Taking baby chicks to swap... how long can they be off heat??

[Fancie]

I will be trying to get rid of a few chicks at a swap... can they go a day off of heat... what are good ways to keep them warm if they can't... will the heated hand pads work??

They are silkies and the youngest may be a week old.

 

[Judy]

Yes, something like heated hand pads will do fine. A full 95 degrees may not be necessary -- shipped chicks have to do without heat, after all -- but you don't want them to get chilled, either.

 

[hypnochyck]

I'm not sure if they are called, "heated hand pads", but there are heat packs you can activate by breaking an inner pack in the bag. I believed they were made to be used for human injuries, like a portable heating pad. When my babies arrived from MyPetChicken, they had a heat pack in there for them. It was still warm when they arrived 24 hours later!

 

[charliesgirl]

we use those "heated hand packs" when we go fishing and hunting, just crack one open and roll it around a bit and just keep it in the palm of my hand in my glove and it keeps me nice and toasty

you can get them at walmart or runnings or any place that sells sporting goods stuff, and they are cheap!!

 

[Mojo Chick'n]

I took some (about 50) three day old chicks to a swap - and I had them in a vented box - I was afraid they would get cold - their own body heat had it so warm that I stuck my hand in there and was sweating - the outside temp was only about 55 degrees.

Depending on how many chicks you have they will keep each other warm, to a point - but if you sell a lot and have to have only a few left, then yeah, I'd go with the hand heating packets (but save them until you find out if you need them, or the babies might overheat.)

meri