Power Outage Brooder Emergency--did something I never thought I would

Daisy8s

Songster
8 Years
Sep 12, 2011
467
153
138
Central Michigan
Yesterday I brought home four two-day-old chicks (1 SL Wyandotte, 1 Barred Rock, 1 ISA Brown, and 1 EE). Had them all set up in their short-term makeshift brooder in the bathroom for a few days until I need to move them to the kiddie pool we use to brood larger chicks. Put them to bed last night and all was fine.

Then, about midnight we lost power. This never happens so we have no back-up. Of course my first thought was the chicks. Checked on them and they seemed pretty snug because the bathroom was closed up and retaining heat pretty well. Tried to sleep but kept waking up wondering if they were okay.

Finally, I'm guessing sometime around 2 or 3 am I went in there and they were huddled together and seemed to be getting cold. What is a mama to do? I picked them up and stuck them under my shirt. Oh, they snuggled right in, loving the warmth. But, I couldn't sit in the bathroom all night so...I took my chicks to bed with me.

First I warned my husband that I had the chicks in the bed--kind of like when I used to tell him the baby was now in bed with us. I don't think he even woke up, really. Then, I laid flat on my back and let the chicks arrange themselves on my belly and then tucked my shirt around them so they wouldn't fall off and get squished. I could feel their little claws digging in at first but then everything went soft as they settled down. All the pipping stopped and they appeared to be sound asleep--which was a good thing because I was hoping if they slept deeply they wouldn't start pooping.

Around 6am the power came back on. Thank God! The chicks were sleepy little balls of fluff when I slowly transferred them back to their brooder and warming light. And...no poop! So, I guess they passed a comfortable night with their substitute mama brooder hen!

Not so comfortable for me--sleeping perfectly still on my back doesn't really work for me. It was a reminder of why I was in a perpetual sleep-dazed fog during my children's infancy. Let's hope for no more power outages!
 
Thanks!

Now in the light of day I can't believe I did that. I brought chicks into my bed....OMG that's gross! It probably belongs in the thread, "You know you're addicted to chickens when..."
 
Thanks!

Now in the light of day I can't believe I did that. I brought chicks into my bed....OMG that's gross! It probably belongs in the thread, "You know you're addicted to chickens when..."

I read that in the olden days it was the job of the young teen girls to carry eggs in a pouch on their tummy until they hatched. They got in a lot of trouble if they broken any as the family lively hood depended on them. Of course eggs don't poop!
 
Our power went out yesterday. I got a little worried but thankfully it cam back on with in an hour and it was during the day. Our chicks have a trained well though, every night at 8pm they chirp and won't stop until you pick them up and sit with them on the couch for a good half hour or so. LOL Spoiled I tell ya!
 
Not gonna lie, I do this even when the power is on..
hide.gif
Only with little baby chickies though and one or 2 at a time for a little while (definitely not all night or anything, maybe 10-20 minutes). They are just so cute I cannot resist!!! They never poop on me, so that is good. If I ever got crap on my bed that would be the last time though lol.
 
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awwwwwwwww I think that's sweet!! I can imagine not getting much sleep though, constantly worried if they were gonna get squished.
 
Next time when you have a power outage, try hot water bottles or hot mason jars, wrapped in towels and have them snuggle up on it. You will need to replace every hour or so. Plenty of sawdust shavings help to insulate them too!
 

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