Should I account death rates when ordering my chickies?

[wings]

I will be getting 6 or 7 more chicks.

I can't wait!

I will be getting them from my local feed store, so I can order only a few if I need to get more.
I was wondering about chick mortality rates, and so I wasn't sure if I should order more than this. Will the chance of them dying be less if I get them when they are two or three days old?

I hate to be so callus about the adorable fuzzbutts dying, but how many should I order if I want to end up with 6 hens?

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

Well, I ordered 15 to end up with 8. They sent 18. One died coming out of the box. The other 17 are thriving. Sigh. I had to build an annex on to the coop to hold them all.
I'm sure if I hadn't allowed for loss all but one of the darn things would have died.

 

[EweSheep]

A rule of thumb when you order chicks

Buy five chicks of the same breed of the same sex unless you want mostly roosters if you do go straight run.

Works for me and I can always sell or give away extra chicks once they feather out to go outside or predator problems were taken care of.

Other than that, you will be fine!

 

[wings]

Quote:
So I should get only five? I'm confused...

 

[JenMT]

I ordered 28 and ended up with 19. 6 died in transit and 3 died within a day or so. Mine were also mail order and it was really cold here in Montana the first week-end of Feb when they were shipped...darn-it!

 

[columbiacritter]

If you get extra none will die.
If you get just how many you want then some will die.

It's just the way it works.

 

[birdsofparadise]

The industry average for large hatcheries is 3.2% mortality. So out of 35 chicks, you should lose one. If it gets too much higher, check with the hatchery.

 

[New2Peeps]

I wanted 3 hens so I got 4 pullets at the local feed store in case one died or one turned out to be a roo. I still have 4--all girls

 

[wings]

So if I want 6 pullets I should get 7 from my feed store, even though they aren't going to be shipped directly to me?

I can order them the day I go to get them.

 

[E.G.Glayer]

Go ahead and get 8 if you want 6 even if they all turn out exactly like you want you'll probably want more anyway and even if you dont decide to keep all of them, there are always people who will take them. Too much is never enough.