![\"IMAG1076\"](\"http:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/IMAG1076-150x150.jpg\")
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Unless you live local to a breeder, you will likely have to mail order your chicks.\u00a0 This can bring a wide variety of breed options to your doorstep!\u00a0 Unfortunately, shipping can be a very stressful experience especially if over long distances and extreme weather temperatures.\u00a0 While the post office and breeder do all they can to reduce stress, it\u2019s not uncommon to loose some chicks in transit due to chilling, overheating or stress.\u00a0 It\u2019s also not uncommon for chicks to arrive to your home appearing diseased or ill, even though they left the hatchery perfectly healthy.<\/p>\n
When your chick order is shipped, you will be notified so you can plan their arrival.\u00a0 The post office will either deliver them to your door (plan to be home!) or let you know when they arrive at the post office so you can pick them up.<\/p>\n
The hatchery will send them in a box with a nonslip surface to prevent sliding around and splay leg issues during transit.\u00a0 Newly hatched chicks don\u2019t need <\/strong>food during the first 72 hours due to their absorption of the egg yolk a few days before hatching.\u00a0 It provides nutrients for those first days, which gives the breeders a window of opportunity to ship.\u00a0 Have food and water available once they arrive at your house.<\/p>\n Before the chicks\u00a0arrive, have their brooder completely set up.\u00a0 I like to have the heat lamp on and warming the bedding.\u00a0 Lukewarm (not cold!) or room temperature water with powdered electrolytes and vitamins (or a couple tablespoons of sugar per quart of water) for their first day is helpful to give them a boost.\u00a0 Chick food out and available near the water.\u00a0 After the first day or two you can give them plain, cold water.\u00a0 But warm water is very beneficial the first day.<\/p>\n Avoid too much handling \u2013 before hatching, your chick absorbs the egg yolk through its navel.\u00a0 Rough handling, squeezing or letting chicks accidentally fall can cause this sac to burst, which will kill your chick.\u00a0 It\u2019s best to let them be not only to avoid this from happening but also to allow them a chance to recover without adding more stress, as handling chicks will stress them more no matter how calm you do it.\u00a0 After three days, they will be much better suited to handling.<\/p>\n Once the chicks arrive, immediately introduce them to water first (to help guard against dehydration), then food.\u00a0 Dip their beaks in each.\u00a0 Then allow them to recover.<\/p>\n If you notice your chicks seem very stressed it\u2019s perfectly fine to offer them equal parts mashed up hard boiled egg, pepper and cornmeal.\u00a0 This will give them a boost and also help fight off \u201cpasty butt\u201d.\u00a0 Probiotics mixed in room temperature water (not cold!) is also a great idea. You can find these at your feed or farm supply store.<\/p>\n Over the next few days, watch your babies closely.\u00a0 Sometimes they may not eat enough to recover from the stress \u2013 you won\u2019t notice that if you don\u2019t spend time simply watching your chicks.\u00a0 You may need to force feed and water your fowl, either by dipping their beak into their food and water, or actually putting small bits of food in their mouth manually.\u00a0 \u201cPasty butt\u201d may make an appearance also \u2013 if you notice this, remove the caked on poop with a warm washcloth and gentle handling.\u00a0 If it\u2019s really stuck on their skin, don\u2019t forcefully remove it or you may end up yanking out their entire intestinal tract! Warm water and gentle handling will eventually un-stick it.\u00a0 You may wipe vegetable or coconut oil on their behinds to prevent more poop from sticking.\u00a0 If left untreated, this condition will kill your chicks.\u00a0 Observation is critical the first few days.<\/p>\n If you ordered waterfowl, be aware that they may drink more water than they should when they first arrive, especially if they are dehydrated.\u00a0 It\u2019s best to limit their water to about 10 minutes time every hour for the first few hours.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \n \n Unless you live local to a breeder, you will likely have to mail order your chicks. This can bring a wide variety of breed options to your doorstep! Unfortunately, shipping can be a very stressful experience especially if over long distances and extreme weather temperatures. While the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chickens-fowl","odd"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1563","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1563"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1563\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1568,"href":"https:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1563\/revisions\/1568"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1563"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}