The Moonshiner's Leghorns

[The Moonshiner]

This coming Saturday at a poultry show, I entered a SC White Leghorn hen and a RC Dark Brown Leghorn hen. I haven't shown them before. Curious how they will place.

I've seen some of you pics. Really nice leghorns so now you have me curious also. Make sure to update after the show.
Its gonna depend on the judge and the competition as much as it will your birds so good luck.
Enjoy the show I'll be pulling for you.

 

[The Moonshiner]

Our post offices suck about updating the shipping info.
They are HORRIBLE about it.


You should have contacted me...I would have run over to the PO and threw a fit for ya, after I found them and gave them some water.


I'm glad they made it safely.

Ha. I figured you would of.
Just didn't want you to get yourself arrested.
Thinking they wouldn't of let you on BYC while in a holding cell.

 

[Finnie]

I think I'm still traumatised a bit. I still seem over worried something is going to happen to them.
Anyways here's the rounded off times of their trip.
These are 4 all pretty much adult birds. Express shipping. Shipped wed. Afternoon expected delivery thurs by 3:00 pm.
Left her PO at 4 pm.
Arrived in Houston at about 6 pm. Wed
Arrived in KC at about 11 pm thurs
Arrived my PO about 5 am Fri.

Now here's some insight into my brain.
I'd never shipped or received adult birds before so it was a worry from the start.
Left her PO and landed in Houston 2 hours later. So far so good but that's as far as that went.
Checked status and they just sat and sat. We both tried to figure out what was happening? Maybe just not updating? Idk. By wed morning it was still showing them in Houston. I checked it about every 17 1/2 minutes until my PO opened.
I called and tried to get answers I mean these are live birds. They need to at least be moving. Its been like 15 hours.
PO wasn't getting any more info then myself and played phone tag between herself, myself and both the Houston and KC hubs.
Kat and I played tag through the day also. 3:00 came and went and still no change.
It was crazy. What the heck was the usps doing.
I was worried. This whole deal just seemed meant to be. I was happy, Kat was happy and the PO was gonna kill these birds and screw this whole thing up.
About now's when I was thinking @KikisGirls is in Houston isn't she? I should get a hold of her and have her go put a foot in someone's @$$.
You guys are jacking with living creatures. Extremely beautiful living creatures that I knew what went into making them.
D@mn usps. It was a crazy day. Worrying, hoping, trying to distract myself, thinking maybe this wasn't meant to be and the poor birds.
Finally at about 11 pm I got a text. Yes a text. I got tired of checking so I changed it to text update.
Birds were in KC.
After like 29 hours from the time they arrived in Houston. Ya 29 hours plus 2 hours plus I'm not sure.. How long can a bird survive without water? IDK but was so worried.
I couldn't sleep hardly at all. I fell asleep at about midnight and was up at 5. 5:05 I got an update text that they were at my PO. That's about 25 minutes away so 10 minutes later I was at the PO. Ok maybe longer but that was probably my fastest trip to town and back ever.
When I got there the boxes was quiet and no movement. I voiced my concerns and she said oh no they've been crowing and rattling the boxes.
As I loaded them up only movement was from one box. I decided to get loaded and haul butt home. I surely didn't want to see what I expected to. Well at least the rooster or cockerel made it.
Got home and finally heard some commotion in one box. As I opened it he came flying up in the air and about hit me in the head. Caught him mid air.
I've decided he must have been so thankful that he couldn't help but to jump into my arms.
Got him 8n the pen and prepared for the worst.
One by one I opened the boxes and found everyone was alive and seemed no worse for wear.
Got them all situated and got them some water with electrolytes. Decided to make sure they were hydrated before eating so gave them 2 hours then fed them. They were thirsty and hungry but besides that they seemed fine. Figured I'd better keep an eye on them so spent half that day just staring at them.
They are so beautiful more so then in their pics.
It all worked out in the end but oh boy what an emotional draining day and a half.
Not sure I want to go through that ever again.
So how long can a bird survive in the mail?
These made it for about 40 hours from Kats place to mine.

This is pretty standard USPS MO. They send you a tracking message that the birds will arrive by noon the next day, which is a lie, because it will always be two overnights. And tracking updates? Ha! The birds are not just sitting around. They are traveling, but no one bothers to check them in, so you get no updates. Pretty much after I get them home, I'll get a text or email saying "delivered". Between them leaving their original PO and me taking delivery, it's just empty. They seem to take good care of the shipment, but could care less about the receiver being on pins and needles.

I'm glad they got there safe. I'm really glad all Chickat's work will be continued. They are such pretty birds.

 

[The Moonshiner]

Winner Winner.
There were two breeders working on them at the same time.
One breeder coined the name "opal legbars" for hers.
The other breeder decided to lose the crests but otherwise they're the same thing.
The breeder these came from didn't worry about a pretty name so I will continue not calling them "opal legbars".

Bonus round.....
Who's the breeder of my birds?

I wanted to correct myself.
I stated that the other breeder coined the name "Opal legbars" interesting enough while going through ChicKat's thread I noticed on post 367 that Kat was first to mention "Opal" as a name for these birds. So although she didn't run with that name I'll give credit where credit is due.
Now is this a big deal no not at all really but I'll explain more in another post.

 

[Mosey2003]

Oh god, reading this is making me nervous. I have a 5 month old cockerel set to ship to me on the 19th... I really really really hope it goes well <biting fingernails>...

 

[Pyxis]

Oh god, reading this is making me nervous. I have a 5 month old cockerel set to ship to me on the 19th... I really really really hope it goes well <biting fingernails>...

Generally it goes okay. I had a pair of chickens shipped to me in VT from CA and they made it in the normal two days all the way across the country. So sometimes things go wrong (and I've definitely had things go wrong with bird shipments before), but most of the time it goes smoothly.

 

[The Moonshiner]

Oh god, reading this is making me nervous. I have a 5 month old cockerel set to ship to me on the 19th... I really really really hope it goes well <biting fingernails>...

I agree with @Pyxis I think things go right more often then not but not many post about them. We all post about the horror stories.
Besides that it's too early to be biting nails you're gonna run out.
Best hold off till they ship. You'll have plenty of time then and even when things go right you'll still be biting them.

 

[Mosey2003]

I agree with @Pyxis I think things go right more often then not but not many post about them. We all post about the horror stories.
Besides that it's too early to be biting nails you're gonna run out.
Best hold off till they ship. You'll have plenty of time then and even when things go right you'll still be biting them.

So true.
I just really really really want this line

 

[The Moonshiner]

LET IT SNOW
LET IT SNOW
LET IT SNOW
First snow of the year.

 

[Amer]

View attachment 1584816
LET IT SNOW
LET IT SNOW
LET IT SNOW
First snow of the year.

In Missouri?

Wow, I didn't expect that. Keep your chicken combs warm!

I got my first snow on the 20th of October.