Ordering chicks in the post? Humane?

[AZKat]

There are lots of ways to minimize the chances that something bad will happen to the chicks in transit. For example. picking a hatchery that is fairly close, and picking a good time for your area. There are also some hatcheries, like Meyer, that pack their chicks in a box with straw, a heating pad and some grow gell, which is probably a more comfortable way to travel. That said, the majority of chicks that are shipped arrive healthy and happy. The chicks that I got from MPC arrived healthy, happy and peeping, and didn't seem to be upset or traumatized, and I think my experience is pretty typical.
As for unwanted roo's being killed at the hatchery....the fact of the matter is that no matter what, the majority of roos are not going to live out their natural lifespans. It may sound harsh, but only a tiny minority of roosters are going to be a pampered flock husband. The rest are, at best going to become dinner.

 

[dwegg]

Yes it seems to be a tough beginning for many of our chickens and i guess all our chickens are certainly the lucky ones if they make it to us, however we get them. Even then chickens are not nice to each other!
i personally would not buy chicks through the mail as I feel it is the equivalent of puppy mills..and yes I have been very tempted also to send off for those special breeds that we lust after..but I just couldn't bring myself too....

 

[Carpe DiHen]

I would think most anyone who has gotten a chicken from a feed store has bought a chick that was shipped in the mail from a hatchery. I know our local feed stores get their chicks that way.

 

[D'Angelo N Va.]

Here is my take on it....Everyone does as they choose. If ppl. felt it was inhumane they wouldn't do so. I don't see anything wrong with it. As someone stated, my chickens are very happy and they get wonderful care. It's kind of like adoption. if someone adopts a child and gives them the best home ever, despite how that child was conceived or where it came from...it has a happy ending. Now I agree with not shipping in cold times like Dec.-Feb, but there are times when those months are not bad at all. This is a way for ppl. like me and others to learn and talk about our hobbies and our livelyhoods. For some of us here we don't have any other options but to order from hatcheries. I have done so lots of times, and will continue to do so. I also have breeds that I love and have raised babies from the broody mothers. But for new breeds, I have no choice.

 

[Keenonf]

I completely understand what your saying. I went through the same predicament. So i found a local breeder through craigslist, well not really local, an hour and a half drive. But still i was excited. I thought to myself "I'm doing a good thing, i'm supporting a local farmer. Those evil hatcheries aren't getting any of my hard earned money." So I went to the breeder and he was really nice. So I bought 3 silkie chicks for 6 bucks each. I thought to myself, "thats a little expensive but I'm supporting a local breeder so its worth it." Three days later they all died. I took perfect care of those chicks. So now I bought 9 silkies from ideal at 3 dollars each. When I got them, no DOAs, everyone was chirping and ready to get under that heat lamp. I lost one little guy who happened to be the runt but everyone else is full of energy and running around. Yes hatcheries may not be as humane as we want them to be, but without them a lot of people would have the chickens we love and care for today. You can do what i'm doing, I'm going to breed them and sell them to locals so that they don't have to buy from hatcheries if they don't want to. I don't think it matters of how crappy the first few days of their lives are, but how good you make it until the day they die or until you butcher them for food.

 

[Carpe DiHen]

Quote:
Sounds good to me Keenonf! Let's just concentrate on making their lives happy

 

[AZKat]

Along those lines, transporting chicks home from a breeder isn't exactly trauma free for the chicks. The week old chicks that I got from the local feedstore were more upset after their 15 minute ride home than the day old chicks that had been shipped across the country. And now, all of them are happy, healthy birds living in the lap of chicken luxury, and none of them seem to be suffering permanent damage from any indignities that they might have suffered in the first days of life.