New chicks on their way..some advice needed

[Kiwiheather]

You, for sure, need a heat lamp at almost all times and I've heard that the best way to introduce chickens to another flock is by putting them in a container next to the other flocks coop with a barrier of wire in between. I got my first shipment of chicks about a month ago too. They are so wonderful to have inside the house. I'm having an amazing experience with mine and i hope yours go the same!

THANKS SO MUCH! I am beyond excited! Just cleaned the spare bedroom out for them and can't wait to hear the little peeps!

 

[OreoPlymothRock]

Hello, can you post some pics?

 

[Kiwiheather]

Sure!! my husband ended up making me a brooder for my birthday~ it's worked out great! I am going to post these in the WHAT BREED forum but if anyone here has an idea, I'd love to know

 

[Chickens R Us]

AAAWWW they are so cute.

 

[henandchicks]

Kiwi, did you have all chicks arrive alive to South Florida?

i have seven chicks (each a different breed) arriving in 10 days in Texas and it's HOT. i would never have ordered them so late, but i had a tragedy with a dog breaking into our coop and killing 6 of my 7 chickens. (it was *terrible*.) i'm worried about the new babies overheating in transit. trusting the post office with live animals seems so counterintuitive, but it seems to be the way for so many on BYC.

any advice would be appreciated, as i am pretty terrified.

 

[Kiwiheather]

Hi, yes they all arrived healthy! They started drinking and eating right away and haven't stopped since! I had a similar experience and lost all my hens but one. I had a coyote last night try and get her too! So awful! They shipped them out from minnesota on Sat AM and they were here monday morning. I wasn't sure which post office was my "local" one and set my alarm for 8:30 thinking I could start calling the close ones. At 9:05, they called me and the girl one the phone was more excited than I was LOL! I told her I'd be right in to get them and they had them waiting for me! I think most places they will be are actually air conditioned so they may be cold if anything! We are around 87 most days and I even put on the seat warmer on the way home for them! They still sleep under the heat lamp at 10 days old. They are inside the house, a/c set at 74 but the room they are in is the hottest in the house and I closed off the vent in there. Did you order from McMurray's? To be honest, I was shocked how healthy and active they were. The two black and white ones were a bit weaker but I think they were probably younger by 10-12 hours or so. They have caught up and are trying to fly now. Best of luck to you and the new babies~I am sure they will be just fine!

 

[henandchicks]

glad that yours are doing so well! i am constantly amazed that so many people are successful with mail order chicks. they just seem so completely fragile.

my chicks will come from Ideal Poultry in east texas, and i live on the opposite side of the state. still, the distance travelled is much less than MN to FL. i may even have my chicks in one day, according to the awesome customer service agent who called to let me know they were coming. (because i wanted one each of several breeds, my order was on a wait list for six weeks, so i had no firm ship date.)

i think i might drop by my post office on the day the chicks are shipped to give them notice that chicks will be arriving. i know i must sound like a complete control freak, but the truth is i'm ridiculously tender hearted and am trying to avoid calamity at all costs.

thanks for the encouragement!

clair

p.s. my birthday is coming up, too. please ask your husband if he would mind building another one of those fabulous brooders!

 

[Kiwiheather]

glad that yours are doing so well! i am constantly amazed that so many people are successful with mail order chicks. they just seem so completely fragile.

my chicks will come from Ideal Poultry in east texas, and i live on the opposite side of the state. still, the distance travelled is much less than MN to FL. i may even have my chicks in one day, according to the awesome customer service agent who called to let me know they were coming. (because i wanted one each of several breeds, my order was on a wait list for six weeks, so i had no firm ship date.)

i think i might drop by my post office on the day the chicks are shipped to give them notice that chicks will be arriving. i know i must sound like a complete control freak, but the truth is i'm ridiculously tender hearted and am trying to avoid calamity at all costs.

thanks for the encouragement!

clair

p.s. my birthday is coming up, too. please ask your husband if he would mind building another one of those fabulous brooders!

Clair.. I understand completely! I was a wreck! I checked the tracking # a billion times! The hatchery actually says you don't have to pick them up right away and that they have all they need from the yolk for a full three days! It's amazing. I am sure that they will give you instructions from Ideal but they said dip each one's beak in the water source as you put them in the brooder so they know where to get a drink. And p.s. happy birthday but by the time he's done fencing my acre, you won't need the brooder anymore..

Good luck and let us know how they do!