Screaming coming from any of your pets is quite worrying, it is especially worrying if all the screaming comes from your baby chicks as these birds are not known to do this.
This article is a look into why your baby chick is screaming
Table of Contents
Baby chick is screaming:
Whether this is the first time you are raising baby chicks, or if you’re used to raising baby chicks, screaming coming from these baby birds will be confusing and concerning. This is why your baby bird is doing this:
It’s an alarm call:
Birds communicate by making different noises, humans may not know what these different noises mean but birds do.
If your baby chick is screaming or shrieking then it is trying to make an alarm call to warn the other birds that there is a danger close by.
A chick will start off making repetitive clucking sounds if there is danger around and will then start to scream if the danger gets too close.
Because your baby chicks are so small, and can’t defend themselves, they will try to run away from the threat if they can.
Some birds will have a freeze response and will stay in place even in the face of an imminent threat.
If there are other flock members in the area then the other flock members will get away from the threat or will also freeze.
A variety of things may scare the bird into doing this, things like your household pets or humans that the bird is uncomfortable with, or humans that the bird doesn’t know.
What to do:
If a human or any of your other pets are causing your bird to scream out of fear then remove the threat and calm your baby bird.
Calm the chick by picking the bird up (if it is comfortable with you), and gently talking to it. You can also give your baby chick some treats to lift its spirit.
Make sure that the threat cannot get to your baby bird when you are away.
Night frights:
This is another reason why your bird may be screaming and it will happen at night or when your bird is sleeping.
Night frights are a phenomenon where your bird is awoken from its sleep because something scared it.
The thing that scared it may be your domestic pet, who tried to attack the bird at night, or, it could be something as simple as lights coming from outside into the room your bird is in.
What to do:
If this is what is going on with your bird then you’d need to ensure that your other domestic pets are kept away from where your baby chicks sleep at night.
Using blackout curtains that don’t let light from outside into your bird’s room will also be helpful.
You can also keep a dim light on in the room where your chicks are kept so that the birds can see that there is no threat around when they are awoken in the middle of the night.
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other bird related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Baby Chick Wants To Be Held All The Time, Baby Chick Looks Wet, White Spots On Cockatiel Beak, Baby Chick Distress Call, Chicken Stuck On Back, Red Rash On Chickens Skin, Chickens With Red Skin, Baby Chick Laying Down With Wing Out, Baby Chick Won’t Walk Or Open Eyes?
