Strange bedtime behavior!!

[chickendancers4]

Hello, I hope I'm posting in the right place! I have 16 7 week old amber sex-link chickens. They are still inside in a large 3ft wide by 6ft long and 2.5ft high box. I put 3 tree branches for roosts and their food & water. During the day they are fine scratching and dust bathing no issues. The problems starts when I dim the lights at night they all start to chirp very loudly and congregate in one corner. They seem scared and stressed crowding and pushing in the corner. I don't know if I'm just being a worry wort or is this normal? I do dim the lights gradually and when they are just about off it gets really bad. Is there anything I can do? Is this what they will do in the coop? We hope to have the coop finished in a week! Any advice is appreciated! Thanks

 

[chicmom]

That is common behavior for chicks. Here's what you do: Don't turn the lights on for them. They no longer need a heat lamp, and just have them live with the natural lighting of the room you have them in. (I'm assuming they have a window in the room.) Then, it will just get dark gradually, and they won't become upset--they won't even truly notice.