Are sick chicks an everyday occurance?

[vintage]

Like you, I am new to chick raising. And like you, I have been terrified after reading about all the sick chicks. Ours will be pets/for eggs, and I do not want to lose a single one. My kids have named them and are already attached (after less than 24 hours that's kids for ya!), which makes the fear of something going wrong sky rocket.

This is an adventure, and I'm sure there will be ups and downs. I guess I didn't realize how fragile chicks are until researching. I've been a hovering mom and it's only day 2.

 

[Folly's place]

We've ordered chicks from hatcheries many times, and bought some from feed stores (when I couldn't resist!). The worst losses from chicks shipped were in the 10% range, twice, from two different hatcheries. More often one or two out of 30+ might die, and that's happened here with broody raised chicks once in a while, because every chick isn't hatched with everything in perfect running order.
We hate loosing every one, but it happens, with the best care.
Mostly, having chickens is fun, and the eggs and home grown meat are amazing!
When we started having birds at home, this forum didn't exist, and we learned many things the hard way about predator protection. It's easy to buy good food at the feed store, but underestimating predation is something most of us have experienced. This includes our own pet behaviors!
Mary

 

[Waters-flock]

Like you, I am new to chick raising. And like you, I have been terrified after reading about all the sick chicks. Ours will be pets/for eggs, and I do not want to lose a single one. My kids have named them and are already attached (after less than 24 hours that's kids for ya!), which makes the fear of something going wrong sky rocket.

This is an adventure, and I'm sure there will be ups and downs. I guess I didn't realize how fragile chicks are until researching. I've been a hovering mom and it's only day 2.

Oh, I hope you will share pics of your journey. I’d love to live vicariously through your experiences. I’m still months away from the arrival of my chicks. I don’t have little ones around but I know I will get attached when I pick up the box at the Post Office.

 

[Waters-flock]

We've ordered chicks from hatcheries many times, and bought some from feed stores (when I couldn't resist!). The worst losses from chicks shipped were in the 10% range, twice, from two different hatcheries. More often one or two out of 30+ might die, and that's happened here with broody raised chicks once in a while, because every chick isn't hatched with everything in perfect running order.
We hate loosing every one, but it happens, with the best care.
Mostly, having chickens is fun, and the eggs and home grown meat are amazing!
When we started having birds at home, this forum didn't exist, and we learned many things the hard way about predator protection. It's easy to buy good food at the feed store, but underestimating predation is something most of us have experienced. This includes our own pet behaviors!
Mary

I am trying to prepare myself for what is obviously going to happen when raiding animals. The predator issue was also concerning because I live where there are many predators. I’ve done my best to prepare, incorporating ideas I never would have thought of on my own. As I said before, I tend to overthink things. My DH says I should call the coop Fort Knox.

 

[Folly's place]

Ft. Knox is great, it's hard to actually overbuild. We do free range, and that's when most losses happen. It's a trade off between safety and having more active chickens, and bad things do happen out there.
Mary

 

[mintdeer]

I always expect at least one chick to not make it, they're just very fragile creatures. However over the years I've gotten a lot better with husbandry and learned a lot about optimum chick care and setting them up for success. Last year was our return to chick raising after several years without, and they all survived to adulthood. I've lost way more (as adults) to predators! Predators you don't even think are around will show up once they realize you have easy prey. We lost 2 of last year's batch to a bobcat...I'd never even seen a bobcat before then!

I've heard good things about My Pet Chicken and was actually planning on ordering chicks from them this year, but then I found out how much shipping cost for less than 15 chicks! Plus I was nervous with all the USPS issues with delayed shipping times. I ended up buying locally instead but if it wasn't for the shipping cost I would've ordered from My Pet Chicken.

 

[icy_flames]

I ordered 8 chicks from My Pet Chicken and am looking forward to their arrival. I am trying to figure out the food, the housing is as predator proof as I can make it, and I’ve raised kids and dogs successfully. Common sense - that remains to be seen.

Mypetchicken is a fantastic company. I got 4 of my chicks from them in Sept 2020. Shipped on a sunday and i picked them up on that following tuesday morning from post office.

They arrived safe and healthy. Grown into fine young ladies that started laying last month. I can't order more chicks for a long time since I live in a urban setting but I would 100% use them again in the future.

 

[Coops Dad]

We've hatched and raised at least a hundred chicks in the last few months (wife loves raising them, selling or gifting them to friends), and bought about another 20 or so from the feed store. We've had a half dozen losses, most were due to a couple chicks being killed by "not the momma" or an opossum. I've had only one chick die from defect/illness or disease- it had an umbilical hernia. Within minutes of it hatching, I gently worked it back in, dabbed a bit of antibacterial ointment on the belly button, and made sure it stayed closed. It was active, eating and drinking with the others that evening but I woke up to find it dead the next morning, and the belly button was still closed.

Don't overthink it; you'll do well and they'll be fine. If an issue does pop up, this forum is an incredible resource filled with exceptionally knowledgeable and helpful members.

 

[MixedFlock23]

I ordered 18 eggs from a hatchery, & 10 hatched... one died almost immediately and another had splayed legs that we taped. I’ve bought many day olds from farm stores and not lost any of them (as chicks). Last year I mail ordered 9, and one died on day two with us (ripped air sac, I believe, from an injury in shipping—it had a bubble under its skin and didn’t walk right).
Learn from my mistakes and don’t buy replacement chicks if any die and mix them in the same brooder. I figured it would be fine if I bought some to replace the one that passed (my daughter’s favorite & the only Silkie that we waited months on to come in stock)... I put all the less-than-a-week olds from two places together and lost two within a week or so. Respiratory issue and cocci (cocci vet confirmed in stool sample). Going forward I’m only buying a set of chicks per year and quarantining, of course. (I’ve messed up once by bringing in a full grown hen. Never again. So many diseases have “healthy” looking carriers.)

I’m an over thinker as well. And I go by the books with temperature in the brooder and dropping it five degrees each week... but my friend just watches the chicks and adjusts the heat based on chick behavior (cuddling or spreading out & away from the heat)... hers did great, even though she didn’t use a thermometer.
I’m sure it’ll be fine! And if you run into problems, jump on here for some advice. GL!

 

[Waters-flock]

Same here.... I currently have my new hover heater hanging from our laundry rack with a thermometer and a bowl of water (which I’m checking periodically with my grill thermometer) under it to test it before my chicks come...at the end of April.

It should be warm enough by then