Worried- I Changed position of brooder cage now 4 wk old bantams won't go under their brooder heat plate for the night.

[catsndogs4us]

This is a new one to me and I've raised several batches of chicks over the years. I changed the position of our 4.5 week old bantam chicks brooder cage today and now they won't go under their brooder heat plate to go to sleep for the night. The brooder is a repurposed large lizard vivarium (NOT an aquarium this cage has plenty of ventilation), they also go in a play cage at times which is a repurposed rabbit cage. They have been outside many times either in our greenhouse or a few times over the past few warmer days outdoors in a safe enclosure. They get a lot of variety in their lives but have always slept in the "lizard" brooder cage. Well today I changed the position of that brooder cage to better fit the play cage on the same table beside it. It's really not that different and they were fine until it started to get dark, now they won't go under their brooder plate but are sleeping in the corner of the cage that I guess is positionally closest to where they used to sleep. It's not that much of a change really! The only thing I can think of and I don't truly believe this but maybe...they could see me sitting on the couch better from under their heat plate when the cage was the other way and now they are nearest the side of the cage where they can see me. DO they need to see me while they go to sleep??? I've never come across this before but these are rescue chickens who spent the first 10 days of their lives in a bad situation. Or could they just not want the heat anymore? The room is currently 70 F and will likely get down to 60F overnight. Two of the bantams are silkies, one may be a rosecomb (male) and the last one is a petite yellow chick who is much smaller than the others. They're sleeping all pig piled together. I can't change everything back to how it was tonight (well I guess I COULD but don't really want to as the lizard cage is heavy and I'd have to take them out to move it again and find somewhere else for the play cage and it was really not a big change at all! Should I see if I can move them under the brooder plate now that they are asleep? I'm feeling a bit flustered here. Any advice?

 

[3KillerBs]

Are they well-feathered?

They may simply not need any heat anymore.

If it makes you feel better you could tuck them under the plate while they're sleepy.

 

[Prince and Pavo]

Hello! At this point they are old enough to know what would be best for them, so what you really need to do is watch their behavior. Do they pant, hold their wings to the side, or stay on the edges of the cage? Are they shivering, piled together trying to stay warm or just because they’re more comfortable? You may want to add roosting bars so they can perch if they want to.

 

[catsndogs4us]

Are they well-feathered?

They may simply not need any heat anymore.

Yes they are well feathered. I'm just about to go out to the barn to shut up the adult chickens for the night so I may try shifting the littles under the brooder plate when I get done. Maybe they're happy I don't know it just seems strange that this is the first time they're choosing not to go under the plate. It was far warmer the past two nights and they still used it. I guess they're ok I just worry about them much more than other chicks we have raised, they were in terrible shape when I brought them home and needed a lot of care to begin to thrive. They seem comfy, ah, what's a chicken mama to do .

 

[catsndogs4us]

Hello! At this point they are old enough to know what would be best for them, so what you really need to do is watch their behavior. Do they pant, hold their wings to the side, or stay on the edges of the cage? Are they shivering, piled together trying to stay warm or just because they’re more comfortable? You may want to add roosting bars so they can perch if they want to.

So thankful for the reassurances here. Thank you. They seem comfortable, the timing seems suspicious. I have roosting sticks in the play cage and was thinking about moving them permanently to that soon anyway. And of course before long they'll have to move to the main coop. I was beefing up the security of the play cage today in preparation for a move since I need to make sure everything is very cat safe here when chicks are little and a bit tempting to kitties.

 

[3KillerBs]

Yes they are well feathered. I'm just about to go out to the barn to shut up the adult chickens for the night so I may try shifting the littles under the brooder plate when I get done. Maybe they're happy I don't know it just seems strange that this is the first time they're choosing not to go under the plate. It was far warmer the past two nights and they still used it. I guess they're ok I just worry about them much more than other chicks we have raised, they were in terrible shape when I brought them home and needed a lot of care to begin to thrive. They seem comfy, ah, what's a chicken mama to do .

I will admit to tucking chicks in when I thought they needed to be warmer than they thought they needed to be.

Especially a batch that had some slower-feathering birds in it.

 

[catsndogs4us]

I will admit to tucking chicks in when I thought they needed to be warmer than they thought they needed to be.

I think it's the smallest one I worry most about she is well feathered, just so little. I just now used a dull headlamp to see enough to tuck them under the brooder plate. Well that failed. It completely woke them up and they started to eat and drink. I usually let the room darken naturally so they'll be used to that when they move to the coop. I guess I'll let them eat then turn off the light when they settle again and trust them to sleep where they are comfortable. They grow up so fast

 

[catsndogs4us]

Just to update, the little trouble makers were absolutely fine all night. I think I worry more about them because of the rough start they had and the extra care I needed to do to help them survive and thrive. Plus with the smallest one being so much smaller than the other three, she worries me (and she was the sickest when we got them) but maybe she's a breed who stays significantly smaller than the other three bantams.
Thanks again for reassurances.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

I usually raise my chicks outside in the barn (a cat had kittens in my brooder room so this first batch is with me inside). I use a brooder plate and only turn on a heat lamp over their food if it gets cold. Even if it is 40 degrees outside my chicks will self wean themselves off of the heat starting around 3-4weeks old and by 5-6 they are completely off any heat even though they are not fully feathered and it’s only 40 at night. The only chicks that I have had die were shipped or store bough chicks that died within 24 hours of arrival and did not look good when they arrived to begin with.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Or could they just not want the heat anymore? The room is currently 70 F and will likely get down to 60F overnight

Bingo, as you noticed. Mine tend to sleep in the same spot, which is in the heat, long after they don't really need it. It's what they are used to. When you shuffled things they went where they were most comfortable. It can be hard to let them make these decisions, you want to protect them and take care of them. I do to. But they do grow up.