Shipping Chicks

[Naamahbengals]

Hi all. So it seems pretty easy to ship fertile eggs - lots of padding, heat pack, 'fragile - live' designation, overnight shipping. (If I need to ship eggs I'll do more research.)

But how do you ship chicks? ...for not uber-expensive? I see places selling chicks for $10 including shipping, and I'm wondering how they make any profit at all.

 

[Kelsie2290]

The $10 a chick is probably per chick and there is a minimum number of chicks you have to buy... some places do have low minimums but they have correspondingly higher shipping charges and use heat packs etc.
USPS link to shipping chicks... and the regulations.
http://pe.usps.com/text/pub52/pub52c5_007.htm

 

[Naamahbengals]

I read it - huh. I see 'day-old chicks' and 'adult fowl'. I noticed that it says 'if they can reach destination within 72h of hatching'. Can you not ship week-old chicks?

 

[realsis]

Yes you can it depends on the breeder or seller. They say just hatched chicks are ideal for shipping because they have absorbed the yolk and won't need food for about two days making it perfect so they won't go hungey. but at a week old they have already absorbed the yolk and going without food or water for two days during shipping could just be too much for them so I would wait until they are a couple months old and they can handle the shipping better. The day old chicks have the nutrition from the yolk still absorbing in their body that's why you see the day old shipped but not the week old. I have recieved month old chicks before and they did great during shipping but I would wait if not getting newly hatched chicks then get them as a couple months old where they can handle shipping better. The month old chicks I had shipped were only a hundred miles away and took just one day to ship but any thing longer than that they couldn't have handled. I just revieved a two month old that was shipped by herself and she didn't handle that too well. She was crying when I recieved her. Even though her trip was only a day. You want more than one usually shipped together. They usually include heat if shipping in winter and fresh fruit so they have some food and moisture. I also just recieved a two month old and a 5 week old that was shipped over a thousand miles and a two day shipping. They did much better than the bird who was only shipped a hundred miles and a one day trip because they were not alone. So if your going to get your birds shipped I would either get the day olds or wait till they are about two months old. And don't ship them alone. Make sure they have a friend and they won't be so afraid and they will stay warm easier. The longest I ever had birds shipped were my two babies that shipped from Illinois to California where I live. They did great! They kept each other company. I hope this helps and helps explain why they would ship a day old over a week old bird. Best wishes

 

[Naamahbengals]

Oh, the yoke - I didn't even think of that! Makes total sense! Thanks!