Why Oh Why Are They Doing This?

[gryeyes]

I have a couple of knockers too.. whoa! wait..... Chicks who peck at the brooder box walls and SOUND like they are knocking on the door. It's pretty funny.

Mine aren't obsessive about it, which is what always makes me look to see who is at the door. It's intermittant. AND it rouses the dogs!

When I watch them, and catch them doing it, it appears they are pecking at spots on the brooder wall. Or a bit of fluff that landed there for a second. When they peck at the bottom of the brooder, the sound isn't nearly as bad as it is when they peck the walls of the brooder.

So, I know exactly what you mean. Sometimes I will wipe the Rubbermaid bin walls where they appear to be pecking at "things." Then they peck at the darker color of the damp walls. Can't win for losing. I can deal with it because it ISN'T constant.

Get ear plugs.

 

[Laurajean]

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It isn't constant with mine either. All day long I work at home and am left in relative peace. It's only AT NIGHT when I am trying to sleep do they decide to obsessively knock, lol!

You are exactly right about it being so much louder on the walls then the floor too. The pecking at the floor doesn't bother me. I've been assuming they are pecking at specks but have tried to sneak up and watch them, and I swear there is nothing there. Just cardboard. No marks, nothing. Except now of course they are creating specks with a chick-height border of tiny holes from their beaks!

Now I finally get all those posts that say "Finally! The chicks went outside full time!" I used to say, "Gee, what's wrong with these people?"

 

[tammyd57]

Mine always 'knock on the walls' when they are in the brooder. My brooder is just outside my living room window, which is almost always open. I use a regular light bulb for heat that attracts bugs and the chicks knock and knock trying to catch the bugs. It's funny to watch and noisy at the same time. I can't say that it has ever kept us awake though.
Now the grown ups knocking on the back of my house is another story! At least that's only during the day time.

 

[chicknerd]

Quote:
Hi

Mine are close in age. What we did was to make a temporary covered pen with wood and chicken wire (the first day out I had a hawk hovering the whole day!). They are in it when I am at home and can supervise them. At night, or when I leave the house they go back to the brooder. But they LOVE their time in the pen. I move the pen every day so they get fresh grass, etc. It seems to be a good compromise until we get their permanent area done. We are actually building a second run, out of PVC that is lighter and easier to move. We have the coop, but we cannot agree on the location of their permanent site.