Violet, 8, and Ollie Milliken, 6, smile as their mom, Kristie Green, opens up the box of baby chicks.

Violet Milliken, 8, holds one of the new baby chicks.

Staff photos by Brianna Soukup Violet Milliken, 8, smiles excitedly as she peers over the counter to see the postal workers bringing out the box of baby chicks that were shipped from a hatchery in Missouri.

Violet, 8, Ollie, 6, and Iris Milliken, 3, and their mom, Kristie Green, walk out the post office with their brand new baby chicks.

Violet Milliken, 8, smiles excitedly as her mom, Kristie Green, accepts a box of baby chicks from a postal worker.

From left, Violet, Ollie and Iris Milliken gaze down at their new baby chicks after picking them up at the post office and bringing them home. This is the second time the Millikens – backyard chicken veterans with an established flock – have gotten chicks through the mail. Below: Violet with a newcomer.

Some of the Milliken family's baby chicks huddle under a heat lamp in a crate in the living room of their Cape Elizabeth home.