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

[21hens-incharge]

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.

You misunderstood me.
I was saying that no rooster means no fertile eggs.

Hatcheries usually have a 90% guarantee so while yes there are accidental roosters it should be at least fewer than if hatching.

 

[TexasBlues]

Hatching eggs are usually easy to find and incubators are pretty affordable too. But I understand some will say “I can’t get polish frizzle naked bantam kikirkirkis here, I have to order them from Hackle Hatchery at industry chicken.com”

 

[Kewpieteef]

I'm so sorry this happened to you.
To me this was a complete shock, I come from the reptile hobby and they always use next day shipping no matter the species, size, or age. It's always next day to ensure the animal arrives safe and alive. To hear this isn't the same standard in the chicken industry is disheartening. Once again I'm so sorry this happened to you and while I see both sides of the argument on laws for shipping chicks. There should be regulations to ensure the animals have the best chance at arriving safe and alive. Those baby chicks suffered.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I'm so sorry this happened to you.
To me this was a complete shock, I come from the reptile hobby and they always use next day shipping no matter the species, size, or age. It's always next day to ensure the animal arrives safe and alive. To hear this isn't the same standard in the chicken industry is disheartening. Once again I'm so sorry this happened to you and while I see both sides of the argument on laws for shipping chicks. There should be regulations to ensure the animals have the best chance at arriving safe and alive. Those baby chicks suffered.

There are some regulations. You have to ship say Olds so that they have that yolk still so they have extra time than slightly older chicks

 

[Debbie292d]

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.

Plus the fact that people would like some new genes in their flock from time to time. I've bought hatching eggs, but that's not for everyone, and plus, of the eggs I've had shipped here and hatched this past year, 30% made it, so very costly.

 

[Apis mellifera]

If emotional people that mail ordered chicks continue to post photos of dead birds and take up a cause to change laws, it will eventually lead to the banning of shipped chicks. Probably sooner than we think. NYS has already banned selling some animals in pet stores. Those that rely on shipping should start thinking about ways they can maintain a flock without it.

 

[Iluveggers]

Hatching eggs are usually easy to find and incubators are pretty affordable too. But I understand some will say “I can’t get polish frizzle naked bantam kikirkirkis here, I have to order them from Hackle Hatchery at industry chicken.com”

We have ordered probably 250+ mail-order chicks over the past decade, and have had exactly ZERO arrive dead. (I order with friends). Only one was weak and died a few days later. Only TWO accidental cockerels in all orders combined. Luckily neither of them was one of the chicks I kept. Both of my friends live in towns that allow roosters. As a backup backup, I could have an accidental male processed if I couldn’t find someone to take him before the crows started. I would not want to hatch for myself and have the possibility for having 10+ cockerels that I had to rehome so young. If I were able to raise them to butcher size without having any crow, I would be much more likely to look for hatching eggs.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I have an order coming next week. They ship Monday. Only 5 are sexed the other 10 are straight run. Can I keep a rooster? Yes. I already have one. Am I hoping for mostly females? Of course I am. Any males in this group will be sold. I plan to sell as a trio since roosters are hard to move here. I plan to keep 5 to 8 out of this group.

Our weather (the whole route) is going to be favorable. I have space for them and have scheduled time off work. I am confident in the hatchery I chose and expect to be posting that they arrived safe and sound.

 

[Skyeknight]

I believe that for most Europeans shipping chicks sounds insane. It makes sense that when you live in such a big country you can't find what you want relatively close to you, and therefore ship it to you instead of going somewhere to get it. In the Netherlands you drive max 4 hours from any point on the mainland and you are already out of the country. If I were to even try shipping live chicks here then I would probably make the news, be prosecuted for animal abuse and maybe even get a ban on keeping chickens or any poultry for a set amount of years. Whenever I tell other people here that it's normal to just ship chicks to your home in America they react with disbelief or disgust at the thought of it. Shipping chicks isn't really in the best interest of the welfare of those chicks.

If I was living in America I would source chicks from a local TSC, local breeder, ebay or get eggs delivered. If you aren't prepared for the possibility of a box full of dead chicks then it's probably better to get chickens a different way then buying chicks that need to be shipped.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Feed stores like TSC get chicks shipped in in huge quantities.