I made a HORRIBLE mistake ordering from a hatchery! (Graphic Photos)

[my21chickens]

oh my goodness im so sorry, thats terrible. i would definitely be calling or emailing. i hope they at least give you your money back. those poor babies

 

[TeresaW]

Maybe someone could start a hatchery courier service where they meet the buyers halfway. But I know nothing about where hatcheries are or how that could work, just an idea off the top of my head.

 

[TexasBlues]

Call me crazy, but to avoid needless deaths of chicks suffering in the mail… I recommend NOT ordering chicks in the mail and instead find some locally that can be picked up. Or better yet raise your hatching eggs and close the loop.

 

[Airyaman]

Related, but USPS is definitely the weak point in shipping of chicks AND eggs. My own experience with eggs has been nothing short of dismal. Every Ebay seller I ordered from with the exception of one had excellent packaging, but almost every shipment was delayed in USPS by days, and in one case, a whole week! And those were only coming from KY to AL. The only shipment I had very good luck with was in-state and it arrived in one day, with a 75% hatch rate (had been 23% prior to that).

But knock on wood, every single chick that has hatched and made it past day one (two early ones had to be euthanized due to multiple issues) has been healthy and growing like weeds.

 

[Rick589]

Sad. It would appear this particular hatchery is really only interested in the money and devoid of concern for anything else. Plus the USPS is near to being useless to me. Any chance you might have a smaller local hatchery nearby? We were fortunate enough to have a smaller operation within about an hour from us so we can just pick chicks up directly with the added bonus of no shipping or minimums

 

[Apis mellifera]

As I write this, my husband is taking up the cause to try to get some rules/guidelines/laws changed regarding the shipping of live chicks. He's reaching out to the MO AG's office, the USPS Board of Governors in Washington, DC, our senators and representative, and more. No bird should have to suffer the way the birds in these two shipments suffered!

I never ordered chicks, just hatching eggs once, but every year we see the same posts. Eventually the shipment of chicks will be banned even though millions of chicks are shipped successfully every year. There will always be risks in shipping chicks, nothing is 100%. Why not do the responsible thing and learn how to raise a quality heritage breed yourself instead of ordering designer chickens? A lot of the responsibility is on the person ordering chicks in the mail every year. Tell your husband to direct his emotions toward something more productive like starting a local poultry club instead wasting the governments time.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Not everyone can have a rooster....zoning/ restrictions etc. That puts hatching out of the question.

As to a courier....Vehicle breaks down or crashes, road closures, bad weather, drivers have to sleep (not sure a hotel would want 500 peeping chicks in the room).

It all has issues.

Order when it's more appropriate weather for transport. Trust that millions of chicks arrive safely.

While it's a crap shoot, for many it is the best option.

 

[Iluveggers]

Not everyone can have a rooster....zoning/ restrictions etc. That puts hatching out of the question.

Exactly. If laws banned mailing chicks, then laws would need to change to allow roosters.

While it's a crap shoot, for many it is the best option.

Or the only option.

 

[Airyaman]

Exactly. If laws banned mailing chicks, then laws would need to change to allow roosters.

Or the only option.

I live in Alabama and before I decided to go the egg hatching route, I tried calling around to a few farms. They were not selling hatching eggs, chicks, or even pullets, or didn't have any of the breeds I wanted. So that is why I decided to go the Ebay seller route for hatching eggs.

 

[TexasBlues]

Not everyone can have a rooster....zoning/ restrictions etc. That puts hatching out of the question.

As to a courier....Vehicle breaks down or crashes, road closures, bad weather, drivers have to sleep (not sure a hotel would want 500 peeping chicks in the room).

It all has issues.

Order when it's more appropriate weather for transport. Trust that millions of chicks arrive safely.

While it's a crap shoot, for many it is the best option.

there's posts here everyday about people ordering pullets and getting cockerels, so how does the hatchery mailing make it any better? People have to deal with roosters either way. Buy sex links locally if you are a no rooster rehome/cull situation.