My baby chicks cry at night...help!

[jrleveille]

We have two barred rock chicks that are now five weeks old. Just in the last few nights, they have begun chirping very loudly. It is maddening the way they go on and on. They appear to be healthy, eating and drinking well. We leave their red light on during the night. It's just weird that it just started now. They go out during the day and completely ignore us. It seems like they want attention as they quiet down when picked up, but we can't do that all night. Any suggestions?

 

[25eggfarm]

Maybe they are to hot try to raise the heat lamp.:cd

 

[CHICKLOVER69]

Maybe they are to hot try to raise the heat lamp.

I AGREE. CHECK THE TEMP IN THE BROODER

 

[vanahjeane]

How big is your brooder? I find that space for them to choose the optimum temp is often the solution until you know the light needs to be raised. It saves a lot of time and stress if they can self regulate to a degree.

 

[CHICKLOVER69]

MY BROODER IS IN THE GARAGE. 3X6 HOME MADE BOX AND USE A 60 WATT BULB. CHICKS ARE 3 WEEKS OLD. BOUGHT A TIMER AND THE LIGHT ONLY COMES ON AT NIGHT. TEMP ONLY GETS IN THE MID 70'S AT NIGHT AND MID 90'S IN THE DAY. THE LIGHT IS IN ONE CORNER WHICH GIVES THEM PLENTY OF ROOM TO GET AWAY FROM THE HEAT IF THEY NEED TO. EVEN AT NIGHT THEY DONT SLEEP UNDER THE LIGHT. THE FIRST WEEK THEY SLEPT CLOSE TO IT BUT NOT UNDER IT. THEY ARE NOW EXPLORING AND SLEEPING A LOT ON THEIR ROOST. LOL

 

[Dawneebird]

I have chicks that will be 7 weeks on Wednesday. They are fully feathered and have been outside during the day for a few hours. I am trying to get them ready to go outside but every time I turn out the light at night they start to cry?? Should I just leave the light on? I ran the dryer (they r in the laundry room) to warm it up. The house is 78 degrees. The light I have on during the day is just the laundry room light so I don't think it is a heat issue. Stumped.

Thank you!

 

[rides2far]

My chicks are 8 weeks old. They've been out for 4 weeks, now. I left two heat lamps on at night for about 2 weeks, it was chilly. For the last two weeks they've had no light on them ( it's warm here in California ). My cheeped a lot at first. I think they were afraid of the dark! They're fine now. Could yours be afraid of the dark, too?

 

[Dawneebird]

Thanks rides2far! I thought that may be. I put on a night light (I know, once a ma ma....always a ma ma) and they settled down after a while. Wish I had a forum like this with my human babies! Lol Hopefully they will sleep through the night!

. I love these things

 

[ultraflora]

My chicks are definitely afraid of the dark- mostly if it comes on suddenly!
I use a heating pad so don't need to leave a light on at night for heat. If I turn the light off suddenly they freak out and chirp in a loud, alarmed way, with more and more joining in. I haven't had the nerve to see if they will eventually stop (5-10 minutes and they still keep it up)! I left the light on through the night for them when they were younger (2 weeks old) so they would not be so scared-- or so I wouldn't feel like I was upsetting them . Now, I try to let the natural dusk let them know night is coming. They are inside, so I have lights on in other rooms in the evening (no doors) and come and go from the room they're in. But if I turn on the overhead light in their room once it's dark outside, I have to slowly dim it over 10 minutes or so (every few minutes dimming it a bit more-- thank goodness it actually is on a dimmer switch!). If I make a sudden change, they're super unhappy with it! With lights in adjacent rooms on, they still know it's time to settle down to sleep, and I can then turn the light off in the hallway when I go to bed without it upsetting them, even though it plunges their room into complete darkness (aside from any moonlight).
Hope this might help someone out. When mine first did this, I came on here and did a search for "chicks scared of the dark"!

 

[rides2far]

I put mine in the coop before it gets dark. That way the 'dark' comes on gradually. Who knew chicks would be afraid of the dark?!