The first time I ordered (last year) I ordered 6 BRs. I received 6 and one died the first night. I asked for the chick to be replaced and they wouldn't. This year I ordered 13 and received 14. That was Tuesday, and they are still all alive! From what I have heard, if one will die, they usually die the first night.
I picked up my 17 chicks at the hatchery about 60 miles from us. So altho they had an hour ride to get home, it wasn't as stressful for them as shipping would have been. We got 6 one week, then went back and got 11 more the next week. The original 6 are now almost 5 weeks old, I never lost any of those. Of the 11, I lost 4. The ones I lost were all rather runty from the start and just weren't thriving. Then to top it all off, I didn't leave them on paper towels long enough (only 24 hours) and put them on shavings too soon. Altho they were all eating and drinking pretty well, I guess I really goofed taking them off the paper toweling after just 24 hours on it. So the four that died must have eaten shavings, but I'm not sure. They died on different days, one of them being almost a week old. It just hadn't gained any weight at all. The second I realized one of them was eating it's bedding (I saw it pecking around in the bedding and it's crop was large) I put them on shredded newspaper. I'm not positive if it was eating the shavings that caused their death
or if it was because they weren't very hardy to begin with. Or maybe it was a combination of both.
I was heartbroken about losing two of my Barred Rock chicks. I'd gotten three of them to insure that I'd have at least one female. I only have one left, and yesterday I was holding HIM looking HIM over and realized HIS little 3 1/2 week old comb and wattles are turning red!!! I can't keep roosters, so now I will have no Barred Rocks.
I also lost two of my Buff Orps. Of the two BO's I have left, I think one is a female. My 6 EE's all have thrived and so have my 4 Golden Comets!
Learn all you can, and don't pass up little tips like putting the chicks on paper towels until they are sure where their food source is and don't count your pullets until they grow a bit!! This forum is such a great source of help! After reading on here, I learned that chicks just die. It happens. But there are variables we can control and I think it can really make a difference how we care for them!
Good luck and most of all, have fun with them! They are so addicting and a real riot to watch!
I had a co-worker say the same thing to me: Get extras because you'll lose some. Heh. I hatched 16 and I have 16 today. They are easy to keep healthy, much easier than hamsters, in my opinion!
