Ordered my chicks from mypetchicken.com and im wondering if i should cancel order..

[Stewarts]

I started with 23 chicks and I hatched myself. Then I ordered 25 meat chicks and was told that its normal to lose a few. From the very beginning I did some research and decided to do what I could for them without another outlay of money. I make an equal mix of molasses and apple cider vinegar and add 1 teaspoon to 1 gallon of water for them. This gives them an extra nutrition boost and seems to enhance their strength. Then I start my chicks off with a mash of chick starter and plain yogurt that I make myself in my incubator with farm milk and a yogurt starter. The yogurt gives them the bacteria they would normally get by eating their mother's poop. The third thing I do is to always check for poopy butt and if there are some, clean the vents with a soft cloth and warm water. I have had far less problems with poopy butt, which will kill a chick, after I started feeding the yogurt mash on a daily basis. Let your order stand and do this for them. See how it goes.

I went back to the feed store I bought the meat chicks at and told them every single one is healthy and growing - they didn't believe me. They said 'impossible'. I said, its all in how you raise them and look after them! Today they are outside, at a month of age because they outgrew the indoor brooder so fast; in a pop-up tent that sleeps three because our other coup is full. They are protected from wind and rain, I open it for them on nice days making sure they have plenty of shade, they are kept warm on nights that are too cool for them yet by a brooder lamp that my hubby placed very carefully inside the tent. I check on them at regular intervals to keep their food and water filled. The nightmare I have heard about raising meat birds is that they eat and grow so fast that they suffer heart attacks as they grow older - their hearts can't keep up with their growth and that later on, their legs sometimes twist because they are too heavy. Well, putting them outside at a month old (even though they are only partly feathered, they give off tremendous body heat) has slowed their ravenous appetites and they eat a little less. Maybe their hearts will have time to 'catch up' with the rest of them in growth and such horrors will not happen to my birds.

We are in the process of building runs for them and our coup chickens. Not everything turns out to be a loss.

Stephanie

 

[khoe]

Another great source for chickens is seeing if your local group on byc has any members that breed. I know that my group has lots with eggs, chicks, and a bit older chicks. My next batch I will probably look there first.

 

[slfg]

I have ordered 4 times over the years from Welp, Ideal, and Cackle, and have yet to have any die in transit, most recent order I got last friday from Welp. I honestly think (I'm jinxing myself right now) that I've only lost a couple as chicks during their first month of age (one to a cat, one unknown). I'm in Indiana. If I remember right, all of my orders have come on time. I know people have had bad experiences, but on the whole, I think it's pretty safe. They've been sending them through the mail for a loooong time! If you had somewhere locally, I'd definitely get them there of course. Good luck

 

[aggiemae]

The actual risk with mail order is not 50:50 probably closer to 1:20. I actually do everything the poster above suggests with my new chicks. These are the first steps to health chicks and lay the foundation for healthy hens and lots of eggs. We have lost 2 chicks in three years. Those two where purchased from a feed store the first day after they were shipped to Oregon from Arkansas.


The only reason that feed store chicks appear to do better that mail order chicks is that all the dead/dying chicks have been sorted out before they are put out for sale and the chicks that have been at the feed store for over a week probably have close to a 99% of survival since they made it through the first (critical) week.