Texas

[TexasLisa]

Chicks got delivered. Thank goodness hubby was home and heardvthe mailman becausebthey were left on the porch!
All of them are alive as of now, with the exception of 2 of the Mille Fluers...
Sure enough, we found those babies cruahed at the bottom..
1 Mille Fluer left! Its a little fighter! If its not a roo, I told him that one will stay.
theres 2 barred rocks and 1 buff Im worried about. All of the Easter Eggers are great!

I am so happy they have arrived. I am sorry for your loss. Let's hope the rest of them recover from their trip and make you a happy chick mom!

Lisa

 

[Brookshire11]

I am so happy they have arrived. I am sorry for your loss. Let's hope the rest of them recover from their trip and make you a happy chick mom!

Lisa

I'm not going to lie........
I thought the chickens being addicting thing was silly...until I came home to see all these babies! I wish I could keep ALL of them..

..but I better not push my luck just yet.

I'll have them all until coop time, when about half the babies will head to their new mom.

 

[Ms Jellybean]

Chicks got delivered. Thank goodness hubby was home and heardvthe mailman becausebthey were left on the porch!
All of them are alive as of now, with the exception of 2 of the Mille Fluers...
Sure enough, we found those babies cruahed at the bottom..
1 Mille Fluer left! Its a little fighter! If its not a roo, I told him that one will stay.
theres 2 barred rocks and 1 buff Im worried about. All of the Easter Eggers are great!

So glad they made it! Sorry you lost two of them. You didn't pick them up at the post office? Did they special delivery them to your door for you?

They are so cute! More pictures please.

 

[henless]

Chicks got delivered. Thank goodness hubby was home and heardvthe mailman becausebthey were left on the porch!

Yay they arrived!

Left on the porch?? I thought the postal service would call you when they came in? It's not like they didn't know you were getting chicks since you had called to check on them.

Hopefully the rest will make it and the little Mille Fluer will be a hen.

 

[Brookshire11]

So glad they made it! Sorry you lost two of them. You didn't pick them up at the post office? Did they special delivery them to your door for you?

They are so cute! More pictures.

Circle of life I guess
No, I was awake at 6:30 just waiting fo them to call. Had y phone turned up and with me the whole time. Called them once Monday, twice yesterday, and twice today. Tracking updated after I got home to check em out and showed they were delivered to the post office at 7:30 this morning. I called at 9 and she said she had some but when she checked they weren't mine..I don't know how they missed them! I called at 11 and she had no idea either. My husband texted me while she was looking up my order to tell me they were delivered (aka left on the porch).

Yay they arrived!

Left on the porch?? I thought the postal service would call you when they came in? It's not like they didn't know you were getting chicks since you had called to check on them.

Hopefully the rest will make it and the little Mille Fluer will be a hen.

That's what got me! I mean..I'm not like..yelling mad, but I'm a little miffed. What if no one had been home?
I got alerts on my phone but I didn't get that they were delivered until 30 minutes after they actually were left on my porch. It's chilly out and there was no heating pad in there...with the holes in the box, I'm sure some of them would have passed, just from the wind chill.
BUT...thankfully as of now they haven't. Only the 2, which I don't think were related to cold.
I'm back at work now (used my lunch to run home and get them settled) but my husband says they're doing better!

 

[hungnguyen]

Quote:
Yes, I agreed, the USPS is not a smart organization, I worked there 1 yr and I sure know For shipping live chicken, it is Fed Ex 2 days guarantee. If this was received at the PO on Mon, it would be Wed delivery by 3pm. Since this came late, the PO is willing to refund the shipping cost to the sender. You can call the sender and complain about the loss even the one that die a few days later... and they should be able to claim the ship cost and re-imburse that back to you.

 

[Brookshire11]

They will refund the chicks or resend them but I'm kind of scared to ship more all the way from Ohio.
It WAS received at the PO Monday and my USPS delivery date was 01/15.
HOWEVER...the hatchery did say they had until Thursday (today). So I guess it's within its limits.
I wasn't trying to be impatient, for selfish reasons..just worried about the babies

 

[jajeanpierre]

Coppell truck doesn't get there til 11.
Some birds were in but they weren't mine.
I have to call back at 11..
Cutting the "72 hours" very close.
I know you usually just provide sugar water to start with, but in this instance, should I provide food right away as well?

The first thing they need is fluid. Give them electrolytes and probiotics. You can buy little packages of both from the feed store made by Save-A-Chick. I don't give sugar in the water because although they might perk up quickly, there will be a corresponding crash. I would give some to a bird that was a bit flattened by the trip.

Hydrate them first, that's the most important thing. As you take each one out of their box, dip their beak into the electrolyte mixture. Once their beak gets in the water, they usually drink on their own.

After all the birds are out of the box and inspected, give them crumbles. Just scatter it on the floor. I don't use newspaper because it is too slippery. I put them on white towels. They get good traction, they see the crumbles and I see their poops.

If you feed them before they are hydrated, they can get into problems with a crop that won't empty and pasty butt.

Resist opening the box until you get home. You will just add more stress to very young birds who have already had a tough trip. "They" say to open them in the presence of a post office employee, but the suppliers have never questioned me when I've said a bird died.

They will probably all be fine. They are designed to go for several days without food and water as the mama bird stays on her nest while the stragglers hatch. Don't worry, they'll be fine. Just be aware that shipping is hard on them. Make sure everything is ready for them including a warm environment. I also give them slightly warm water and don't add apple cider vinegar to the water yet.

I'm still waiting on my birds. The latest update is that they've left San Antonio. I hope I get them today.

 

[MandiB]

Hi...I'm new to BYC and to chickens. I hope to get a coop this spring and get some chickens. I'm an animal lover and very excited about chickens!

I have a question about free ranging chickens here in Central Texas where we have little to no grass and lots of dirt. Is it worth doing?

I am also somewhat concerned about predators during the day. We are on 24 acres, surrounded by acres and acres of open land, our nearest neighbor being a mile away, so I see the hawks. But this is all undeveloped, and I have left all of my "yard" as unlandscaped as possible. We cut down all of the tall native grasses near the house for fire reasons and because I don't want snakes to sneak up close to the house (this is where I am counting on those hawks to see clearly!).

I am planning to clear out more grasses where we want to put the coop, but even if there was grass, there just isn't much to it before it turns crispy and dry. Is this something that the chickens like? Basically it's rocky dirt with little grass. Am I better off putting in a big run for them?

I'm thinking of having a roofed run so they can be in the shade if it's hot or raining, and possibly letting them free during the day. If I had an urban backyard I'd let them out without much worry. What do the rest of you who are a bit more rural do with your chickens during the day?

I'm attaching a picture of the area I'm going to put the coop. Where the shadow is the grass ends. I'll trim further back, to the trees.



I've tried to read as much as possible, but I think i could read forever and still feel unprepared!

---Mandi

 

[jajeanpierre]

Hi...I'm new to BYC and to chickens. I hope to get a coop this spring and get some chickens. I'm an animal lover and very excited about chickens!

I have a question about free ranging chickens here in Central Texas where we have little to no grass and lots of dirt. Is it worth doing?

I am also somewhat concerned about predators during the day. We are on 24 acres, surrounded by acres and acres of open land, our nearest neighbor being a mile away, so I see the hawks. But this is all undeveloped, and I have left all of my "yard" as unlandscaped as possible. We cut down all of the tall native grasses near the house for fire reasons and because I don't want snakes to sneak up close to the house (this is where I am counting on those hawks to see clearly!).

I am planning to clear out more grasses where we want to put the coop, but even if there was grass, there just isn't much to it before it turns crispy and dry. Is this something that the chickens like? Basically it's rocky dirt with little grass. Am I better off putting in a big run for them?

I'm thinking of having a roofed run so they can be in the shade if it's hot or raining, and possibly letting them free during the day. If I had an urban backyard I'd let them out without much worry. What do the rest of you who are a bit more rural do with your chickens during the day?

I'm attaching a picture of the area I'm going to put the coop. Where the shadow is the grass ends. I'll trim further back, to the trees.



I've tried to read as much as possible, but I think i could read forever and still feel unprepared!

---Mandi

My worry would be predation from dogs and coyotes. You might want to put up a big enclosure using electrified poultry netting. A big dog is helpful to deter any four-legged predators as long as your big dog doesn't kill your chickens.

Your chickens will really enjoy being out digging about looking for food. They will be able to find a lot of their own food, and it will be better quality in every way than anything you can buy in a bag.