Hi
First off, let me say I am new to keeping chickens.
I have 3 incubated Pekin bantam chicks aged 2 weeks this sunday.
My first question is HOW DO YOU COPE!?!
I have a brooder. It is a very good brooder with a black ceramic heat lamp which doesn't disturb them & their feeders + lots of toys & perches.
So why do they spend their entire time they are in there trying to escape? They try to fly at the sides to get out & bounce off the wire which they also repeatedly try to push through at the the bottom in the corner, getting their heads stuck & popping backwards ( the wire is very thin & flexible to prevent choking). They make a LOT of noise doing this by cheeping loudly & constantly. As soon as I open the door, they are OUT all over me! They also jam themselves against the wire if I go to stick my fingers through & rub against my hands. They also race around inside the cage & jam up against the side to be as close as possible to anyone standing in the same room!
The brooder is 4 x 2 ft & is a converted dog cage.
I can find information about 4 week old chicks trying to do a bunk out of the brooder..... but my chicks are only 12 days! They have feathers on their wings (the hens is nearly all feathered on her wings now) but that is it!
They get approximately around seven or eight hours (give or take a couple) out of the brooder either in the garden or in the home loose depending on the weather.
Outside they are sort-of-quiet & happily practice dust-bathing & foraging while the dog keeps a strict eye on them & follows them around (both inside & out) saving me the trouble (the joy of rottweiler ownership, they were originally bred to guard livestock & our main problem is cats.)
But if they remember I have gone they will start up with their piercing loud cheeping.
The little cockerel is by far the loudest & most demanding of all 3 chicks...
Inside they follow me around constantly (so, therefore so does the dog) & if they lose sight of me they sit & cheep loudly again (at the dog?) until I go back to them or call them (Chick! Chick!). They want to be on our laps or shoulders constantly to & when I sit down they crowd around & starting jumping onto my feet & trying (and failing) to run up my leg to my lap (Big Pockets, YAY!) & from there to my shoulder where they try & get under my hair.
If I bend over & put my hand down they all run over & try to cram on it to be picked up & held. I never knew chicks liked cuddles so much.
They race around the flat, bounce over the bed, sit on the sofa's & sleep in the dogs bed (to the dismay of the dogs) cheep loudly, chase each other flapping (Yaaaay!) & terrorize the cat by pecking him. If they are not the center of attention with people, they make a racket again.
Am I raising a pack of chicken hoodlums?
First thing in the morning I wake up to very loud CHEEP CHEEP which is getting earlier.
Last thing at night they shut up because I turn their night -light off, HAHA!
My reserved husband has decently not said a bad word about living with 2 dogs, a cat & 3 chickens which chase him round, climb all over him him & get under his feet a lot.... But how long the peace will last I don't know. At least I have an idea he may make a good future father.
And what happens when I try to move them outside?
They make a piercing racket now when they are left on their own, I keep having nightmare visions of the first night(s) outside.
My neighbors might form a Posse to drive me out
Is this what happens when they imprint?
They have been very spoilt because I am home all the time, I don't have children, so I spent(d) a lot of time attending their needs including cleaning them daily & chasing them around with baby wipes when they are dirty. Also I completely forgot the heat lamp order(I know, I thought I'd ordered it & I had not) & they spent their first week completely loose indoors (the cat spent an unhappy week locked out & sleeping in the hallway) asleep infront of the fire all night on a small animal bed & being petted, riding around in pockets & handled a lot.
I spent a week mopping the floors 2-3 times a day, washing pet bedding daily & chasing them around with bits of tissue after I'd mopped the floors... Needless to say, our friends didn't think we were completely barmy which was good of them.
Please tell me they will outgrow this behaviour & its just a phase?
I've nearly finished building their coop & wanted to move them in ASAP.
Apart from the above, they are 3 very clean, perfect chicks with adorable loving temperment's & are very outgoing & tame. I have been trying to make them more independant the last few days, but they don't seem to be taking to it & just protest more. It sounds like they are being murdered sometimes.
So, what age do chicks outgrow imprinting?
First off, let me say I am new to keeping chickens.
I have 3 incubated Pekin bantam chicks aged 2 weeks this sunday.
My first question is HOW DO YOU COPE!?!
I have a brooder. It is a very good brooder with a black ceramic heat lamp which doesn't disturb them & their feeders + lots of toys & perches.
So why do they spend their entire time they are in there trying to escape? They try to fly at the sides to get out & bounce off the wire which they also repeatedly try to push through at the the bottom in the corner, getting their heads stuck & popping backwards ( the wire is very thin & flexible to prevent choking). They make a LOT of noise doing this by cheeping loudly & constantly. As soon as I open the door, they are OUT all over me! They also jam themselves against the wire if I go to stick my fingers through & rub against my hands. They also race around inside the cage & jam up against the side to be as close as possible to anyone standing in the same room!
The brooder is 4 x 2 ft & is a converted dog cage.
I can find information about 4 week old chicks trying to do a bunk out of the brooder..... but my chicks are only 12 days! They have feathers on their wings (the hens is nearly all feathered on her wings now) but that is it!
They get approximately around seven or eight hours (give or take a couple) out of the brooder either in the garden or in the home loose depending on the weather.
Outside they are sort-of-quiet & happily practice dust-bathing & foraging while the dog keeps a strict eye on them & follows them around (both inside & out) saving me the trouble (the joy of rottweiler ownership, they were originally bred to guard livestock & our main problem is cats.)
But if they remember I have gone they will start up with their piercing loud cheeping.
The little cockerel is by far the loudest & most demanding of all 3 chicks...
Inside they follow me around constantly (so, therefore so does the dog) & if they lose sight of me they sit & cheep loudly again (at the dog?) until I go back to them or call them (Chick! Chick!). They want to be on our laps or shoulders constantly to & when I sit down they crowd around & starting jumping onto my feet & trying (and failing) to run up my leg to my lap (Big Pockets, YAY!) & from there to my shoulder where they try & get under my hair.
If I bend over & put my hand down they all run over & try to cram on it to be picked up & held. I never knew chicks liked cuddles so much.
They race around the flat, bounce over the bed, sit on the sofa's & sleep in the dogs bed (to the dismay of the dogs) cheep loudly, chase each other flapping (Yaaaay!) & terrorize the cat by pecking him. If they are not the center of attention with people, they make a racket again.
Am I raising a pack of chicken hoodlums?
First thing in the morning I wake up to very loud CHEEP CHEEP which is getting earlier.
Last thing at night they shut up because I turn their night -light off, HAHA!
My reserved husband has decently not said a bad word about living with 2 dogs, a cat & 3 chickens which chase him round, climb all over him him & get under his feet a lot.... But how long the peace will last I don't know. At least I have an idea he may make a good future father.
And what happens when I try to move them outside?
They make a piercing racket now when they are left on their own, I keep having nightmare visions of the first night(s) outside.
My neighbors might form a Posse to drive me out
Is this what happens when they imprint?
They have been very spoilt because I am home all the time, I don't have children, so I spent(d) a lot of time attending their needs including cleaning them daily & chasing them around with baby wipes when they are dirty. Also I completely forgot the heat lamp order(I know, I thought I'd ordered it & I had not) & they spent their first week completely loose indoors (the cat spent an unhappy week locked out & sleeping in the hallway) asleep infront of the fire all night on a small animal bed & being petted, riding around in pockets & handled a lot.
I spent a week mopping the floors 2-3 times a day, washing pet bedding daily & chasing them around with bits of tissue after I'd mopped the floors... Needless to say, our friends didn't think we were completely barmy which was good of them.
Please tell me they will outgrow this behaviour & its just a phase?
I've nearly finished building their coop & wanted to move them in ASAP.
Apart from the above, they are 3 very clean, perfect chicks with adorable loving temperment's & are very outgoing & tame. I have been trying to make them more independant the last few days, but they don't seem to be taking to it & just protest more. It sounds like they are being murdered sometimes.
So, what age do chicks outgrow imprinting?
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