Ok, first off, if you treat your chickens as pets, you won't want to read this, so don't say I didn't give you fair warning!
I just got my first hatch of the year, and so I thought I would give some advice for keeping your flock as healthy as possible. As I move my chicks to the brooder, and over the next few days, I keep an eye out for weak looking chicks. Any chick that isn't nice and perky after 24 hours or so, and isn't up running around and have a twinkle in the eye, now is the time to cull. Even though these chicks may live, they will never be the best birds possible, period. It is better for your flock, and your feed bill to cull them right away. Doing this will improve your over all health of your birds, and keep weak, and sickly birds from bringing your genetic pool down. This is just my opinion, and I am not telling you that you have to do this, but if you do, you will see a much healthier flock of birds as the years roll by. Thanks!