I order my first chicks, did i ordered too many??

Did you notice anything unusual about their poop? Maybe it could be cocci.

I lost one last night due to a possum attack but I still have 7 left.

Chicksandme said:

So my 26 chicks I received from my shipments is now down to 20 chicks, I'm a bit sad to lose the 6 chicks. I know the first one had issues with the Prolapsed vent and it didn't make it but the other 5 kinda just died without warning... I was thinking maybe the big ones were hurting them or something. I would just find them dead so, I hope it is not some sickness. Anyone experience this with their chicks?

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Shipping is stressful on chicks, plus in a big hatchery they don't have time or facilities to watch every hatch for chicks that might not make it - they just hatch, sort and ship. It's sad, but not unusual to lose a couple even a few days after getting them, and you'll likely never know if they were just chicks who would have failed to thrive anyway or if they just couldn't handle the shipping. Having some Nutri-Drench on hand is always a good idea - it can help even weak, borderline chicks perk up and rally. Yes, they might have been sick, too, that's always a possibility, but my money's on plain old shipping. Keep an eye on the others, isolate any that seem to be not doing well, and if you can get some Nutri-Drench or even Save-a-Chick that might help. Good luck with the rest of them!

Edited to add: Do watch out for pasty butt. It's where feces sorta sticks to the down around their vents and keeps them from being able to get rid of any more. It can be fatal so if you see it, wash the area down with warm water, kinda pick at the ball of feces to get it off, then dry their little bums well and coat the area with a little olive oil or coconut oil to keep more from sticking. You sometimes have to treat more than once. Note - CHICKS HATE THIS PROCESS AND WILL ACT LIKE YOU ARE KILLING THEM. Just remember if you don't do it it will kill them, and fight on, warrior!

I got some great ideas off the thread in the Raising Chicks pinned post. Two of mine which I now suspect are bantams of some kind because they are so much smaller, have had ongoing pasty butt. However, it got better after I ground up the starter, added some probiotics (just some people stuff I had on hand) and fed some mashed boiled egg (making sure the little ones got some. So sorry for your loss!