Deer Run Farm takes every precaution to ensure the safety of your chicks' lives and wellness during transit to you. All chick orders are shipped when it is deemed SAFE to do so. We do not ship when it's too cold or too hot for the chicks to survive. In colder conditions each chick shipment is sent with a 72-hour heat pack. We also pack every chick order with gro-gel for hydration. Gro-gel is an electrolite solution in gel form so that when put in a box with chicks it does not compromise the integrity of the shipping box. The last 24 hours of chick development in the egg is when the chick begins to absorb the yolk. The unique thing about this process is that when the chick hatches it is able to live off of it's yolk for 72 hours. This means food and water aren't necessary for the chick to survive making it possible to safely ship the chicks to arrive to their destination within 3 days of their hatch.