Chick warmth in shipping

[muddipuppy]

What is the minimum number of chicks you can ship? I know that MPC sends as few as three because they have some warming mechanism. Has anyone experimented with that?

 

[Katy]

The "standard" for day olds seems to be 25 although I think there are a couple of hatcheries that will ship 15 in the summer heat.

 

[beckychick]

I would like to know as well....looking for a few more chicks but definately not 15 or 25. I would love that many but my husband would kill me.

 

[gritsar]

I know that Ideal has a minimum dollar amount, not a chick amount. That being said, you wouldn't want to order too few in the wintertime. That's just askng for dead chicks. If you don't want "packing peanuts" (free male chicks added for warmth) you have to specify that and pay for postal insurance.
MPC's three chick minimum is only if you live in a major city. Depending on how far away you are from a major city their minimum goes up. Ex: The minimum I could order from them living more than 3 hrs. away from a major city is 8.

 

[fasbendera]

I ordered from Ideal and they have a $25 min. order. You have to call a toll free number to say no filler chicks and then I added insurance which was $1.20. I think you could order in the warmer months and not worry about warmth and if you order in the spring I order meat birds as the fillers at least the meat to food ratio is good with them.

 

[LittleFeat]

I have 5 chicks due to ship Monday from My Pet Chicken. I've seen several posts on here with 5 or 6 chicks delivered from MPC and the pictures of them look great. I haven't seen any posts on here of any problems with anyone's order from them. I think their website says minimum of 3 if you live in a major city where the post office won't have any delays getting them. I'm about 30 minutes outside Nashville and 5 was fine to order.

 

[cmom]

Here are some hatcheries that have a minimum order under 25.

Mt Healthy Hatchery's minimum is 15
Cackle Hatchery's minimum is 5
Meyer Hatchery's minimum is 3 plus a special order charge

 

[write2caroline]

I ordered chicks twice from my pet chicken - 3 in the first batch and 4 in the second batch-

All fine and healthy. MPC min 3 lg or 5 bantum

They shipped them in a small box with shaved pine- some green gel that acts as travel food and a heat pack that is like a hand warmer.

I would suggest that you not get too many chickens if you are new to this - Time to go crazy is later after you figured out what you are doing. This is from someone whose husband was not keen on the chicken thing to begin with. Who can resist a 3 babies...get to know them, watch them grow.....then you can see if maybe you want this kind or that kind as you know what it takes to raise them.

When they are little, first week it is easy to think - Oh I could have handled a lot more.....but they get bigger, and in a tight brooder they can be smellier exponentially with each additional chick. Looking back I wish I had waited to order the second batch until the following year. I like them fine but I enjoyed the first three so much and the next 4 were so different even my kids enjoyed them less. Hindsight - we rushed to get more but we shouldn't have. I do really really like my barred Rock but the three silver laced chicks are so skittish and wacko- I don't think I bonded with them and they make enjoying the barred rock difficult.

Cal
Jax FL

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Again, your in a major city; Jacksonville. Their minimum depends on where you live and how far you are from a major city.

 

[elmo]

As an alternative to ordering chicks through the mail, have you thought about seeing if there are any local hobbyists you could get your chickens from?

This is what I did, and I've been delighted. I was able to see the conditions that the birds were kept in before I brought the chicks home, and I found a fellow poultry lover as a friend in the process.

The chicks were also not subjected to the stress of shipping, and I had no chick mortality, pasty butts or anything else of that nature to deal with.