Just bought 3 chicks, think they're day old but are already getting a couple feather pins. The black one is up and about and chirping vigorously, the other two just want to sleep. They are not of the same batch so I am assuming the black is maybe a day older and that the other two just need extra rest.
I raised peeps as a child and can't remember much. My parents have passed away so they can't help me out. The black has eaten since it got home 6 hours ago. The brown and the white are just laying there and are not interested in anything. I'm getting worried about them just sleeping.

How much rest do they need?
How active should they be?

They should be fairly active and take frequent naps. You need to get them drinking ASAP! Dip their beaks in some lukewarm water to which you have added 3-4TBS of sugar/qt. If they survive the weekend, get some poultry electolyte/vitamin powder for their drinking water, also. Chicks can survive a couple of days without eating or drinking as they are still absorbing the yolk inside their abdomens. But the quicker you get them eating and, especially, drinking the better off they'll be. Much luck to you.

Help! Sick chick!
I had about 30 chicks delivered Monday morning, all are fine except one Mille Fleur chick. She (I think it's a female, has 2 diferent lengths of primaries) is very weak (too weak to right herself if she falls over, she sleeps standing up), cries a lot, just stays near the heat. For the past 4 days I have been dipping herbeak in the water to get her to drink, sometimes she'll take a sip or 2 on her own. She'll peck at food if it is right in front of her, & if she can see other chicks pecking at the food. She usually doesn't get any in her beak, so I have to (gently) hold her beak open & push little bits of food in her mouth.
I have separater her from the other chicks (she kept getting knocked over by the more vigorous chicks. She is in a shoe box with cedar chips & paper towels for bedding. She has food, grit, water, warmth (from a heating pad regulated w/ a thermometer)& a Cochin banty chick for company (the Cochin is calmer than the rest & doesn't knock her over).
The water has Quik Chik & some sugar in it. The food is starter crumbles. I'm using play sand for bedding (in the brooder w/ the other chicks) & grit (is this ok?).
Is there anything else I can do for her?

I have just dealt with a "failure to thrive" chick that acted just like the one you describe. I had to handfeed this chick for two whole weeks, and "Clementine" is stunted, but gonna be fine, now. I used finely chopped boiled egg and sometimes mixed that with the starter (medicated with amprolium to prevent coccidiosis) and some warm sugar/vit/electro water. She would only take the food at first if I was holding it between my fingers like a mother hen holds food in her bill for her chicks. I'd have to feed her several times a day like this as she showed no interest at first to eat on her own. Let me make a few suggestions. First, NEVER use cedar shavings with baby chicks, it's toxic - not only if ingested, but the aromatic oils irritate the chicks' mucuous membranes (info from my vet). Second, I'd be VERY careful with the heating pad. It would be better just to use one of those cheap extension cords with a light socket on the end with a 60 watt bulb suspended over the sickly biddy (continue to monitor temp, of course). Too much heat is as bad, or worse, than not enough. And, third, grit is not necessary for chicks on just starter crumbles. However, one major hatchery advises to begin sprinkling a little grit on the chicks' food as though you were salting it starting on the 3rd day. So, either use none or VERY little. Lastly, I've never heard of anyone using sand as litter for chicks, but I'd be afraid they'd fill up eating the sand instead of their feed which could cause serious digestive/nutritional problems. Most people use coarse pine shavings (NOT sawdust, as they will eat that, too) for litter. Hope this helps. Good luck! Glad you care enough to ask for help. :)

Thanks for your advice. I actually read your message on Friday, but got bumped off-line before I could reply. I took the chicks off of the cedar, & the runt did better for a day or 2. But, when I checked them Sunday morning, the chick was dead. I guess it was just too sickly. I'm sure your advice will come in handy if I ever end up w/ another runt, & will probably help others who read this message board. Thanks again.

That was me by the way, I accidently clicked the "post as 'Anonymous'" button.

Well, that reminds me of a hen I got.
Her name was Puffy, because of her puffy Auracana cheeks, and she had a problem. It started out in her chickhood. Her beak had a slight twist to it. I thought it was OK, and we kept her. But it kept getting worse, to the point that her lower bill was bent way to the side and her upper bill was hooked right over. We fed her, she could only feed from a Feedbox, and we thought she would live, though she had to be the tiniest hen. She belonged to my brother.
One day, I heard a scream. Puffy was laying on her side. I touched her, she screamed again, flapped wildly around, and was dead.
What was wrong, and, more importantly, how will I prevent such a deformity from happening ever again?

Hey folks: Remember - we're dealing with nature. As heartbreaking as it may be, we will always lose some, generally through no fault of our own. 1 failure to thrive out of 30 is a good ratio in shipped chicks. If you can reduce stress (keep temperature controlled) and keep them fed, you're doing the best you can. Raising any livestock is basically a genetic crap-shoot. Physical deformities are usually an indicator of greater, unseen problems. In Cujo's case, the crossbill could be filed down to facilitate eating, but this chick most likely had an unseen, congenital disorder. Prevent what you can - starve-out, pasting, cocci, etc., that's what this forum is all about, but remember that perfection is unobtainable.