Why do hatcheries ship chicks out at a day old? Why not wait longer until they are bigger and more 'established'??? Is it OK to ship chicks when they are 5-6 weeks old?
I think they ship them then because they have enough yolk to last them for 2-3 days so they will be fine without food that long. Otherwise they would have to try to send baby chicks, food, and water...
Because when they are day olds they do not have to worry about feeding them as the chicks are still getting nourishment from their yolk. If the hatcheries waited a month then they would have too many birds at one time and wouldn't be able to ship as many, especially for the breeds in high demand. ETA: If the birds were "established" then they would be used to the environment of the hatchery. Shipping a bird, that has already settled, into a new environment will just cause more stress to the bird and lead to more problems.
Hiker chick is right. They would have to give food for adults and very few birds would have to be shipped if adults too.
