First Time Ordering, Lost A lot

First time ordering chickens online(Through Tractor supply which I believe order from Hoover's Hatchery) I placed an Order for 10 Random Brown egg layers. They shipped Tuesday(2/28/17) and didn't arrive till this morning(3/3/17). Upon opening the box from the post office 2 were laying dead in the box, one was on his way out, 2 were perfectly fine, and the rest were extremely weak totaling 11. As of now I have 5 alive kinda. The two original healthy ones are as happy as can be, one more seems like it will pull through the rest just sitting face down not lookin to good. This isn't the first time I have raised chicks. I dipped each head into the water and watched them chugg it down, showed the ones walking where the food was and they took to it easily. Once I realized how weak the majority of them were I went to our feed store to see if they had the Vitamins for the water, but sadly they did not

I believe that the random cold front that blow through this week might have done the most damage, any other tips or ideas? The breeds seem to be mostly Gold Sex Link, are they a less hardy bird?

That's so disappointing! I also ordered chicks that shipped Wednesday and arrived yesterday morning (3/3). I ordered 25 and 5 were already dead with the rest pretty lethargic and cold to the touch.

You don't say where you are, but I think mine were chilled during shipping. It got pretty cold here and my chicks didn't have a heat pack.

At this point, the best you can do is make sure they're warm and the temperature stays steady. Give them some finely crumbled scrambled egg. Sometimes that will give them a little boost. A few drops of diluted Nutri-drench (to the color of weak tea) is a good boost, too.

Unfortunately, you may lose more. I don't think that breed is weaker - chicks just don't do well when they get cold. Contact the hatchery because they should make that right and be able to give you some extra advice, too.

I live down here in South Texas, down to 3 alive. The two happy healthy ones and one other who looks like she isn't going to make it through the night. I should have waited later into the season to order. Hopefully these last two make it to feathering and Ill try another batch during the summer or Next spring

i googled this for you:

Here is a simple Homemade Electrolyte Recipe that is easy to mix up in a pinch:

1 Cup Water
2 teaspoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon baking soda

Use full strength on severely ailing chickens, otherwise mix into their drinking water as needed, a cup per gallon of water.

Replacing the electrolytes lost during times of oppressive heat could mean the difference between life and death to your chickens.

Ideal Poultry is down there in Texas, Able, They're good. I ordered 6 guinea keets from them last year and received 7 packing peanuts (6 rir roos and 1 cc pullet). You can always decline the peanuts if you don't want them, but all arrived healthy. Maybe you wont have to wait so wait so long to try again.

Yeah I have been looking for Hatcheries closer since most are pretty far up north. They do have small order shipping as well which works for me since I really wouldn't have enough room for a flock of 25. Good to see someone has had successes with them as well