am i just bad with baby chicks?

[shaggy]

i got 4 on Saturday - best guess 1-2 weeks old

kept a heat lamp in the corner of the brooder -- fresh water every day -- fresh feed everyday as much as they can eat and then some -- i gave them parakeet gravel and grits and some play sand in their chick feed -- changed out their bedding every night when i got off work. i didn't strictly manage their temperatures - but it stayed between 80 and 90 all the time.

saturday and sunday they were kept in my closet --- monday and tuesday they were in the garage.

on monday 1 Sweety died and on tuesday Buttercup died. they didn't grow at all when i had them.

the other 2 are healthy and growing like crazy (bodies are about the size of a baseball now)

am i just bad with baby chicks? should i just stick to trying to get them when they are 4 weeks old or older?

 

[chickensioux]

So sorry you lost some. If they were not growing it sounds like it was something totally out of your control. Good luck with the rest.

 

[cochinbantam-lover]

I'm sorry you lost babies

, just do the best you can for your other two and I think that's all any of us can do for our chickies!

 

[EricShane]

it happens

 

[Wynette]

I'm so sorry for your losses...it may have been too much of a temp. change going from a closet to your garage. Hard to know. Also, I avoid feeding anything (including grit) for at least the first 2 weeks. They have all they need with their starter feed, and sometimes, if you offer them something different, they will fill up on that and ignore their starter. Just some random thoughts....

 

[shaggy]

Quote:
thank you for your advice, i appreciate it very much

 

[lindseythefork]

It just happens sometimes...

In the future, I wouldn't give anything other than straight starter food. They don't need anything else, and then that way you won't have to wonder if maybe that's what did it.

 

[Wynette]

Shaggy, please don't think it wsa your fault....as the others have said, sometimes it just happens. Enjoy your other two!!!

 

[shaggy]

Quote:
might be and might not be, not much i can do about it now except learn

that's why you guys are awesome .... but it does give me a good excuse to go out and get some more

and armed with just slightly more experience, i am sure i can do better

 

[Horsewell]

Sorry to hear