Silly question... Do Chicks Sweat???

[Joferd]

I just got seven baby chicks today.. my first ever. I have them in a brooder (rubbermaid box) with a hardware cloth cover and a 100 Watt heat lamp. The bedding is pine shavings. We have a chick feeder and a chick waterer. I don't know if it's normal or not, but I have one chick that seems to be lethargic. He was just fine a few hours ago, but now he just lays around and lets everyone walk over him with just a little protest.

I picked her up, and she seemed damp. So, this.... Do chicks sweat???

I figure that either she is sweating, or that she got a little rambunctious with the waterer.

Please help!!!

 

[PurpleChicken]

Chicks don't sweat. That must have been from the water
or sitting in runny poop.

They will sweat when they get older and you hold them
down to a stump with a hatchet in your hand.


Make sure you have a thermometer and they are at 90 to 100
degrees, assuming they are a couple days old.

Watch her close and make sure she is eating and drinking.

Best of luck

 

[chickenworld]

Aww... poor little one.

 

[silkiechicken]

If it's damp I bet it got in the water. Chickens don't have sweat glands like mammals do and to stay cool they breathe though their mouths. If it's lethargic something is wrong... I can't tell you what is wrong though. Good luck.

 

[Joferd]

Everything seems normal now. I took her out and held her awile and she dried nicely and perked right up. I went back to the brooder and all the bedding was wet. Those little buggers make such a mess in such a hurry! Anyway.. bedding changed... Waterer is now up on an upside down tupperware container and it seems much better...


Live and learn.

I can't stop watching these little girls...

by the way... we got 4 buff orpingtons, 2 Rhode Island Reds, an One EE.

Thanks for the replys.

--Joferd

 

[Dawn419]

Did you place marbles of some sort, in the drinking section of the waterer? Doing so will help avoid water accidents.

Dawn

 

[NewGuineaChooks]

I think it was silkiechicken who suggested this:
Train them to drink from a rodent watering bottle, and then they can't get into their water source, or get it dirty. It is working great for me with this batch of chicks. I'm amazed! I don't know if yours would switch once they're used to an 'ordinary' waterer, though....

-maureen

 

[candy37]

Quote:
What exactly are the marbles supposed to do?
I had marbles in the water dish but they still stood in the water and made a huge mess of it. I ended up having to buy a different waterer because I couldn't keep the chicks out of the other one.

 

[NewGuineaChooks]

Especially in the 1st week, little ones can tumble head first into the water and drown. That's the kind of accident being referred to. The marbles keep the water shallow so they can't get stuck. Unfortunately, it doesn't stop the dirty-water issue.

-m

 

[candy37]

Oh. That makes sense. I kept the marbles in for about 5 days and then I bought the other waterer. They can't get into the water in the new one, but they love to sit on top of it now that they are a getting older.