TJAnonymous
Enabler
Ok, this is not my first batch of baby chicks....or even my 2nd. However, I am in some new territory this time around so I'm curious about expectations.
This is my first time incubating and hatching out my own eggs. I hatched out 2 eggs (so far, still waiting on the 3rd). Baby #1, whom I affectionately named Pip, was born yesterday (Day 21). Baby #2, whom I've decide to call Cricket, was born very late last night or sometime before morning (Day 22). This means I have 2 chicks who are now a day old.... This is a new experience because previously I had either feed store or hatchery chicks which were at least 3 days old before I received them.
I also decided to use the Mama Hen Pad Method to keep them warm instead of using the traditional heat lamp. I transferred both dried, fluffy chicks to the brooder earlier this morning. I dipped their beaks in the water to show them where it was... Both pretty much ignored the water and ran under the MHP where they've stayed all morning, quiet as a church mouse.
A little while ago, I did notice Pip had come to the edge of the MHP and was pecking at some chick starter I had tossed on the ground. After eating a little, he/she went back under the pad again and (presumably) back to sleep.
Here's my questions:
1. Is it normal for day old chicks to be this quiet? All the other chicks I had received were quite noisy with lots of chirping. If the silence is normal, then is it because there are only 2 of them? Because I'm using a MHP instead of a heat lamp so they feel safer? Should I check on them more often since they are so quiet?
2. Should I keep dipping their beaks in the water each day until they drinking on their own? Or just leave them alone? I know that baby chicks don't necessarily need water for the first few days because they are sustained by the yolk they ate prior to hatching. With the hatchery & feed store chicks, I only had to show them once and that was enough. I've never had babies this young so I'm not sure what the typical protocol is for training them to the water...or if I should just leave them be and let them figure it out themselves since I've already shown them where it is.
This is my first time incubating and hatching out my own eggs. I hatched out 2 eggs (so far, still waiting on the 3rd). Baby #1, whom I affectionately named Pip, was born yesterday (Day 21). Baby #2, whom I've decide to call Cricket, was born very late last night or sometime before morning (Day 22). This means I have 2 chicks who are now a day old.... This is a new experience because previously I had either feed store or hatchery chicks which were at least 3 days old before I received them.
I also decided to use the Mama Hen Pad Method to keep them warm instead of using the traditional heat lamp. I transferred both dried, fluffy chicks to the brooder earlier this morning. I dipped their beaks in the water to show them where it was... Both pretty much ignored the water and ran under the MHP where they've stayed all morning, quiet as a church mouse.
A little while ago, I did notice Pip had come to the edge of the MHP and was pecking at some chick starter I had tossed on the ground. After eating a little, he/she went back under the pad again and (presumably) back to sleep.
Here's my questions:
1. Is it normal for day old chicks to be this quiet? All the other chicks I had received were quite noisy with lots of chirping. If the silence is normal, then is it because there are only 2 of them? Because I'm using a MHP instead of a heat lamp so they feel safer? Should I check on them more often since they are so quiet?
2. Should I keep dipping their beaks in the water each day until they drinking on their own? Or just leave them alone? I know that baby chicks don't necessarily need water for the first few days because they are sustained by the yolk they ate prior to hatching. With the hatchery & feed store chicks, I only had to show them once and that was enough. I've never had babies this young so I'm not sure what the typical protocol is for training them to the water...or if I should just leave them be and let them figure it out themselves since I've already shown them where it is.
I cannot believe how quiet they are! 
