Very loud chirping chick - should I be concerned?

[write2caroline]

My Frizzle chick is chirping really really loudly - I posted about its bottom earlier. Should I be concerned. It seems to want out of the brooder - temp is 80 degrees. I have made sure it drank from a spoon so I know it has had water and I have seen it now poop a normal poop and eat starter crumbles. Any suggestions? It is about 4 weeks old - hatched1 /4 /2010. I got it today with 5 others at a swap meet. - Maybe this is why the lady gave me the batch. I bought 3 and got 3 free.
Caroline

 

[Margot]

I am far from an expert. Hopefully someone else can shed some light, but in my experience when chicks chirp loud they are cold. I learned this the hard way...

Margot

 

[Luvs chickens]

I HAD ONE LIKE THAT AND IT JUST WANTED TO BE HELD ALL THE TIME.

 

[GreenGoddess]

If i am counting correct, the brooder should be at 95 degrees the first week and then 5 degrees less each week after that, so it should be 85 now.. It very well may be that 5 degrees would make a big difference.. You can also try to put a small stuffed animal in the brooder to snuggle with.. Or as Luvs Chickens said, she may just want to be held.. Some chicks are absolute attention hogs.. lol

Goddess

 

[azygous]

I've only raised two small batches of chicks, so don't count me as an expert.

I approached raising the tiny chicken babies like I did my human babies. When they are in need of something, all babies set up a screeching to get your attention to make their world right. The chicks I raised would screech the loudest when the food in the feeder got too low for their tiny beaks to reach.

As for the temperature, you need to have a portion of their "nursery" unheated so that they can move in and out of the heated zone, thereby regulating themselves.

And clean, cool water.

Rule everything out, one by one. The last one would be pain. Check to see if the chick that's screaming is hurt. Broken legs, wings, may not be obvious at first glance. Observe the little squad for awhile to see if anyone is being singled out for bullying.

And last would be attention. All babies like attention.

Good luck! Chicks are such fun!

 

[write2caroline]

Thanks everyone. I went back and checked everything I could think of. I lowered the heat lamp and they all cuddled up and went to sleep, so today I lifted up the brooder with two large packs of toilet paper (12 packs) so it is nice and stable and they are all fine now. they have plenty of food and cool water. I also covered half the coop so it was a little darker and cooler than the other half. They all went to sleep and are happier now. I think these Bantams needed more heat. I was thinking that at 4 weeks that 80 would be fine.

Thanks again!
Caroline

 

[purpletree23]

Great detective work!!!!! Everyone including myself thought it was too much heat when actually it was too little. I'm going to tuck that bit of information somewhere in my brain.

 

[purple2467]

my chicken is doing the same thing you see I bought 10 chicks at lest 4 or 5 different types but my one chicken fluffy wont stop chirping and im worried we have them out in the coop now because there a couple months old but im still worried do you know what could be wrong ?

 

[graygiant]

We've got one doing the same thing and I can't figure out what might be the issue--I'm really thinking this chick just has a loud voice and is very talkative. It's a Buff Orpington, a week & a half old, with 3 other Orps and a little black thing (breed unknown), warm end of brooder is 80, everyone seems comfortable with 80 at this point, this little thing chirps SO loudly! I call her "Screamy"--she does this as soon as she wakes up--she gets quieter while eating/drinking/preening. She is our bossy one (most likely to be our head hen eventually). Lets us hold her, but doesn't necessarily prefer it--she'd rather be on the ground hunting bugs, eating chick starter, taste-testing the straw we have on the brooder floor. They have chick grit already since they unexpectedly caught a fly when we had them on a blanket in the kitchen yesterday! She's pooping fine and it is mostly brown with just a bit of white. I know she wants out of the brooder (she LOVES their outside time each day). Is it possible that she is just a "loud mouth"?

 

[ChickensAndMe]

I am having the same problem - a very loud mouth Plymouth Rock, nearly 4 weeks old. She's in the brooder with two others who are quiet peepers and seem happy, so it's hard to figure out what she needs. But this has been very helpful forum... I put the temperature up and they finally settled. I had figured they were okay at 20 degrees because they seem happy during the day but maybe to sleep they more heat? Oh well, Ethel has finally gone to bed!!