Why are they being so loud???

[MontanaDolphin]

I don't know what is up with my 5 week old chicks this morning. They are being so loud! The chirping and cheeping and all other vocalization has been going non-stop for the past hour and a half! They have fresh water and fresh food...I don't know what's wrong with them! When I walk up to the brooder, they are all standing towards the corner where they know I'll show up. Then they peep at me even louder! It's like they're trying to tell me something, I just don't know what it is they want!

Last night I turned their lamp off for the first time. They slept all night with very little fuss when I turned it off. I turned it back on this morning so that I wean them off the light, and in case they need some warmth (I replaced the 250 w bulb with a 75 w...they are almost fully feathered). Also, every other day I've been taking them outside for about an hour in their secure square run I made. Could they be telling me they want to go outside??? It's really cold today, we're still in the low 40's, and I've only been taking them out in the afternoons when the temps are in the low 60's. That's why it hasn't been every day.

I can hear them all the way from the other side of the house!! What's wrong with them????

 

[blipit007]

Hi!

I'm new to chickens... brand new... so I have no real explanation for you other then the experience I have had in my first week of having baby chicks. I have one Rhode Island Red out of my bunch of 5 different chicks who loves me, so much so that she runs to me, hops on me, cuddles me.... I noticed that sometimes when I put her back in the brooder, she sounds the alarm. And at 1am when I go to bed, she is ready to wake the whole house up. So I jump out of bed and run to her. She immediately stops.

So my uneducated opinion is that they have grown attached to you, as if you were their mom, and when you leave they call to you like they would when their mom leaves them.

Have fun!
Kristen

 

[jdywntr]

Typically they get loud if they- are hungry, thirsty, startled, cold, hot etc. Kind of anything.

I have 6 in the house right now and I can tell if they've spilled their feed because they start peeping.

 

[MontanaDolphin]

None of those apply, though. Nothing is different! I turned the lamp on this morning, so it's not like they are cold. The lamp sits on the edge of one corner, so they can get out of the light (plus it's been a 75 watt bulb for a week and a half now). That room's temperature is kept at 75 all the time (the den). They are not startled. Their food is like it's been..only fresh because I gave them new starter like I do every morning. They have fresh water that I changed this morning.

So what else can it be??? Why are they crying??

 

[SlipsWife]

I've heard that sometimes switching from a regular bulb to a red bulb will help calm them down. Was your heat lamp bulb red? You might have done the opposite!

My group that's in the brooder right now have started going CRAZY the last couple of days. We had a cold front come in and haven't been taking them out for their 1-2 hour outings with the 'big girls' (they are a month older) so I think that's what their drama is!

 

[MontanaDolphin]

I never used a red bulb. It's always been white. I know this is silly, but I don't like the red...it creeps me out! LOL It reminds me of horror movies where everything is in red, dim light. Anyway, they've never had red light.

I usually take them out in mid-afternoon...when the sun is warmer, like around 3-ish. So, their fussing this morning is uncalled for if it's in complaint about not going outside...they NEVER go outside this early! Unless they like it so much that they want out more...I don't know. I'm wondering if it's because they are cramped...they are getting bigger and I thought my brooder is big enough...but maybe not? It measures 3 1/4 feet by 3 1/f feet with a height of 2 ft. They have 2 roosts, one higher than the other. Could that be the problem? The pen/coop/run I built is bigger than their brooder, and they had more room to fly around and fight (at least the cockerels are fighting). I don't have a way to make a bigger brooder...so I hope that's not it!

They have quieted down...I turned the light off thinking that might be the problem since they went all night without it. They still vocalized loudly, but now they aren't so loud...eating and roosting and sleeping. Maybe they just finally wore themselves out!

The temps are forcasted to be in the 70's next week...which is the week of their 6 week birthday. Do you think that makes it a good time to move them to their coop? It still gets chilly at night though...and there is NO electricity out there, so they will not have a heat lamp. Any thoughts on this and on the size of the brooder is greatly appreciated!!

 

[debid]

My chicks are four weeks and they chatter pretty much constantly. It doesn't sound upset or like they are alarmed so I figure they just have a lot to say. The chatter is more excited after they return from outdoor exploration time and more subdued as they wind down for a nap but they aren't quiet animals.

 

[mandelyn]

If you started them on a routine of going outside, then yes, they want out. When they become adults the peeping turns to demanding squawks. LOL Mine let me here it every morning until they were old enough to move outside full time.

They'll also pace by the door, another indicator of what they want.

 

[MontanaDolphin]

Well, they were S.O.L. for the day. It started to sleet and then snow, so they were stuck inside. They fussed off and on all day long. Turds.

 

[noahsmom]

LOL! This thread was cute, mine are only a week and a half old and when i go to the brooder then walk away there is one that will continue to JUMP to try and get out, I can hear him hitting his body against the brooder container ugh They are already loud, but I figure they can only get louder.