Should i get baby chicks now or in April ?

[chickengeorgeto]

I thought it seemed like a better idea to get chicks now and raise them indoors during the baby age while it's cold outside. In fact, there were chicks available at our farm store today!!! and I almost came home with some, but they didn't have any breeds I wanted. Until reading this thread, it didn't occur to me problems like blizzards, power outages, so that stuff should be considered. I'm sure it's a bit more hands on work without the weather on your side, but if the store had had Ameracaunas, I would have fuzzy chicks at home right now... I wouldn't want to risk having them shipped in the cold temps, though!

Many reliable hatcheries will not ship small numbers of chicks during cold weather and those that do ship often include unwanted chicks as a sort of hot water bottle to keep the chicks you ordered alive and warm. I will guarantee you that after 50 or so years of hatching eggs and shipping chicks that the hatcheries know a thing or two about how to ship chicks in cold weather and get them there alive.