When you place the order, you can usually pick what ship date you want, and they will pack your box of chicks from the ones that hatch on that day. By taking orders in advance, they have a better idea of how many eggs of each kind to incubate.
The boxes of chicks usually travel by airplane, so I think the actual distance from the hatchery doesn't matter very much. Most of their time is spent being sorted, sent to the next stop, sorted again, put on the truck, sent to your local Post Office, and so forth. So the number of stops makes more difference than the real number of miles.
You should expect to drive to the Post Office to pick up your chicks the day you arrive.
The Post Office tracking information makes most people panic at first.
The chicks ship-- and the Post Office estimates an arrival date way too far in the future. You know the chicks will die if they spend that long in the mail.
But the chicks usually do arrive at your Post Office in a safe amount of time (well before that estimated arrival date.)
Then the tracking says they are "out for delivery," even though they are supposed to be held at the Post Office. They probably are at the Post Office-- you can wait for a call, or call the Post Office yourself, or just drive over there to see.
Your local Post Office may call very early in the morning, as soon as they take the chicks off the truck, and you can come get your chicks at once.
Or your local Post Office may wait until they officially open for the day, and call you then. (If you're waiting at the door when they open, you can get your chicks without waiting for them to call.)
When you first unpack your chicks, they are probably cold, thirsty, hungry, and tired.
For the first hour or so, they seem to need extra heat, so just lower the heat lamp a bit and let them warm up. When they stop huddling so much you can raise it back to the height that makes the "right" temperature for their age.
