Normal first day home?

[Marianne25]

Hi, my seven adorable girls came home today. Mama Heating pad seems to be working great ! Only three or four of the chicks have come out to eat on their own . About an hour after I got home , I made sure they all came out and I dipped their beaks in the water . They all stayed around the feeder and water for a few minutes and then went back under Mama heating pad . Now it seems like the same three or four keep coming out once in a while to feed , but there are a couple just sleeping underneath the pad and have not eaten or drank that much at all . They've been home for only a couple of hours . Is this something to worry about? Thank you very much . This forum has been awesome so far and this is only the beginning

 

[AngeliqueR]

I'm hoping someone else chimes in with more experience working with the Mama heating pad method, but under my lamp my chicks seem to eat and drink almost continuously with brief naps during the day and long ones at night. If they were huddling under the lamp and not venturing to the food/water I'd move it closer. Food/water was the first thing they went for when brought home and placed in the box at 3-4 days old, but if yours are younger, having a stressful transition (shipped?), or are just a little more skittish that might explain the delay.

Another possible explanation is the air is too cold outside of the heating pad zone. A space heater might help rule that out; it shouldn't be at the high temp everywhere but if they're going from a cozy 90-95 to a chilly 65-70 that could be too drastic. A full or partial lid might help the whole box keep in more of the heat generated by the heating pad.

 

[Marianne25]

Well,I was so worried after another half hour, I figured I'd do an experiment and set up the heat lamp to see what happened; sure enough, within five minutes, all the girls came out and started acting as you described.( the heating pad brooder was right at 95 but room temp was 68-70) They were so active, eating and drinking, etc. Maybe they're just too fragile ( or just stressed after the flight from Iowa to CT; they took two days to get here) ; maybe I'll try again in a week or so! I'm going to leave their mama hen in there for now so they'll be used to it if I attempt again later. Thanks so much

 

[AngeliqueR]

Glad they perked up! I bet they'll graduate from needing the lamp in a week or less, my two week olds mostly avoid the warm corner under the lamp and prefer cooler zones.