’ve had some good conversations on here, but read what you wrote. To me it sounds like a religious convert proselytizing. This is the way, the only way, and every other way is wrong. As much as you love the heating pad cave you know it’s not like that.
