Traveling with Baby Chicks

[puisheb]

We are super excited chicken newbies! My husband is partway through the coop build. A huge thank you to this entire website and all of the incredibly helpful people! We spent 2 months designing and buying the supplies for the coop. Because of the very generous people on this site, I was able to use pictures to really lay out the coop and the enclosed run. We plan for another 8 weeks for him to complete it. Thus, next week we are planning to go get our baby chicks (Orpingtons). We will be getting 9 hens and 1 male. The hatchery held a chicken class online that we participated in and learned that they raise/hatch/repeat their own chickens. They've also been really helpful with answering Colorado-specific questions. We decided to purchase our chickens through them. My question is that we live 1.5 hours away from the hatchery. Our other choices that are closer are large box stores. We try to support small biz as much as we can. While the brooder at home in our basement will be set up and warmed before they get home, the car ride is the challenge. Does anyone have a recommendation for transporting the chicks home in the safest way possible? How to keep them warm without suffocating them? Thank you in advance!!! ~~~ Very grateful newbie chicken parents to be

 

[Aapomp831]

We are super excited chicken newbies! My husband is partway through the coop build. A huge thank you to this entire website and all of the incredibly helpful people! We spent 2 months designing and buying the supplies for the coop. Because of the very generous people on this site, I was able to use pictures to really lay out the coop and the enclosed run. We plan for another 8 weeks for him to complete it. Thus, next week we are planning to go get our baby chicks (Orpingtons). We will be getting 9 hens and 1 male. The hatchery held a chicken class online that we participated in and learned that they raise/hatch/repeat their own chickens. They've also been really helpful with answering Colorado-specific questions. We decided to purchase our chickens through them. My question is that we live 1.5 hours away from the hatchery. Our other choices that are closer are large box stores. We try to support small biz as much as we can. While the brooder at home in our basement will be set up and warmed before they get home, the car ride is the challenge. Does anyone have a recommendation for transporting the chicks home in the safest way possible? How to keep them warm without suffocating them? Thank you in advance!!! ~~~ Very grateful newbie chicken parents to be

They will be perfectly fine in their little box with some air holes. I’m assuming you’ll need air conditioning, but if you keep the box closed they should be good huddled together, and being in the dark box should help to calm them. Remember people ship newly hatched chicks in the Mail on 3 day journeys... they are tough little buggers.

 

[Sally PB]

I'll be driving two hours when I go get my chicks. This is just what I needed to know. Thanks.

 

[rosemarythyme]

If it makes you really nervous, you can get one-time-use handwarmers. They last for hours.

 

[Aapomp831]

If it makes you really nervous, you can get one-time-use handwarmers. They last for hours.

What a great idea!

 

[MissE]

If I go straight from the feed store to home, it's just over an hour drive. They've always been fine, even when it was cold enough to have snow on the ground.

 

[puisheb]

They will be perfectly fine in their little box with some air holes. I’m assuming you’ll need air conditioning, but if you keep the box closed they should be good huddled together, and being in the dark box should help to calm them. Remember people ship newly hatched chicks in the Mail on 3 day journeys... they are tough little buggers.

Thanks! Ive been worried because ive been told and have read dozens of times about how temperature is so important.

 

[puisheb]

What a great idea!

Fantastic idea! Thanks a bunch!