Is this normal?

[MissJane]

I'm new to chickens. I just got my baby chicks Thursday afternoon from a mail order hatchery. They are only a few days old and all seem very robust and happy in their brooder. A xl dog crate. There are 16 and they seem to have plenty of room for now. I plan to expand their brooder next week. But last night I had one chicken run around the edges frantically looking for a way out. She did this for quite some time. Then went into the mama heating pad cave and went to sleep. Well, today she is back at it. Frantically searching for a way out. Is this normal? I can't find any information about it.

 

[SueT]

That one is probably the smartest one!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Are you sure it's not running around with a bit of something in it's mouth. Mine do that when one finds something good to eat whether anyone is chasing it or not. Are you feeding treats? Are they on shavings? Is there a string or piece of hay? Most anything unusual will cause that behavior.

 

[MissJane]

Nothing in her mouth. The brooder is lined with a towel. It's in good shape not shedding any strings. Tonight when I clean it out I am going to start using pine shavings. They are only a few days old and I haven't feed them anything other than chick starter. It's like she's looking for a glitch in my brooder so she can get out.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

That is strange, usually they get upset about being separated from the other chicks or something like turning out the lights, they don't like change. So it's behavior is odd but I don't think it's anything to worry about. Maybe it misses it's box it was shipped in. I would think it would stop it after a few days.

 

[Pendragonz]

I'm new to chickens. I just got my baby chicks Thursday afternoon from a mail order hatchery. They are only a few days old and all seem very robust and happy in their brooder. A xl dog crate. There are 16 and they seem to have plenty of room for now. I plan to expand their brooder next week. But last night I had one chicken run around the edges frantically looking for a way out. She did this for quite some time. Then went into the mama heating pad cave and went to sleep. Well, today she is back at it. Frantically searching for a way out. Is this normal? I can't find any information about it.

I couldn't help but laugh at the mental picture of this. Did you ever see the movie "Chicken Run"? She's looking for a way out, and she'll make a break for it, lol. My kids loved that cartoon movie.