Chirping chick

[ChickenFeeds]

We recently got new chicks, and one of them is sometimes making a distress chirp. We noticed this on the first day, but thought that it was just stress from shipping and a new home. But now it’s day 8 and she still chirps. (We are on day 10 from hatching) The other chicks aren’t chirping, so we know it’s not temperature, and we don’t see any pasty butt, so it’s not that, and the chicks weren’t exposed to anything, so we don’t think the chick is sick, and there are no other obvious signs of sickness. Any thoughts on what the cause might be?

 

[neo71665]

Some birds are just vocal. If it's not showing any signs of being sick i'd just keep an eye on it but after 8 days IDK of anything.

 

[PsychoChkn]

Our chicks are a week old and they are super chirpy. It's mostly soft cheeps and chirps. They'll shriek when I move the heat plate for cleaning, cold (the heat plate is not at the right level), thirsty (one didn't know how to use the nipple waterer...) or when displaced from the flock (when cleaning pasty butt or the brooder).

 

[ChickenFeeds]

Our chicks will also softly chirp and we think it’s normal. They also get kinda chirpy and group up at the far end when we are putting in some more food/water, but I think that there’s something different about this chick, she cheeps when the other chicks are fine, and it sounds like a distress call.

 

[Ridgerunner]

High, welcome to the forum from Louisiana, glad you joined.

When do you hear this distress chirping? Does it stop when you show up? It's possible this chick imprinted on you or maybe something else and is lonely when you or it is not around, even with the other chicks right there.

By now the chick has to have used up all of the nutrition if got from absorbing the yolk at hatch so it has to be eating and drinking. Sometimes a chick fails to learn to eat or drink but I don't think that is it.

Sometimes a chick hatches with a birth defect so it can't live long term or is in discomfort. You may be faced with something like that.

It's not blind is it?

I don't have anything else. You might try feeding it something to raise its energy level. Some people buy something from the feed store, others use sugar water. I use hummingbird liquid since I always have that available. Use a medicine dropper or something similar to put a drop of liquid on the tip of its beak. Don't put it in its mouth or down its throat, you might drown it. The chick should drink drops off of the tip of its beak. The idea is to get something in it to give it energy so it feels like eating and drinking in its own. Sort of kick start it. I don't know if that will help or not.

 

[ChickenFeeds]

It’s day 11 now, and the chick hasn’t been chirping since day 9 or 10. I think that the problem self-solved.