What do I do? Really stuck, please help!

[Chicken poppy]

Thank you, I went into this so excited, it’s been my first time, but all I’ve done is cry and I’ve had no sleep in two days, so when the first one hatched, and was on its own, it was frantically looking around trying to find something in there with it and would not settle unless it was in my neck for 5 hours until I put it back in there, I’ve got thermometers underneath it’s lamp and it’s perfect temp with lots of room to move away from it, it’s bordered up, I have blankets etc. it got to the point it was just pecking at the cardboard for hours at the wall and would just squeel. I got it a friend and it just hates it…it just pecks at the mirror and pushes it over, pushes teddy’s over aggressively and pecks it. It at one point got on top of the glow plate and tries to launch itself off the top out of the brooder…it’s relentless

Im so sorry. Owning my chicks was stressful, to. Crying all the time, wanting snuggles. No sleep, and lots of noise.

Sorry to hear what your going through, I don’t know much about ducks so i can’t help.

 

[Hatcher1997]

Big breath. We have all been there. Chickens are sent to try us! You will get through this.
Between 35 degrees and lamp off is a lot of territory. Try the hot water bottle and/or the plate for several hours and see how that impacts happiness.
And in any case I think you are better off having these two chicks near each other because they will both need to learn social skills so I would still advocate a barrier they can see through.
And honestly I don't know where the 35 degrees recommendation comes from and my first lot of chicks I was paranoid about that too - but if you look at what more experienced folk say they all advocate lower temperatures and mostly advocate that only in a small area not just 'corners' that are cooler.

Is it also normal for the new chick to be clicking with its beak when it’s making noises? I haven’t heard it do it until now, it really clicks and chatters

 

[Hatcher1997]

Im so sorry. Owning my chicks was stressful, to. Crying all the time, wanting snuggles. No sleep, and lots of noise.

Sorry to hear what your going through, I don’t know much about ducks so i can’t help.

Thank you, it’s upsetting because I have people like my dad saying I’m being over the top, give them food water and get on with it, but it’s not that easy when one is literally bullying the other and then I have so much conflicting advice on heat etc, I don’t even know how to tell if one is unwell. I noticed a frothy poo, searched it up, it’s apparently dying and then the next poo is fine. And then the new chick is clicking its beak when it makes noises like chatters it together, I search that and apparently its unwell. I don’t know what to listen to

 

[Chicken poppy]

Thank you, it’s upsetting because I have people like my dad saying I’m being over the top, give them food water and get on with it, but it’s not that easy when one is literally bullying the other and then I have so much conflicting advice on heat etc, I don’t even know how to tell if one is unwell. I noticed a frothy poo, searched it up, it’s apparently dying and then the next poo is fine. And then the new chick is clicking its beak when it makes noises like chatters it together, I search that and apparently its unwell. I don’t know what to listen to

Exactly what my dad says, actually! He always says something along the lines of , their just chickens, your being dramatic, etc. Im so sorry.

 

[Hatcher1997]

Exactly what my dad says, actually! He always says something along the lines of , their just chickens, your being dramatic, etc. Im so sorry.

Yeah exactly like okay I’ll just let one attack the other until it’s eyes bleed and I’ll just sit here crying listening to the extreme crying for 5/6 hours

 

[RoyalChick]

If I put mesh between them their walking areas will be very small compared to two separate boxes so I’m torn, one would have the heat plate and the other the lamp, and in dividing the crate the area for the chick with the lamp to cool down is a lot lot smaller.

how about two boxes taped together and cut out a window between the two with mesh?

 

[RoyalChick]

Is it also normal for the new chick to be clicking with its beak when it’s making noises? I haven’t heard it do it until now, it really clicks and chatters

I don't remember anything about clicking being either good or bad. I know mine made all sorts of different noises in the first few days.
Sorry this is being such an awful experience for you - just remember it is good because it shows you care.

 

[Hatcher1997]

I don't remember anything about clicking being either good or bad. I know mine made all sorts of different noises in the first few days.
Sorry this is being such an awful experience for you - just remember it is good because it shows you care.

https://imgur.com/a/WGUGMtm

Is this normal? I’ve attached two videos. The one rolling around and clicking his beak and kicking his legs is the new one. I’ve put them both back together and it keeps trying to nudge under the OG chick? And the OG chick hates it. Is it sick?

 

[SilverBirds]

Can you post a picture without the red light of the smaller one? It's hard to see and I think there is something wrong with his leg.

 

[NatJ]

If I put mesh between them their walking areas will be very small compared to two separate boxes so I’m torn, one would have the heat plate and the other the lamp, and in dividing the crate the area for the chick with the lamp to cool down is a lot lot smaller.

Sometimes you can divide a box to make two long, skinny areas, with one heat lamp warming them both. For that setup, you want the heat lamp all the way at one end, and the other end should be much cooler (below 25 C), so the chicks have plenty of options to be warm or cool.

I agree with the other folks who are suggesting a wire mesh divider, if you can manage it. That way the chicks can see each other and not be lonely, cannot hurt each other, and can start to learn to interact safely.


I know lots of people say different things about the temperature.
Personally, I do not worry about whether the hot end is "too hot" or "just right," but I make VERY sure there is a cool area (below 25 C, preferably below 20 C; and I do not worry if the cool part goes all the way down to 0 C). That way the chicks can move around and find the spot that is just right, in between "too hot" and "too cold."

(I usually deal with Fahrenheit, but I looked up Celsius equivalents for this.)