1. Have your chick brooding area already set-up. This includes:
>Bedding
>Feeder with feed; chick mash or crumble depending on age and size
>Waterer with water, no-drown measures as needed
>Heat source; this could be a heat plate or heat lamp. Make sure there are non-heated spaces for the chicks. If using a heat lamp it should be at a distance to warm the chicks without roasting them, or too far away that it doesn’t provide sufficient heat.
2. Dip each and every chick’s beak in the water source when removing them from the shipping box to the brooder pen
3. If it’s a large brooder pen, place the chick near the heat source after the beak dip into water
4. Check on your chicks; don’t go to bed that night until checking that all the group figured out the heat source, stragglers may not survive the night so get them moved as needed
Additional note: Chicks will be worn out after their journey. It's hard to resist, but don't handle and play with them or allow your kids to do so right away or you may lose them. A general rule of thumb when animals move homes is to keep them quiet the first 48-hours. This means stress free.
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