Baby Chick Information

• We can ship as few as three baby chicks! 
  
  
• Any order of 15+ chicks ships via USPS Priority Mail service, and 3-14 chicks ship via USPS Express Mail. Why we use the USPS
  
  
• We offer Marek's vaccinations on all chicks, and you'll have the opportunity to select that during the checkout process.
  
  
• Baby chicks have special needs including heat of about 95° the first week of life! Read more, here.
  
  
• Breed photos may not be representative of the parent breeding stock. In some cases our photos are of winning exhibition lines of poultry. Unless noted otherwise, we do not source from exhibition lines, nor do we select for exhibition.

FAQs

How can you can ship just 3-8 baby chicks at a time?

Most hatcheries require 15 or 25 baby chicks per order because the chicks need one another's body heat to survive their 2-day journey. This is a big pain for lots of people who just want a few chickens! Since our goal in life (yes, our goal in life!) is to make your life easy, we've partnered with a forward-thinking hatchery that has developed a brand new way of shipping baby chicks that includes a high-tech, long- last heating element. This keeps the chicks nice and warm for their journey!

We can ship as few as 3 baby chicks from April through November. During the winter months of December through March, the minimum requirement is 8 chicks.   

How come nobody else offers sexed bantam chicks?

Every day we get calls from customers saying "Thank God I found you!". You're the only place that offers sexed bantam chicks. Then they ask how we do it. For starters, we tell them, we listen to our customers! Neighbors and roosters don't mix -- and so many of you REALLY want your fancy bantam breed female -- that we decided to offer a solution. That same forward-thinking hatchery that brought us the 3-chick minimum has allowed My Pet Chicken to be the very first, and only, source in the nation for sexed bantam chicks. (Can you tell we're excited about this?)

How come hatcheries only ship chicks when they're 1 day old?

For up to 72 hours after they hatch, baby chicks are still ingesting their yolk sacs. This provides them all the nourishment they need, which allows us the narrow window we need to ship them out. After 72 hours, their yolk sacs are gone and they need immediate access to food and water. Without it, they'll die. If we were to ship chicks at 3 days old or a week old, they surely wouldn't survive the trip.

Why are chicks sent via the US Postal Service?

Fed Ex, UPS and other private carriers will not mail live baby chicks! That leaves us with the Post Office. They've been delivering baby chicks reliably and with great care for decades. Those of you who purchase fewer than 15 chicks will receive yours via "Express Mail" service, while those that purchase 15 or more will receive yours via "Priority Mail".

If I order several breeds, will they all ship at once?

Yes! No matter how many different breeds of chicks you order, they'll always come to you in just one shipment. We'll figure out the soonest possible date when all the breeds are available, and book your order for that date.

How can baby chicks survive the shipping process?

For the first 72 hours after hatching, chicks are still ingesting their yolk sack. This gives them the nutrition they need to survive the journey from hatchery to home. As soon as you pick them up from the post office, though, they'll need some TLC including access to food, water and an environment that's about 95 degrees. To learn more about baby chick care, visit Chapter 4 of our free e-book,
The My Pet Chicken Guide to Chicken Care.

Why does it take so long to get my chicks

Buying baby chicks is not like buying products off the shelf---and of course it shouldn't be! Not for us, OR for you. If you want to receive your chicks on a certain week no matter what, your preferred breed/s may already be sold out. And if you want your flock to consist of certain breeds no matter what, your preferred ship date/s sometimes may not be available. Usually, though, you can find a happy balance where a bit of flexibility on date and breed can get you a truly amazing flock! So think of ordering chicks less like making a purchase, and more like making a reservation.

We give you tools to help you manage the ordering process, no matter what your choice is! On the top right of the white area on our day old baby chicks pages, you can helpfully filter what chicks are available by date. So if you're a THIS-week-no-matter-what person---or if you just want your baby chicks ASAP---view what's available to reserve each week by using that pull down menu. And if you want to choose by breed, you can either browse all available breeds, and/or make use of our Chicken Breed Finder Quiz that will help you narrow down what breeds and varieties might work best for you.

Not confident in your I-net skills? You can also call us for assistance during business hours, and we'll be happy to help and advise!

How are baby chicks "sexed"?

People commonly ask us how male and female chicks can be told apart, and the answer is quite interesting! Chicken sexing is an art, not a science, and people who do this as a profession can command up to several thousand dollars per day. Some breeds are easy to sex: males hatch out a different color than females. For most breeds, sexers look at the size and shape of their wing feathers or peek inside their "vent" to see barely visible tell-tale signs.

What happens if one of my chicks dies en route?

Our "live chick" rate is extremely high -- there are only problems with about 1 out of every 100 chicks shipped. That said, we offer a 100% "live" guarantee, so if you have any problems with chicks dying, just let us know within 48 hours of receiving your shipment! We will make good either with a replacement or credit.