15 chicks, DOA

[lissalischicks]

dare2dream farms will hand deliver to you. They don't have the massive chicken selection but they deliver and they are awesome!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Really do check some of the local breeders that others have listed that might be close to you, or ask at your feed store, even if they don't sell chicks themselves maybe they can refer you to some breeders. Unless you are dead set on certain breed(s) or restricted by state law (some states require a minimum of 6 chicks per purchase) there's no reason to buy more chicks than you want.

 

[ChickNanny13]

OMG that is so very traumatic loosing ALL your chicks in the mail ... So very sorry for your loss.

 

[Nanili]

OMG that is so very traumatic loosing ALL your chicks in the mail ... So very sorry for your loss.

Thank you. I really appreciate the sympathy. I really had a hard day. Feeling guilty for mail ordering.

 

[ChickNanny13]

You shouldn't, others have ordered and chicks arrived well. It's a chance we all take when depending on the USPS.

 

[Cindy in PA]

I have ordered chicks for 25 years & only my last shipment had any dead on arrival. Something had to have gone wrong at the Post Office! Sorry for your loss.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Ideal has the breeds you are looking for.
They are in Texas so the journey should be warmer.

They go off a dollar amount not qty of birds I believe.

So sorry for your losses.

 

[GreatGranny]

I’m sure they will be fine. I wish you the best!

Our baby chicks arrived this morning from Murry McMurry Hatchery and all 29 are safe, sound and healthy! Funny to watch too!

 

[deepbluesea]

Oh, that's terrible--I'm so sorry. I'd be traumatized, too. I've only bought four-week-old pullets from a next-door state breeder, so no experience with a hatchery. I have a half dozen coming in July, though--so I need to be worried about heat rather than cold. I hope you get some new babies and feel better soon.

 

[song of joy]

I've had very good luck with Meyer Hatchery and Ideal Hatchery (never any fatalities), but I've always had chicks shipped to me in the spring or summer (April through July) when the risk of mortality was substantially lower.

Hatcheries will continue to ship chicks in the winter because it's a matter of supply and demand. I wish they would add a long explanation and disclaimer to their web pages to advice people of the heightened risk of shipping chicks when it's really cold or really hot.

Many people (especially first-time chicken owners) are not aware of the risk, and just assume it's safe to ship chicks because the hatcheries are doing it. Winter shipping is very risky in most of the U.S. and can result in boxes of DOA chicks (see the many posts on BYC). Tiny bodies just do not fare well in freezing temperatures, even with heat packs included. While portions of the journey may be in a heated truck, airplane, or post office, other legs of the journey may expose them to very cold temperatures. So, it's important to know not only the starting and ending point of the journey, but also the states through which the shipment will go. During the winter, a FL to GA shipment would probably do fine. However, I wouldn't trust an OH to PA shipment or an OH to CO shipment.

Most hatcheries are very willing to replace the chicks, but I'd rather see them thoroughly explain the risk so people can make an informed decision. Even if the risk of getting DOA chicks in winter were less than 5%, I'd still opt for eliminating that risk by having the shipment occur in spring or summer. There are enough shipment-related stresses already for the chicks to deal with, so it's important to do whatever I can to reduce the risk of mortality.