Hens trying to suffocate in a pile.

[jonas]

Ive got 8 very healthy one month old hens and just today they started to pile up on one another in a corner and I know the smaller ones are going to need air. Up until today they have been happily sharing the roost and pen. I have no idea what caused this change. They have a huge house to sleep in. 12 x 8. Heat lamp is right, food, water etc, but its crazy how they are trying to pile up. They have grown like crazy but have plenty of freedom to roam, but as I said they would pile up 8 high if they could. Its almost manic how they try to jockey for position. Any ideas on how to spread these girls out... thanks, Mike

 

[Crest Acres Girl]

Mine tend to pile up when they are scared or cold. Is it cold in the coop?

 

[giasmom]

First of all

! Now one month old pullets, Are they piling under the light or away from the light? Are you sure they are warm enough? Are they afraid of something ? Any kind of recent changes to their area?

 

[Intheswamp]

Has something scared them. ????? Look around and be sure nothing is "fluttering in the breeze" that their instincts tell them is a predator swooping down on them.

I would say they're cold but they would be piling up up under the heat lamp....you might want to set them up a brooder ring/box for them to stay in for another week or two.

Good luck on finding the answer!

Ed

 

[Judy]

When I first put my bunch in their new huge run, they tended to pile in one corner. They were too old to be cold. I really think they were afraid. I just shooed them out of the corner.

A month or two later, they still spend much of the day in the coop, exploring the run mostly in the early morning and after the sun has dropped behind the trees.

 

[Debi214]

- Where are you located? That would help us know if your chicks are hot or cold for starters. Mine are 4 weeks old and I had to turn the heat lamp on tonight for them in an enclosed shed - the way they peeped told me they were cold. Babies sleep within their moms warm feathers for quite a while after they hatch which is really warm. I am not sure how many weeks but I do know it is more than 4.

 

[annek]

Are there any loud noises in the area? Sounds like they are scared of something maybe.

 

[taras.farm]

I think they're scared...look around or confine them a bit for comfort...Its' an adjustment....Good luck and always speak gently and approach slowly

 

[nwgirl]

Some of my 7 week old chicks sleep like this. One or 3 may roost and the others lay below them in a squishy pile. They are still in their brooder so nothing has changed. They have a room entirely to themselves, and its currently 11:30 in the evening and 75 degrees. I like to think they are comfortable sleeping huddled together, so I don't think twice about it. I have a baby monitor with night vision and noticed last night one of them decided to sleep off by herself, only then did I think something was out of the ordinary.

 

[Intheswamp]

Quote:
Baby monitor with nightvision???!!!!

.....Uh,...I've been thinking about that, too...what'd you use?

I've been thinking of toying/experimenting with an old 8mm video camera and...???

Ed