New Batch of Chicks!! (Also possibly an emergency??)

[RedBreasted]

Hello everyone! It’s been a while since I’ve been active on this forum but I’ve got new batch of chicks! Okay, 2 isn’t really a batch but I’m planning on getting a third one on Wednesday because my local hatchery don’t have Ameraucanas chicks yet which makes me depressed (lol). But yea one of is an Amber White and the other is a Silver Laced Wyandotte. Also the brooder is temporary right now, I’m planning on extending it later. Also is it normal for chicks to look like their “dead” or is it they’re sleeping? It’s been a while since I’ve raised chicks, last time I owned chicks was in 2016. I also have a buff Orpington hen and I really want her to lure chicks but she doesn’t look broody.

 

[Blooie]

Yep, run until they drop where they are is the name of that game, and they play it well. It's not so bad now, because you just have the two chicks. But once you have a brooder full, it always seems a little sad to me when they do that. They run themselves ragged, then drop right where they are. Well, the others aren't tired yet, so they tromp all over the sleeping ones, they peck at their toes and their eyes, so there goes the nap! Repeat, repeat, repeat. Nobody ever gets a full rest. But chicks are chicks, and as long as they think it's perpetually daytime they aren't going to settle down at one time and sleep straight through the night. That's part of the reason I won't brood with lights, any lights, on them ever.

Welcome back!

 

[RedBreasted]

Oh thanks! How do you keep the chicks quiet? When one goes to the corner, the other one follows and tries to steal it from the other. Should I close the heat lamp for now?

 

[oregonkat]

Oh thanks! How do you keep the chicks quiet? When one goes to the corner, the other one follows and tries to steal it from the other. Should I close the heat lamp for now?

Blooie is the inventor of the Mama Heating Pad, MHP, which many of us here swear by. No more heat lamps, gets the babies on a day/night cycle and is easy to wean them off heat when the time comes. Highly recommend. You can search the MHP on BYC. Yes, like blooie said your chicks are behaving normally. They do drop where they stand and sleep as best they can. Makes for pretty funny chick TV sometimes. You are not going to be able to 'close' the heat lamp because the chicks need to be kept warm especially as you only have 2.

 

[Blooie]

I don't use a lamp, as I said. I use Mama Heating Pad. When the sun goes down, the chicks go underneath to sleep. When the sun comes up, they wake up all ready to go. Some go under during the day to take a quick nap, but because it's dark under there the wide-awake ones don't bother them. And when they get to be a week or so old, they like to cat nap on top of it, all snuggled down while the others play and explore on the floor of the brooder.

I don't think there is much you can do to encourage sleeping when they have a lamp, although some have hung a feather duster in there at the opposite end from the lamp so they can snooze under there. You do have to keep an eye on them so they don't get entangled in the feathers - a few have done that. Yours are kinda small to go without any heat at all, but if you can move the lamp so that it's more on one side of the brooder with the food and water on the cooler side, that is healthier for them. They need a little "cool" along with their heat. Without seeing your full setup, it's hard to offer any advice.

These are my chicks at night - the video starts out dark.....

 

[RedBreasted]

I’m still waiting for my last chick that I’m getting on Wednesday from the hatchery. I’m curious, has anyone raised a duckling and chicks all in the same brooder? Because I heard people says duck eggs taste better then chicken eggs. And yes, I did upgraded the box to a MUCH larger one.