Request of Info: How Do You Ship Chickens?

[krturpie]

Chirpy,

Only certain flights on FedEx are equipped and allowed to take live shipments. I'm not sure, but I would imagine that this is because they must use pressurized compartments and some temperature control. The exterior air temperature outside of the plane at 35,000 ft ranges from -5 down to -25 deg F, which has to be warmed to be compatible with live passengers.

However, at the airport or at a USPS station, parcels containing live shipments might sit on the tarmac or in storage areas that are not always heated or cooled and animals could be exposed to more extreme temperatures. Still, FedEx has assured me that they have gone to great efforts to control that. I don't know about USPS before and after flight though. I can say that many of the people that I've spoken too at USPS are very conscientious and do what they can to care for their charges (e.g., putting chicks in the truck cab to keep them warm), but it's not universal and not everyone is knowledgeable of what care is needed.

On the other hand, and USPS policy prevents employees from intervening, even in worst case scenarios. I was told by one USPS employee that if birds are shipped to a center that cannot handle or ship out live shipments, the sender would simply be sent a notice that the shipment had perished. Some places do not have any flights leaving that can carry live shipments. Even if they can handle live shipments, they cannot give water or food to alleviate suffering or prevent the loss of the animal, even if it's the USPS's fault. If I've heard the policy correctly, then personally I think that it needs some adjustment.

 

[krturpie]

A few things that I learned shipping my roosters this week:

1. Always ship on Monday. I shipped my roosters from Maryland to Arizona last Monday (guaranteed overnight). They landed in Tampa, Florida early Wednesday. Tampa, thank goodness, could ship live animals, but only Mon-Thur. If I had shipped Wednesday and they had arrived there on Friday, then they would have been stuck until Monday, without food and water. If Tampa had no flights at all, then the roosters would likely have died of thirst and hunger.

2. Get them to water - As Eggchel said, be sure that you put moist fruit (e.g., a pair) in with the birds to provide something moist. Be sure that someone on the receiving end can pick up the birds, ideally at the distribution station at the airport, and get them to water quickly.

3. A shipping guarantee is not a promise of a safe delivery - Understand that an overnight guarantee (or any time guarantee) only means that if USPS messes up, then you'll get your postage back. That's it. It absolutely does not mean that your shipment will get there in time nor that USPS is in anyway obligated to take any special measures to rectify the situation, including preventing your animals from the suffering or perishing. This is not to say that USPS employees don't care, but that policy divorces USPS from liability and in many cases prevents their employees from intervening.

4. Be sure that the destination can receive live shipments. Presumably the P.O. will check this for you when you go to ship, but it might be best to check yourself. Otherwise, a large portion of the trip might be on a slow truck.

5. Relentlessly track your shipment - You can track your shipment on-line (www.usps.com), but it is updated very slowly. In addition, call the destination P.O., and if possible, the recipient. If your birds don't show up at their destination on time, then call USPS and ask for your local Express mail expediting service and get them to find where they ended up. Get the number of that center and talk to the supervisor there. The folks there are your only hope of knowing the condition of your birds and their chances of getting to their destination safely. If they aren't going to make it in a reasonable amount of time, then see if you can more quickly recall the shipment (sending them back to you) or transfer to a contact local to where they are.

Addendum - After my shipment arrive in Tucson, the recipient told me that a note was attached saying that someone at USPS in Tampa was able to get water into the boxes to the roosters. G-d bless them.

 

[chickenlisa]

Maybe this should be a new thread, but I'll try here first. How do you ship eggs safely? I have never bought them (as I don't have an incubator yet) but I'd like to sell some of my chickens' eggs. I need to figure out how I'd ship them first.
Lisa

 

[Chirpy]

chickenlisa - I'd start it as a new thread. I believe you would get some good responses that way as people would check it out and many have already read this one and think it's done.

Unfortunately, I can't help you at all in shipping eggs. Good luck.

edited for spelling error - oh my!

 

[sueiris]

A few things that I learned shipping my roosters this week:

1. Always ship on Monday. I shipped my roosters from Maryland to Arizona last Monday (guaranteed overnight). They landed in Tampa, Florida early Wednesday. Tampa, thank goodness, could ship live animals, but only Mon-Thur. If I had shipped Wednesday and they had arrived there on Friday, then they would have been stuck until Monday, without food and water. If Tampa had no flights at all, then the roosters would likely have died of thirst and hunger.

2. Get them to water - As Eggchel said, be sure that you put moist fruit (e.g., a pair) in with the birds to provide something moist. Be sure that someone on the receiving end can pick up the birds, ideally at the distribution station at the airport, and get them to water quickly.

3. A shipping guarantee is not a promise of a safe delivery - Understand that an overnight guarantee (or any time guarantee) only means that if USPS messes up, then you'll get your postage back. That's it. It absolutely does not mean that your shipment will get there in time nor that USPS is in anyway obligated to take any special measures to rectify the situation, including preventing your animals from the suffering or perishing. This is not to say that USPS employees don't care, but that policy divorces USPS from liability and in many cases prevents their employees from intervening.

4. Be sure that the destination can receive live shipments. Presumably the P.O. will check this for you when you go to ship, but it might be best to check yourself. Otherwise, a large portion of the trip might be on a slow truck.

5. Relentlessly track your shipment - You can track your shipment on-line (www.usps.com), but it is updated very slowly. In addition, call the destination P.O., and if possible, the recipient. If your birds don't show up at their destination on time, then call USPS and ask for your local Express mail expediting service and get them to find where they ended up. Get the number of that center and talk to the supervisor there. The folks there are your only hope of knowing the condition of your birds and their chances of getting to their destination safely. If they aren't going to make it in a reasonable amount of time, then see if you can more quickly recall the shipment (sending them back to you) or transfer to a contact local to where they are.

Addendum - After my shipment arrive in Tucson, the recipient told me that a note was attached saying that someone at USPS in Tampa was able to get water into the boxes to the roosters. G-d bless them.

I'd like to find out more about successfully shipping adult birds. The only time I shipped I hot glued half cucumbers to the side of the box....i was a mess until they successfully arrived. what about if birds don't make it alive? who would pay the fees? shipper/buyer?

 

[HannaKessler]

That's up to the buyer and seller. Make a worst case senario plan before shipping and communicate it with your buyer. If you sell regularly, put this policy on your website.