I am officially insane....(Problem solved, update p. 4)

[FaithAnn]

I hatched my first eggs about a week ago, but only one chick made it. He is now living in a brooder made of a small aquarium in my living room. Here is the problem, he only knows us. He likes to be out of the brooder and in my lap, but if I put him back and the brooder and he can see people in the living room, he is ok with that. But, when we go to bed at night, he goes nuts. Jumping all over the brooder peeping LOUDLY. The past few nights I have sat by the brooder until he went to sleep, and then slid off to bed. Once he is asleep, he sleeps through the night, or just doesn't start the loud crying again. (Do I have a chick or a new born baby?)

Any ideas on what to do to calm him down in his brooder. He already has a stuffed animal in there with him. Should I cover it at night? When I tell my friends I have to sit beside a brooder/aquarium at night with my hand against the glass until my chicken falls asleep, they think I have officially gone insane.

Here is the culprit:

He is a week old now, so he is a little bigger.

 

[purelypoultry]

You sitting next to it really has no impact on the bird. It is all in your perception of the situation.

 

[Anny]

Perhaps the little guy needs a friend, maybe he's lonely at night or maybe even cold (no one to cuddle up with).

 

[THough1956]

Yes, you are insane! And you are not alone.

Try putting a feather duster in there, kind of hang it low so he can get up under it. Do you have heat? Chicks need heat for several weeks, see the BYC main page for raising chicks.

 

[luvmuhchicks]

do you have any hens that might mother him?

 

[AmyBella]

My babies were under a red heat bulb 24/7 when they were your chick's age. They were a little scared of the dark when we took it away, but they did better when we left the lights in the room off and it got dark naturally as opposed to being plunged into darkness with the flick of a switch. Can you try a gradual transition from light to dark?

My chicks still tend to peep as they are settling down for the night. They play a little cuddle game we like to call "crush me in the corner" where they all cram into a corner and dive under each other trying to be on the bottom. It is so cute! Your guy might be a little lonely. Can you get him (or her... hope it's a her!) a friend?

What a little cutie!

 

[rancher hicks]

Good garden o' peas! Of course your insane. There isn't a person on this forum who isn't. We only come here cause we can see this addiction is all over the world. If they make chickens illegal we are all in big trouble.
Try putting a stuffed chick in the pen with him. Use a red heat light if that's not what your using. Turn the tv on and leave the sound on low. Or put him beside your bed so he can see you. (just kidding but it wouldn't surprise me) I almost slept in the coop on a cot when the coon got in.

 

[FaithAnn]

Quote:
No offense, but it clearly does. If I am next to the brooder, he peeps softly and finally settles down. When I walk away, he starts jumping at the glass on the side, peeping so the WHOLE HOUSE can hear him and running frantically from one end to the other. Believe me, it has an effect, maybe I am not insane, but I have an insane chick.

As far as the heat, yes, we have a light bulb in the brooder for heat. The first week we kept the brooder at 95 degrees. This is the second week, so I have reduced the heat to 90 degrees. I read this was the proper way to do this.

I thought it would help if I turned out the light, but then he wouldn't have a heat source in the brooder and he would get cold. Would a heating pad be sufficient heat so I could turn out the light? -- I will definitely be in the market for a feather duster today, that sounds like a great idea.

 

[hollandmum]

find him a little buddy

 

[FaithAnn]

Quote:
We only have one other chicken - a pullet about 15 weeks old - she tried to peck him to death when we tried to introduce them.