My 12 chicks are eleven days old today, and I am a first-time chicken mama. They are all (to my inexperienced eye), happy and healthy and doing the things the chicks need to learn how to do: scratch, sunbathe, roost.
My brooder is a 30" x 48" box, secured within a colossal dog crate due to indoor predators. Three or four of them are scardy chicks, and stay at the back of the box when I clean. That's fine; we can't all be the life of the party. But the others get very excited when they hear me coming to open the box, and, when I do, they fly out at me! This goes on, intermittently, while I clean the brooder and replenish supplies. It's fine; I like interacting with them, even though I wouldn't call any of them affectionate. They're interested, and they definitely know who I am, because they behave differently with other people.
Here's my question: are they happy to see me? Or defending themselves? It's not treat hysteria, because I have, as yet, been unable to find a treat that they actually will eat.
They are a very vocal bunch, even when I'm not there. I don't believe they're unhappy or uncomfortable; they show all signs of being happy with the temp (and there a number of temp zones in the brooder, in any event), they're all eating, drinking, sleeping and pooping. I did make a point of picking the most assertive, outgoing chicks I saw when I bought them at Agway. Do I just have a rowdy bunch of chicks?
Thanks.
Do not attempt this at home. Very high degree of difficulty...
My brooder is a 30" x 48" box, secured within a colossal dog crate due to indoor predators. Three or four of them are scardy chicks, and stay at the back of the box when I clean. That's fine; we can't all be the life of the party. But the others get very excited when they hear me coming to open the box, and, when I do, they fly out at me! This goes on, intermittently, while I clean the brooder and replenish supplies. It's fine; I like interacting with them, even though I wouldn't call any of them affectionate. They're interested, and they definitely know who I am, because they behave differently with other people.
Here's my question: are they happy to see me? Or defending themselves? It's not treat hysteria, because I have, as yet, been unable to find a treat that they actually will eat.
They are a very vocal bunch, even when I'm not there. I don't believe they're unhappy or uncomfortable; they show all signs of being happy with the temp (and there a number of temp zones in the brooder, in any event), they're all eating, drinking, sleeping and pooping. I did make a point of picking the most assertive, outgoing chicks I saw when I bought them at Agway. Do I just have a rowdy bunch of chicks?
Thanks.
Do not attempt this at home. Very high degree of difficulty...
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