Has the mentor system changed? (Did I miss it?)

I also feel like a terrible mentor...
I have had a rough year medically and so it is hard for me some days to respond to IGMs and send gifts. I send a welcome msg, a how to find the forum msg, how to get neighbors, and a couple of other topics plus the daily gift. If no response at all, I send the gifts but don't put in any more effort to IGMs. I just had a chick graduate! They never responded to anything but at least they played long enough to get out of the nest. The replacement chick? A red flasher on level 3.

I removed a chickadee that I got at level 3 and they are now level 4. They are not playing, their EP bar is not moving, thermometer dropping, doesn't respond to gifts or IGMs...

Booted them out of the nest, and clicked on the egg to get a new chick. System immediately gave me the same player back and now have to wait to remove them again

I do have 2 chicks that are playing but don't respond to gifts and IGMs. Perhaps they are not newbies but rather new farms. I don't think one speaks English.

My goal when I started being a mentor was to try to help new players. Now, I just want to reach level 5 and be done.