So after two years of lurking here, I am finally getting baby chicks of my own for the first time in my almost-a-half-century life. They are being shipped from MyPetChicken.com on July 23 (hatching on July 22). The journey will take at least two days, possibly three, depending on the mail service.
At first, I didn't think anything of it, but after seeing so many posts here about people getting baby chicks and having several die off for no known reason, I'm getting more and more nervous as the day gets closer. So I have two questions here for the group:
1) Why does everyone raise chicks in the Spring? Is July a bad time to get baby chicks and raise them? I figured they could go outside sooner if they had warm weather outside. But are there downsides to getting chicks in July? (I don't mind if they take longer to produce eggs).
2) What is the death rate for shipped chicks? I remember one post saying that all their chicks that were shipped to them died, because of an excessive cold snap in February. Is it possible for my chicks to all be dead on arrival due to excessive heat? Do shipped chicks have a higher death rate than ones bought from places like Tractor Supply?
I ordered 6 chicks.... I really don't want a batch of dead chicks come July, because obviously, Tractor Supply, IFA, Cal's, etc, will all have no more chicks (they are all almost done now!) and I won't be able to get replacements except through shipping again. I guess I'm just really nervous. I want healthy chicks that don't die. Is MyPetChicken.com a good place to get healthy chicks? Thanks!
At first, I didn't think anything of it, but after seeing so many posts here about people getting baby chicks and having several die off for no known reason, I'm getting more and more nervous as the day gets closer. So I have two questions here for the group:
1) Why does everyone raise chicks in the Spring? Is July a bad time to get baby chicks and raise them? I figured they could go outside sooner if they had warm weather outside. But are there downsides to getting chicks in July? (I don't mind if they take longer to produce eggs).
2) What is the death rate for shipped chicks? I remember one post saying that all their chicks that were shipped to them died, because of an excessive cold snap in February. Is it possible for my chicks to all be dead on arrival due to excessive heat? Do shipped chicks have a higher death rate than ones bought from places like Tractor Supply?
I ordered 6 chicks.... I really don't want a batch of dead chicks come July, because obviously, Tractor Supply, IFA, Cal's, etc, will all have no more chicks (they are all almost done now!) and I won't be able to get replacements except through shipping again. I guess I'm just really nervous. I want healthy chicks that don't die. Is MyPetChicken.com a good place to get healthy chicks? Thanks!