THESE CHICKS!!! I CANT SLEEP!! THEY WONT LET ME!!!

[Iceblink]

I also sang to my girls.... I made up little songs for each of them (3) and they often turned their little heads up to me (you know how they do.......turn their heads and look up out of one eye) and sang back.

When they got older they continued to sing to me when I was talking or singing to them.

As far as sleeping goes, I put them in their own room with the door closed. (I have a dog whom I didn't trust entirely) At first I actually had nightmares that something would happen to them, and I would get up every hour to check on them. After a few days I started sleeping through the night, and I never heard a peep out of them.

I used one of those lamps with the 'bendy arms' and I removed the shade and put in a heat light bulb. That way I could bend the arm closer or further away easily to add more or less heat and light. I also made a hardware cloth 'lid' to keep them in the brooder.

 

[sara]

Unless your bedroom runs aroun 85 degrees normally I would think they still need a heat lamp. Maybe you need one of those sleeping masks. I think just moving them to another room might be the answer, or is there danger throughout your home?

 

[Wildsky]

Perhaps invest in a ceramic reptile heater thang... I used that for my peeps.
Good luck, and why don't you spend the night on the couch

 

[Akane]

How bright is the bulb? Try a lower watt one. I start with a 100w, then a 60w, then a 40w. In the summer I had them down to 40w by the end of 2weeks and that's really not that bright in red or blue. Part way through 3 weeks I could turn the light off but my house is 20F colder now so I still have button chicks that age under 40watts and they feather out twice as fast as chickens. When you first turn off the light do it during the day or they'll scream all the first night. Chickens can't see in the dark and chicks hate it when it suddenly goes dark.

You can also try a heating pad or heated blanket under the brooder. They sell small ones for pet beds and I know some people have done that successfully. I've been debating trying it because I dislike having them under light 24/7. You have to make sure they can get off of the heat completely though in case they get too hot. They need enough brooder space to all be on the heat and to all be off the heat in case they get cold or too hot. Otherwise they'll pile and suffocate the bottom ones or some will freeze or overheat.

 

[kryptoniteqhs]

Quote:
theyre not cold...i have the heater on in my room all the time and theyre not huddling or anything, they just chirp and run around like maniacs....dont worry id do with out sleep or figure something else out before Id let the poor little babies be cold

 

[kryptoniteqhs]

Quote:
true true.....ive learned to turn off the light a little before i go to bed so they shush before im ready to close my eyes....

oh and i have 3 cats, two of which are avid hunters and im also the only person in this house that i trust their little souls with.

 

[kryptoniteqhs]

Quote:
i have 2 thermometers in the brooder...theyre definitely not cold and i get cold outside when its 70 degrees so its always like 85 in my room...call me crazy, but its true ... and they have fresh food and water... they peep on and off all day anyways, just louder right before we go to bed and now theyve settled down a good bit!

 

[MissJames]

If you are sleep deprived you will be less effective in caring for the chicks.The brain just won't work right without sleep.You will become forgetful and just plain whacko and cranky!
So move the chicks and you will all be fine.Just make sure they are secure,warm and well fed

Melatonin is a natural sleep aid you can get in the vitamin aisle at a grocery or drug store.Walmart,kmart......
Children with adhd and autism often take it.

 

[denasfarm]

Try using a reptile NIGHT (moonlight) type bulb by Exo Terra for nighttime.
They make a red one but thats NOT the one I use!
Of the several types mine has all the UV spectrum plus 40 watts of heat. I buy them at petsmart for around $9. You could swap during the day if you like. Its a faint purplish glow but puts out heat for nighttime desert reptiles and replicates the moonshine. We use them on our snake but also use them on the chicklets instead of red. Keeps them MUCH quieter at night and still toasty warm! Never had a picking problem with them and you can sleep with them on!

 

[Beekissed]

I had mine in a plastic, under the bed storage box, and I hooped chicken wire over this. The lamp was stuck in one end of the box and I draped the entire thing with a towel at night or any time in the day when I saw some of them wanting to nap. The feeling of exposure makes them fearful, while being enclosed and unable to see the big scarey world gives them a feeling of security.

Never had a problem with noise or dust. Just allow good airflow in the set up and let them just be chicks....they don't have their mommy, after all...you would be crying too!