Why is my chick softly nervously chirping all the time?

[cheepcheepnash]

I have a little baby 2 week old silkie chick that chirps nonstop softly when she is awake. It just started this evening. What could it be?

It sounds a bit like the chirping at 1 minute and 40 seconds in this video:

It's not a loud distressed chirp, but it sounds a little anxious. It started this evening when I was cleaning out the water and had to check her for pasty butt.

She came to me really sickly, but has been doing better lately. She's eating, drinking, pooing, and growing. She eats a lot and her crop has been a bit full. It goes down overnight but quicky fills up again. She used to have a head twitch. It got a little better but it was worse again today.

All the other chicks are bigger than her and are starting to fly around. Sometimes one of the--especially the salmon faverolles--will bump and run into her especially when they are flying. The silkie hides under the heater plate when they are flying around. I wonder if she could be feeling a little scared and lonely since she can't really fly like the others and is so much smaller than them? She is curled up sleeping with them now, but if she wakes up through the night she will chirp quietly and nervously even though they are right next to her. I really hope she doesn't have an impacted crop or something like cocci.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

It's hard to know with just a short clip, but my guess is you don't have enough room in the box, and she is wanting to get away from the heat some, or simply needs more space from the other chicks. Your area looks pretty cramped for 3 chicks.

She may also be disturbed when the others are active, in the small amount of room, however, they looked pretty chill and weren't bothering her at all in the video.

Your box also needs a good cleaning. Some birds are more sensitive to build up.

She definitely is not happy in that box set up. Try creating a brooding box about twice the size, and give her a hiding place in case she feels intimidated by the others.

Silkies can be a bit temperamental, not always adapting well with other breeds, especially if the others are picking on them at all.

My thoughts.
LofMc

 

[cheepcheepnash]

Thank you! That box and video was actually someone else's setup and was just a video I found online, but it kind of showed how the chick was chirping. I have them in an octagon playpen that has 8.5 square feet for 4 chicks. I clean out any messes I see twice a day and change out the shavings currently every second or third day.

The little silkie seems to be doing better today. I watched her and I think maybe she is just very vocal. She was making little happy chirps this morning constantly. Maybe she just likes making noise all the time? Last night all the chicks got a little spooked when I changed their water, and maybe the little one was more vocal about this.

That's really helpful to know about silkies. The other chicks don't pick on her, but I bet them flying really is spooking her a bit. I put an old stuffed dog toy without any long strings or fluff in the coop so she can curl up near it when all the other chicks are flying around.

Thank you for all your help!

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Okay...I can't say anything about your flock then since I've not actually seen your flock.
You should only post videos of your actual flock. I'm sorry, that was confusing.

If a chick is continually chirping, something is amiss. It is in distress. Since you have a mixed brood, my best guess is the Silkie, who was unthrifty to begin, is being overwhelmed by the others who are larger and growing faster and needs more space or even a separate brooder with another Silkie friend.

Silkies grow at a different rate than other chicks, if you have the bantam type, and remain much smaller. They waddle rather than run. Their top knot and vaulted skulls also make them a pecking or hazing magnet since they look different.

Your chick needs attention. If you could get a photo of the actual set up, I might be able to give other ideas as well. Also give a close up of the Silkie chick. ill health is a main reason too for over chirping.

LofMc

 

[cheepcheepnash]

Thank you! My apologizes. They were sleeping last night and I didn't want to wake them up in case I stressed them out. That's why I included that other video. I've included a video of the my little ones to this post. The silkie is the little buff one. I also have a lavender orpington, porcelain d'uccle, and salmon faverolles chick. You can see the silkie in the front. She's the one making little trill noises from time to time. I can try to get a photo of her later. She seems better today on the soft chirping front.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Thank you for including an actual photo of your flock.

The Silkie doesn't seem unduly distressed, and chicks do cheep, but I do notice that they are all huddled in the one spot together, what appears to be closest to the light. Is that common? They could be doing that because it is too cold, which would cause excessive cheeping.

You should check your brooder temp by having a thermometer on the bottom of the pen. Ideally, the temperature is set at bedding level to 95 to 98 degrees or so (if they are within the first week, lowering about 5 degrees per week until weaned off lamp at about 6 to 8 weeks when they are fully feathered). The heat looks suspended fairly high above center of pen. Ideally, the heat should be at one end of the pen with the food and water at the other end of the pen. Thermometer directly under the hottest part at bedding. You can see a good visual of happy chicks in the link below using a circular brooder.

Temperature will then differ throughout the pen that way they will have a warm end to sleep and a cool end for food and water. Those cold will go to the warmer area to warm up. Those too warm will seek the exterior away. Food and water should always be at the cooler end as chicks won't drink warm water.

If you see all the chicks huddled together or struggling to get as far away as possible, then you are either too warm or too cold, and will hear excessive cheeping.

So I would check temps and arrange the heat lamp to better accommodate a varied range in the pen, 98-ish on one end. This may be harder as you have a small octagon pen with single light above center. You need to move that closer to one side opposite the food and water, or center it so the warm spot is in the very middle with cooler at the perimeter. Food and water at perimeter.

I think you will hear happier chicks. I doubt the Silkie is the only one cheeping, and that flock dynamic should be pretty good as the d'Uccle is the same size as the Silkie, Favorelles are really calm in nature. Watch the Lavender Orpington as it will get the biggest and can try to overly dominate the others. Depending upon where you got the Orpington, they can be friendly or aggressive. Commercial lines of Orpingtons tend to be more aggressive.

My suggestions.
LofMc

https://extension.unh.edu/resource/brooding-and-caring-chicks