New to the dark?

[silkwormlady]

Chicks are 6+ weeks old, nicely feathered out, nighttime temps 60s. Have 9 of them. Had heat lamp in coop with em til about 3-4 days ago. Was in there close to dark and all heck was breaking loose, all 9 trying to get furthest into the corner, heads between the wall and 6x6 corner post. Total pandemonium. Forget about roosting.
Are they scared of the dark?? I read this can happen but...
HELP!!! I hate to hear them clearly freaked.

 

[DigMyChicks]

Mine do that when something scares them...They are 6 and 9 weeks old.

 

[silkwormlady]

Anybody else got ideas? Are they really scaredy cats? How quick do they get over it and start roosting esp.?

 

[16 paws]

Anybody else got ideas? Are they really scaredy cats? How quick do they get over it and start roosting esp.?

I never had that happen. Are there other hens in there or something scaring them? What happens when you go in there, do they calm down? Is there a dog or cat nearby maybe.....

 

[Phoenixsw]

This is my first time raising chickens and I have 4 that are 6-7 wks old and 2 that are 2wks old, in separate bins, and they all do the same thing every night and have done so since day 1. They all try to cram in the corner, peep like crazy for a couple of minutes, then they all settle down and sleep. I wasn't sure if it was normal or if something was wrong, but they always settle down and are fine after a few minutes.

 

[Sonya9]

Chicks are 6+ weeks old, nicely feathered out, nighttime temps 60s. Have 9 of them. Had heat lamp in coop with em til about 3-4 days ago. Was in there close to dark and all heck was breaking loose, all 9 trying to get furthest into the corner, heads between the wall and 6x6 corner post. Total pandemonium. Forget about roosting.
Are they scared of the dark?? I read this can happen but...
HELP!!! I hate to hear them clearly freaked.

Never seen that over a fear of the dark. Having said that it is a good thing you only have 9 chicks in that group. If chicks panic and pack into a corner some can suffocate (think large crowds of people that panic and some get crushed/suffocated against closed exits doors).

Chickens can't see well in dim light, that is why they are such easy prey after dark. If you entered the coop and the light was dim they may have freaked out because they thought you were a predator.

 

[celesteborland]

Today was the first time I haven't been home at dusk to assist the chicks with entering the coop and also the first day that we didn't have the heat lamp on in the coop all day. So when I got home I went to check on them and they were huddled together outside of the coop. I tried to get them to go in and they all resisted as if they were scared to go into the dark coop. I turned the heat lamp on to give them light and to make them feel comfortable because they have always known the light to be on. I'm hoping tomorrow I can encourage them to try to sleep peacefully in their coop without light.

 

[DigMyChicks]

Last night was the first night we did not have to put the chicks in the coop. We turned the light on at 6:00 and when I checked on them at 8:00 they had all gone in by themselves....thank goodness! There's usually a whole lot of ruffled feathers by the time we're done putting them in. We shut the light off every night and they settle down within a short amount of time.

 

[tsmith91]

If they are used to having light all the time and you take it away it will take a few days for them to adjust to being in the dark but they will adapt quickly

 

[silkwormlady]

Sigh ...

Two weeks plus and they're still acting like scaredy cats at dusk. Not quite as panicky but ... only now they're much bigger and fewer can get to the actual corner to try to hide in it. They like their roosts fine during the day but ............. It's hard to check on them after dark to see if they've gotten up on the roost. I guess I could walk out there, open up the coop door and shine the flashlight in out of curiosity's sake.