Best time to order chicks

[CHICKENX2005]

What if I was going to have them shipped to Texas? ( Near Port Mansfield) I'm assuming the best time to have them shipped would be different? Right?

 

[Huntmaster]

Thanks. But what if the only times I can get them are in the winter on in the hottest time of summer. I know neither are ideal but if I had to choose which one would work better.

If I had to choose one or the other, I would have to believe winter might be best. As you can order a larger # of chicks to help keep each other warm and some hatcheries will offer heated hand warmers to keep them warm also. In the hottest weather closed up in a hot truck with no way to get relief from heat. Just my thoughts.

 

[CatInTheHenHouse]

It might help to make sure the hatchery you’re buying from is nearby, and mind the weather where the hatchery is not just where you are, because the chicks will have to travel through both.

 

[GirlsHuntToo]

Even though early fall and spring time are the best times to get chicks - Out of the dead winter and hottest part of summer - if that's all that's possible - I would go with summer. It's better hot for chicks than cold because there brooder temperatures - the first week or so should be around 90 degrees.

Thanks. But what if the only times I can get them are in the winter on in the hottest time of summer. I know neither are ideal but if I had to choose which one would work better.

 

[Huntmaster]

Even though early fall and spring time are the best times to get chicks - Out of the dead winter and hottest part of summer - if that's all that's possible - I would go with summer. It's better hot for chicks than cold because there brooder temperatures - the first week or so should be around 90 degrees.

Ever sit in a car for very long in 90 degrees you will cook in a very short time with no way to cool. At least in winter you can order a large # of chicks and add heat/warmers to warm them. I would never do either

 

[11th Hour Poultry]

I know it's best to order chicks during the more mild months but if I couldn't meaning if I had to order them either in the cold or in the hottest time of the year which one is better. And what time of the year do you have the most success raising chicks?

Don't order chicks at these times. If those are the only times of year that you can order chicks order something else. You can wait until better weather for benefit of the chicks. Day old chicks die the same if it's the coldest month or the hottest month.

The most successful time of year to raise chicks is spring. You want chicks to be fully feathered before out of brooder to stay warm on cold nights. New chicks in summer also need to be fully feathered and have some size on them to properly dissipate heat before out of the brooder.

 

[saysfaa]

If those were my choices, I would go with winter.

Actually, the same concept can be done for hot summer if you have a way to provide cooler areas too.

Then do things unconventionally. Such as:

Pick the chicks up from the hatchery - meaning where ever they hatched; whether a friend with a backyard flock or a business that hatches millions. Not from a resale store.

Have a way to keep them warm on the way home, regardless of what the hatchery provided. And out of a chill wind on the way to your brooder. Or cool enough in the car.

Do things differently at home, as needed, so they can always warm up as they like. Or cool off. Also things like thawing some sod for them to play with and get exposed to microbes.

Expect it to take more time and attention than how most people do it.

It (winter) has the advantage of allowing them to move in and out of colder areas and so develop cold adaptations (such as differences within their muscles to get effects similar to what brown fat does in mammals.) That may be an advantage in the South and Texas too. Or, if summer works better for you, then it may mean helping them through winter cold spells more than you otherwise would.

 

[BradD20]

I just received my chicks from Meyers. OH to TN, they shipped yesterday and the post office called me at 10am today to pick them up. Meters packed them tight with a heat pack under the nesting material and all chicks were perfectly happy and healthy when they arrived!

 

[Percheron chick]

I got my first chicks of the year Jan 20. (CO) Lucked out on a warm spell (50's) and the chicks got here overnight, 800 miles. I always start chicks Dec-Jan as I sell started pullets and they need to be ready to sell in April. I can count shipping deaths on one hand out of 1000 chicks. I like to order 50 at a time.