Shipping chicks question - food/water during shipping?

[WallTenters]

This is a long way out, but we may end up shipping some chicks in the future if our breeding plans go well (and if our chicks ever get here!!!).

If there are any suggestions on ways to avoid the terrible dehydration and food needs during shipping, I'd love to hear them!

We were thinking maybe a head of lettuce soaked in water would supply water at least the first day or so, or possibly an apple?

Any ideas?

 

[snowflake]

are you shipping baby chicks or grown chicks? I have not done either but when they ship day old chicks to you there is no food or water with them. they try to get them to you within a day or two. they can survive that long on pre-birth nutrients. or so I understand?

 

[WallTenters]

Yes, that's the industry standard, but we hear of a lot (a lot!) of people losing day old chicks during shipping, even if it's during those first few days. They get to the new home and they're just too tired and dehydrated to make it. It seems there must be some way to really decrease mortality rates among shipped day old chicks. Understandably so, the major hatcheries probably don't worry too much about it (the chicks are less expensive than the fix) but IF we ever ship chicks it will be chicks that we have put a lot of hard work into getting hatched ourselves, and we want as many to live as possible!

 

[catdaddy66]

The chick absorbs the remaining yolk into its abdomen and this reserve allows it to wait 2-3 more days without suffering thirst or malnutrition. In nature, eggs do not always hatch the same day and the reserve allows the first few chicks to live while mama continues to sit for a couple more days and hatch as many chicks/eggs as possible. Mother Nature makes a cruel kinda sense, doesn't she?