How far is too far to ship chicks?

[ChickenWhisperer101]

Wanting to add some chicks to my flock - specifically looking for Swedish Flower Hens. I know Meyer and My Pet Chicken have some in stock later in the year, but I found a farm up in Vermont (Sugar Feather Farm) that sells them. I like a lot of things about this farm, and would love to support them (vs large hatchery), but I live just north of Atlanta. It seems like VT to GA is a really long way to ship chicks, so I’m weary of ordering. I did just email the farm owner to get her feelings, but no response yet and I’m anxious over what to do! Any thoughts or similar experiences?
Thanks in advance!

I just shipped 16 chicks from IA (McMurray Hatchery) to TX, and had 1 DOA, which was a polish. The other chicks are all alive and very active. It was my first time having chicks shipped and it went quite well. Hope this helps you and you find chicks if you haven’t already!

 

[dreamofwinter]

Agreeing with others in this thread that if the chicks are healthy and there are no shipping delays, distance is not a big issue. I live in rural Eastern Maine and have received chicks from IA and ducklings from CA this spring with no DOAs and no later issues, just a big bunch of happy healthy babies. In both cases I received them within 48 hours of shipment via USPS Priority Mail.

That said, if I had a local offering the breeds I wanted I would definitely have made the drive rather than put my chicks through the stress of shipping!