Shipping Live Chicks

[Jean]

I have someone who wants me to ship lives to her in Montana.  Express Mail is going to be two days, so I am thinking to go ahead and ship priority since they can\'t do it in a day.

Anyway, I have a question about the hatchlings.  Do any of you feed or water the chicks before they go out?  Is there any reason why you would or woudn\'t do this?

The post offices around here do not have pick up until 5:00, so it would be pretty hard to have them all hatch on Monday morning, but I could give it a try.  I think John said to time them so that 21 days is around midnight?

Thanks,

Jean

[bantamhill]

I ship the fastest way possible and I would not feed or water the chicks . . . they have about 72 hours of yolk in them when they hatch. I have seen some products out there on the market, but I have never tried them . . . warmth and care when they arrive is all they need.

Michael

[John]

Express Mail

Express Mail is always two to three days for \"lives\".  Express Mail for lives is never guaranteed for one day.  Express costs almost three times the amount of Priority.
\"Day-Old\" chicks are supposed to be less than 24 hours old when they are received at the Post Office for shipment.  Since I mail them as late in the day as possible and the PO closes at 5pm, I set my eggs after 5pm, 22 days before shipping.  They must then arrive at their destination within 72 hours of hatching.  Remember you must write the date and time of hatch on the box.  As we know the chicks don\'t all hatch at the same time, so I write down the time that I sat them.  For instance if I sat the eggs on 3/4/07 at 6pm and add 21 days to that then they hatched on 3/25/07 at 6pm and that is what I write on the box.  
If the majority of your chicks aren\'t hatching 21 days after setting them, then adjust the temp in your incubator.  I only use a thermometer to get the incubators ready for the first hatch and then adjust the temp according to the hatches - not the thermometer.
Check out this website for more details, under Perishables:
http://pe.usps.gov/text/dmm300/601.htm#wp1064884

Do any of you feed or water the chicks before they go out?

I do give each a drink of room temperature water as I take them from the hatchers and put them in the brooders and again when I take them from the brooders and put them into the boxes.  I also have chick starter in the brooders for them, if they want it.  Michael is right that they don\'t need anything for the first 72 hours, but I\'ve done it this way for many years and think it can only help the chicks.  I\'ve heard that by giving them food or water it starts their metabolism into motion and that they may then require food and water, but I have no reason to believe that.  Remember they still have the yolk to live from and it must be used up eventually.  Even if the chicks aren\'t three days old the person receiving them should give them water as they take them from the box and put them into their brooder.  Also when a hen hatches chicks they will start eating as the hen scratches for them without waitin three days.

[Guest]

We\'d never ship live birds, regardless of age, anyway other than express mail. Chicks absolutely need the fastest shipping possible, and even adult birds are far better off on the off chance that they accidentally go to the wrong post office (which does occasionally happen).

We plan to hatch the day before we ship. I think chicks ship better after eating and drinking. Also if they\'re a little weak from the trip, they have the advantage of not having to learn about chick waterers (so they go immediately to eating and drinking.)

Lisa and Gary Cree
creefarm@peoplepc.com
http://creefarm.fateback.com

[John]

other than express mail

Other than day old chicks all other chickens must be shipped by Express Mail according to postal regulations.  We don\'t have a choice.  
With day old chicks you generally may ship them by Priority Mail or Express Mail.  There are times when Priority Mail has a better chance of getting to the destination because of the way it is routed differently than Express Mail.  I too only use Express Mail for day old chicks, unless the Post Office advises me to use Priority Mail.  It sounds a bit strange, but has happened.