Don't assume the chicks will arrive in a day or two.
Mine shipped from MPC in Ohio on Monday but didn't arrive in Missouri until Thursday. They went from Ohio to a sorting facility down in Memphis, then back up to Missouri. The chicks spent 72 hours in that box without heat, food, or water but all survived.
What you should be doing now is making sure that your brooder is set up and at the proper temperature or close to it (90 - 100 degrees F). Also make sure there is water in the brooder and it is also at the same 'room' temperature. You don't want the chicks drinking cold water that will lower their core body temp.
Be sure you are able to go get the chicks as soon as the post office calls. The clerk at my post office put mine in a heavily air conditioned office "to keep them cool" so she says, "to shut them up" is what I think. The box was very cold to the touch when she handed it to me and the chicks were not happy. Luckily it only took me 20 minutes from the call to the pick up and it was very warm outside (100 degrees F) and in my car.
Once you get them home get them warm, give them water, give them food. In that order.
Dunk their beaks into the water so they get their first drink and know where and what water is. Check them for pasty butt or any injuries or deformities. Put them under the heat lamp. If they are happy they won't be chirping too much or too loudly. If they are chirping up a riot, then something is wrong.
Give them food. Make sure it labelled as chick 'starter' and is ground fine enough for them, no large pellets. You can also give them boiled egg yolks, or something like GroGel to pump some protein into their system. Mine didn't like either of those but loved their chick feed.
Watch them. If they huddle together under the lamp, they are too cold. If they spread to the edges of the brooder away from each other then they are too hot. Make sure they are drinking, eating and exploring. Don't be afraid to dunk their beaks a second time if one isn't drinking. Don't be alarmed if they fall over and look dead. That's how they sleep and they will be exhausted. Resist the urge to wake them up. You should see them breathing and they don't sleep more than a few minutes at a time before they are awake and hungry again.
For the first few hours they may have bright green poop. After they pass some food and water through their system it will turn brownish/grayish/whitish more like normal bird poop.
That's all the advice I can give based on my experience so far.
It's been almost two weeks and I haven't killed them yet.
Mine shipped from MPC in Ohio on Monday but didn't arrive in Missouri until Thursday. They went from Ohio to a sorting facility down in Memphis, then back up to Missouri. The chicks spent 72 hours in that box without heat, food, or water but all survived.
What you should be doing now is making sure that your brooder is set up and at the proper temperature or close to it (90 - 100 degrees F). Also make sure there is water in the brooder and it is also at the same 'room' temperature. You don't want the chicks drinking cold water that will lower their core body temp.
Be sure you are able to go get the chicks as soon as the post office calls. The clerk at my post office put mine in a heavily air conditioned office "to keep them cool" so she says, "to shut them up" is what I think. The box was very cold to the touch when she handed it to me and the chicks were not happy. Luckily it only took me 20 minutes from the call to the pick up and it was very warm outside (100 degrees F) and in my car.
Once you get them home get them warm, give them water, give them food. In that order.
Dunk their beaks into the water so they get their first drink and know where and what water is. Check them for pasty butt or any injuries or deformities. Put them under the heat lamp. If they are happy they won't be chirping too much or too loudly. If they are chirping up a riot, then something is wrong.
Give them food. Make sure it labelled as chick 'starter' and is ground fine enough for them, no large pellets. You can also give them boiled egg yolks, or something like GroGel to pump some protein into their system. Mine didn't like either of those but loved their chick feed.
Watch them. If they huddle together under the lamp, they are too cold. If they spread to the edges of the brooder away from each other then they are too hot. Make sure they are drinking, eating and exploring. Don't be afraid to dunk their beaks a second time if one isn't drinking. Don't be alarmed if they fall over and look dead. That's how they sleep and they will be exhausted. Resist the urge to wake them up. You should see them breathing and they don't sleep more than a few minutes at a time before they are awake and hungry again.
For the first few hours they may have bright green poop. After they pass some food and water through their system it will turn brownish/grayish/whitish more like normal bird poop.
That's all the advice I can give based on my experience so far.
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