Best date to order chicks?

[specklesmom]

Dates available to order are Oct. 1 through end of October. I will have to be away from home at Thanksgiving. If I order for first of October, will I be able to leave the chicks for 3 nights? I'm only getting 3 BRs.

 

[HEChicken]

If it were me I would order the first I could so they are well feathered out before the cold weather starts. The older they are, the better it will also be for leaving them. Will you have someone checking on them or are you confident their coop will be safe for them for that amount of time and their water won't freeze if there is an early cold spell?

 

[specklesmom]

I will have a neighbor check in on them twice a day. They'll be locked inside a small containment area in a closed barn, (or possibly in the laundry room inside the house). Freezing water won't be a problem; it rarely is cold enough for water to freeze inside the barn. I can leave a regular light or heat light on. If I get them at the beginning of October they'll be around 7 weeks old by then.

 

[HEChicken]

If you have a neighbor able to check on them, I'm sure they'll be fine. They shouldn't even need a heat lamp by 7 weeks old. I always feel better if I have someone checking on them, even when I am able to leave enough food/water for them. You never know when something might go amiss with a water source and I'd hate to come home to find them dehydrated because they had no water for two days. But it sounds like you have all your bases covered!