Welcome from California!
I hatched chicks a week ago and I also am gone for 13 hours a day. (But I'm an old hand at hatching..) However, if you get your chicks on a Saturday and set things up well over the weekend, you CAN leave them with feed and water as long as you check each one as soon as you get home to make sure they're okay. Safe place, out of drafts, where they cannot hop out of their brooder. Then you can love on 'em every evening.
Just sayin'....
'Cause part of the best thing about raising chickens is starting with babies and handling them so they become used to you.
I concur! Chicks are pretty able to get along as well as they have food, warmth, and protection. You may need to get up an hour or so earlier to get the chicks off to a good day, but it is certainly do-able. 'Sides, your baby will so enjoy watching the fluff balls grow up right before her eyes.
