Hi again! So, I would like to get some bantam chicks this year. We know where we're gonna get them and all that stuff, but we don't exactly know when the time is right to purchase our babies. I was thinking late April to mid May, but this our our first round of 'em and I don't want to screw up. Do any of you know what time would be good? BTW I live in the Northern Oregon area so it's fairly cold, but it does get pretty warm in the summer as well as a few times in spring and fall. Thx so much!!!!
Here in Michigan I don't want chicks until early April or later; Heat lamps or indoors LONG otherwise, no fun at all! Mary
When I order them to be shipped to me, which is what I'm assuming you're doing, I get them usually around Feb (I have chicks coming Feb 18th this year). But, I'm in TN, and our winters are VERY mild compared to yours, I'd imagine. My advice would be to order them now, they sell out pretty quickly, especially on breeds like Silkies and Cochins. Have them shipped to you around April or so. Good luck with your chicks
You can get them at any time - it's all a matter of what is best for your setup as far as brooding them to get them to the point of being able to be up and out on their own. Have you decided how/where you will brood them?
You don't say how your chicks will get to you. Will you be having them shipped through the USPS or just picking some up when your local feed store gets the first ones in around Easter, as most usually do? Just yesterday I ordered six chicks from MyPetChicken.com. They have hatches of many different breeds every week. You can get chicks shipped to you in orders of as few as three as long as you're close and the shipment wouldn't take too long to get to you if it's going to be during the harsh part of winter. They require you to order more chicks the farther you are from them, requiring the chicks to spend longer on their journey to get to you, more chicks being required to keep each other warm enough to survive. I purposely chose a May 11 hatch date so that it will be warmer by then and easier on the chicks during the shipping. Even still, I was required to order a minimum of six. If I wanted chicks next week, I would be required to order much more than that. But I could still get them next week if that's when I wanted them. Ordering directly from larger hatcheries is much the same. They have minimum order requirements, too, according to how far they have to ship and what time of year it will be, winter or summer. But even in summer, most minimum orders are 25. But you can get chicks at any time of the year, according to what breeds they choose to hatch and when. Hope this additional info might be what you're after.