That said I am strongly considering cancelling my chick order from Mcmurray that's due in May. This whole thing has been so stressful, I don't know if I really want to go through it all again.
You obviously have a big heart, and that is wonderful. But please don't let your concern for the chicks and the stress you currently feel hold you back from this endeavor.
Raising chicks can be much more rewarding than stressful. Of course, everyone is different, and I don't want to tell you how you should raise your chicks. But let me offer my approach to raising chicks and take what you want, or nothing at all. This is just what works for me to make my life with chickens less stressful.
First of all, when I order chicks, I will assume a 10%-20% loss. For example, if I order 10 chicks, I will automatically assume a loss of 1 or 2 chicks. That prepares me for losses that may happen as I have already planned for that event. If I do lose a chick or two, I just focus my attention on the other 8 chicks that are thriving. Nobody likes to lose any chicks, but planning for loss makes it easier for me to accept this potential outcome and prepares me both mentally and emotionally. And yes, I had to prepare myself to be able to cull a sick or injured chick for the good of both me and the rest of the flock.
Over the years, I have discovered that the less I have to do to care for my chicks, the more I can enjoy them for myself. This was very important to me. I don't need extra stress in my life, either. So now I raise my chicks on wood chips bedding and don't clean out the brooder until the chicks are transferred to the coop. Much less effort for me, and it seems to be just fine for the chicks.
When the chicks go out to the coop, I have a feeder and waterer that I only have to fill once every 10 days. Of course, I check the levels of food and water everyday to make sure everything is fine, but I don't actually refill feed or water until about every 10 days. That makes my life easier, less stressful, and I therefore enjoy my chickens more.
I use a dry deep litter bedding of wood chips in my coop. I only clean out the coop once in the spring, after the snow melts, and once again in the fall before the snow comes. I could probably get by cleaning out the wood chips even longer, like maybe once a year, but I use the wood chips in my compost. So I prefer to rotate it twice a year.
Years ago, when I first started raising chickens, I was constantly cleaning everything. That was a lot of work. Changing over to deep bedding using free wood chips has really worked out well for me. I also personally feel my chickens are doing better on deep litter than when I was constantly cleaning the coop and spending lots of money on pine shavings or straw. Those days, for me, are gone and now I work less hard and enjoy my chickens much more.
I don't let my chickens free range. I would like to let them free range, but I live on a lake and we have too many bald eagles and hawks that would love a chicken dinner. So I keep my chickens in a chicken run with bird netting on top to protect them. Again, this is less stressful for me because I don't worry nearly as much about daytime predators from above. We call the people around here that free range their chickens as former chicken owners. They are almost guaranteed to lose their flock over the summer and before the fall when they would have started laying eggs. I don't need that stress in my life. My chickens do just fine in their chicken run with bird netting above to protect them.
Sorry for the long response, but I truly believe that if you find ways to reduce your "self-imposed" stress in raising chicks, you will be much better off in both the short term, but also in the long term as you will be able to raise and enjoy a backyard flock for many years. I do hope you continue to enjoy your chicks and find a place that is less stressful for you.
Still wishing the best outcome for your little chick.
and not that you asked... but i think chick #1 & #2 are females.. see how their wing feathers go allllll the way back. Also, they have prominent little tail feathers coming in. Little chick looks like it might be a male, and males are slower to grow than females, so the weight isn't concerning to me. They are all so cute!
Thanks for the pics. FWIW, I recently had a white egg from my Californian chicken that weighed in at 89g! Looked like a goose egg it was so big. Too big to close the cover on the egg carton.
