HELP!! Newbie question--How do chicks sleep???

[Qi Chicken]

Do chicks lie down to sleep??????? 26 beautiful chicks arrived from Estes hatchery this morning. THey are all active and peeping but some are lying down. Are they just tired or are they sick??

My brooder temp keeps falling. It's at 92 now and I don't know why. It's been at 98-100 all morning.

They are so cute! Pics to follow!

 

[Flippacase]

LOL!!!!!

They are supposed to sleep like that. They haven't yet learned to sleep "the adult way".
I thought that my little chickies were sick too last year when i got mine.

 

[fastpat]

Yes, they go like mad for a while and then lie down and sleep. They do this over and over again all day and most of the night as far as I can tell. Most of the time they sleep with their feet tucked under their bodies, but sometimes they lay on their sides with their feet straight to the rear, really looking ill. Just make a slight, unusual noise and they're instantly awake and up, though.

I think they'll begin to sleep at night when I discontinue the warming light.

 

[Humhill]

Chicks sleep in whatever position they're in when the mood hits them. And the mood his fast. They'll be running around one minute and passed out the next. I always joke that they're narcoleptic.

ETA: I wouldn't worry so much about the temperature reading in the brooder; pay more attention to their behavior. If they're huddled under the light, they're cold, huddled away from the light is too hot and just milling around not paying attention to the light is good.

 

[wanderseek]

I've found that some of mine sleep just crouched down with their heads hunkered down onto their "shoulders." Other times, I've seen the sleep with their head turned sideways and tucked under a wing. A few of mine have fallen asleep on their perch with their heads hanging waaaay down like their necks fell asleep too! haha! Also, they'll sometimes sleep with the necks/heads lying on top of another chicken. And one just the other day "dug" a hole in the bedding, kinda like a dog will dig a hole to lay in, and it slept on its side in the hole with its head resting up on the ledge of the hole it dug! Funny chickies.

 

[herefordlovinglady]

they sleep in all kinds of positions, i have laughed so many times at my chicks. what is even funnier is they will be up moving around and then boom they are flat on their side sound a sleep. it looks like they faint.

as far as the temp here is something from mypetchicken that may help.. you may want to put something across the top of the brooder to hold in heat.

Baby chicks need to be kept pretty hot. Think sauna! The first week of their lives they require an air temperature of 95 degrees, the second week 90 degrees, and so on - going down by 5 degrees per week until they're ready to transition to "outside". A 250-watt infrared heat lamp is the best way to achieve this, placed right in the middle of their living area and suspended off the ground. The height of the light will depend on what it takes to achieve your target temperature.

We recommend a red heat bulb for a few reasons: one, with a bright white light constantly glaring it can be hard for them to sleep. The red light is darker and provides them some respite. Two, red lights help prevent them from pecking one another.

 

[Chickiemama1010]

LOL....yes its frightening to see them flop face down and pass out. Its also perfectly normal.

When I got my chicks they did that. I found myself constantly checking to see if they were alive. Paranoid.

Your brooder temp is fine. I dont even have a thermometer in mine. I just watch the chicks. If they are all spread out or excessively cheeping they are too hot. If they are all huddled under the light trying to pile up on top of each other they are too cold. your chicks are a better indicator of good temps than any thermometer in the brooder

 

[Qi Chicken]

Phew!! Thanks guys! I just held all the sleeping ones to the water to make sure they knew where it was again. They must think the big hand is very strange!

 

[Backyard_Chicken_rancher]

Think of them as lil babies they need rest all the time and at this point in their cute little lives they need lots and lots of rest and they don't roost or even com close to it for awhile I put a roost in their brooder and they sat on it but never roosted they always layed down in the shavings....

As far as the temps gop no need to worry they will tell you if it is to hot or to cold if they are as far away from it as they can get to hot if they are all under it and huddled the brooders is to cold if they are all running around and peeping then it is just fine mine loved it at 75 -80 for the first week after that I droped it 5 degrees every week by back ing off the heat lamp and the last week before going out to the big coop I ran it night only if it was cold.
Now they are in the big coop and I still only run it at night if it is cold which here in Texas is none to often.

Enjoy your new fuzzy butts and have fun with them nothing better then chicken TV.

 

[LittleMamaBigPapa]

Too cute....I was terrified of the unknown with my first chicks that I got last year. I slept in the spare room next to their box and sprang up at every peep!! Geez they peep a lot. I was so afraid they would doze off and drop their face in the water or something. They are just fun once you get familiar with their ways.