Ecoglow, Sweeter heater, heatplate users! A question!

[Stephine]

Are the chicks alright in the dark overnight? I got a terrarium heat emitter bulb for my last batch last spring when they were maybe three weeks old because I wanted them to be calmer at night.
Now I am using the same aet up for the tiny ones I just got today and am wondering if it's ok for them to be in the dark all night, and consequently go without feed or water till morning? I guess they would do the same with a broody, but then they wouldn't just have had the stress of being shipped...
I picked them up this morning and they had all day to drink and eat (their eating was a bit haphazard though as I have seen with all three of my batches of shipped chicks, but they did eat scrambled eggs with gusto and later pecked away at the feed sprinkled on the papertowels... So, will they be ok fasting overnight?

 

[eggbert420]

Yes

 

[Pork Pie]

Yes

*2

 

[Stephine]

Thank you!

I ended up chickening out last night after I read that Gail Demarow recommends to keep the light on for 48 hrs.
I switched out the bulb to a red light one and noticed that one chick was not popping up like the others and seemed excessively sleepy. I went into save the weak chick mode but it just got weaker and died early morning despite my efforts.
I am glad I kept the light on so I can't blame the dead chick on using just the heat emitter!
I will give them one more night with the red bulb and then swith back to the emitter...
Thanks again!

 

[junebuggena]

Might have gotten overheated. Shipping stressed chicks are more prone to overheating. Only one heat source is needed. That room temp brooder is needed to give the chicks a chance to cool themselves.

 

[SueT]

Sleeping all night is natural! It is not a problem. I use a ceramic heat emitter, this is my second batch of chicks with it. When it's dark they all go to sleep and sleep all night. In the morning they wake up and eat.
May I suggest you put a thermometer under whatever you are using to make sure it isn't too warm.....

 

[Stephine]

Might have gotten overheated. Shipping stressed chicks are more prone to overheating. Only one heat source is needed. That room temp brooder is needed to give the chicks a chance to cool themselves. 

Hmm. I only have one heat source set up on the far end of my large galvanized trough. The chicks can and do easily move out of the heated area. I don't have a thermometer set up but went by the chicks behavior and where they chose to go to rest or sleep. It looks good to me...

 

[Stephine]

Than

Sleeping all night is natural!  It is not a problem.  I use a ceramic heat emitter, this is my second batch of chicks with it.  When it's dark they all go to sleep and sleep all night.   In the morning they wake up and eat. 
May I suggest you put a thermometer under whatever you are using to make sure it isn't too warm.....

ks, Sue! I know it's natural, but it's not natural to be tossed around in a little box for a couple of days after hatching. I was wondering if after that amount of stress they needed the option of drinking/eating more often than a chick with with a broody, until they have recovered. It seems some people here have had good experiences with letting the chicks sleep all night and I was willing to try it, until I read Gail's recommendation. I'll give them one more night to catch up and then it'll be lights out at night again!

 

[SueT]

Than
ks, Sue! I know it's natural, but it's not natural to be tossed around in a little box for a couple of days after hatching. I was wondering if after that amount of stress they needed the option of drinking/eating more often than a chick with with a broody, until they have recovered. It seems some people here have had good experiences with letting the chicks sleep all night and I was willing to try it, until I read Gail's recommendation. I'll give them one more night to catch up and then it'll be lights out at night again!

You are surely right....I picked mine up at the nearby hatchery on hatch day, so they didn't go thru any of that. I hadn't thought about the difference. Good luck with yours!