Why do chicks chirp?

Answer 1

Chicks chirp as a flock activity. It is communication to both the hen and other chicks. A chick will chirp loudly if it is alone, or if it sees an unfamiliar animal approach (including the farmer.) Chicks chirp as a way of communicating group alertness, and they are sort of a collective conscious about sleep and waking. One chick chirping will wake the others up, and they will start chirping if they are active. Reduced chirping induces other chicks to sleep. In this way, they sleep and feed at the same time. They do things with the uniformity of a little battalion, and this is an instinctive strategy to keep the flock together.