Chicks arrived alive, now 3 are in chick heaven!?

I dealt with the light/heat issue a little differently. I used a 250w lamp because I knew it would likely be too much rather than not enough. Then I engineered the baffles you see on either side of the lamp. When completely closed, no(only a tiny amount) of heat penetrates the baffles. And with central air in the room, any that does get in is ventilated away. The room is probably 20 x 30, so I'm not concerned with the excess heat being directed upward. By regulating the angle of the baffles I can control how much heat/light gets into the cage.

I monitored the temperature the day before they came and took many readings just so I would know for sure...During the day, they are practically closed. Toward midnight the temperature here south of Denver has been in 60s, and since we turn off the air, I have to open them slightly more to keep the temperature around 85 in the center.

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I'm so sorry for your loss and Im glad to see that your second batch is doing well. Im a newbie as well, but I'd have to agree with Wimberleytexaschick. My 6 chicks shipped Monday from mypetchicken as well. I had them by Tuesday and they are all doing well. I think there my have been a mistake with your shipping. Mypetchicken requires express (overnight to most locations) delivery when you are ordering a small number of chicks. Even with larger orders, it requires priority so all of their chicks arrive by Thursday at the latest. You should probably contact mypetchicken to find out how they were shipped. I found that their customer service was great and very friendly. I would request that they provide a full refund and contact the USPS to get their money back so you dont have to deal with the USPS if it was a shipping error. Even if they cant refund you they might help to get USPS to refund you. It should have been guaranteed to arrive the next day. Im so sorry you had to go through that.
 
For the first batch of birds I had paper towels that I changed the two days they were alive. I lined the pine shavings with paper towels yesterday also for this batch. but the pooped so much on them that I decided today, I'd just dump the shavings tomorrow and clean the floor. But I may add the paper towels back tomorrow after cleaning. They made a mess of it in such a hurry that I'm not sure what good the towels are doing.

So electrolytes for awhile? I'll mix some in.

As for shipping, I paid the $30 shipping fee and the receipt shows express shipping. I did write them to let them know about the first one. But I have not yet called or anything about the total loss. I don't care about the money, just wanted to make sure I wasn't killing them. Seeing how these are doing, I'm positive I have the environment controlled enough to support even young life.
 
So sad to hear this especially when it sounds like you were so diligent in your preparations. I am also very new to raising chicks but everything you described is so different than my batch (15 assorted brown egg layers from McMurray Hatchery). I made sure the basics were there but it sounds like you really were vigilant and careful in your prep and then later your actions to keep them alive. I bet it was from the hatchery or shipping....how else could you have done everything else correct but have such a devastating result? Good luck, and keep us posted.
 
Regarding the electrolyte/vitamins. Yes, I followed the directions on the back of the package. Not even an 1/8th of a teaspoon was mixed in the water. The manufacturer is Durvet. I only introduced the electrolytes after the runt was becoming sluggish.

Well, you did right.

I personally am somewhat of a purist as to what I give chickens, and don't believe in adding much of anything to their diet that would not be found in their natural state. The exception of course would be
worming medicine and organic ACV to their drinking water to keep down algae and bacteria.

Since the second group is doing so good (as I had hoped for), it looks more and more like a shipping boondoggle to me. They just got too weak during the extra 48 hours of shipping time. Too long for little chicks.

You have a good looking group of peeps there! Keep us posted on how it is going, and what blondie turns out to be.

Can anyone tell me what breed are blonde gals?

Human or chicken?

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I am very sorry you lost your first gals and glad you found some more lucky chicks to love.
My thoguth is you did everythign right, there was somethign wrong with the birds. Either something from the hatchery or more likely shipping stress. I would stay on the hatchery and contact the shipper. They have a responsilibility to these birds and they need to do what they can to make it right.
 

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