Chicks through the mail with low survival rate

[dixiebackyard]

I am just curious as to if anyone else has noticed issues with getting baby chicks through the mail from hatcheries. It seems that if we hatch our own eggs or even buy them from another NPIP local breeder the chicks have only around 5%mortality rate. We have been trying to build the diversity of our flocks so we started ordering online from different hatcheries. Since doing this we have noticed a significantly higher mortality rate. not just 1% or 2 % but around a 30% increase. Chicks come in crowded undernourished broken legs and so forth with absolutely no chance of survival ,but we try. it was just this week we got 30 chicks in and within the first 4 hours we had lost 6 with 10 more barely hanging in there within hours these had passed on also.

So with that said, has anyone else had the same issues? I mean should chicks really be stuck in the back of a mail truck for 3 days? Also let me know if you have ordered chicks and it took 3 days without issues. I am interested to know what was done differently. Thanks .

 

[ChickenCanoe]

3 days on a truck would certainly kill most hatchery chicks.
I haven't experienced anything like that. I've ordered batches of 25 and 50 chicks and never lost more than 2 in a shipment.
When I have chicks coming, I go to the post office and tell the postmaster that I have them coming and when. I get the phone number of the sorting room that they will answer when they come to work about 4 or 5 AM. I always pick the chicks up at the post office so they have never been in transit more than 2 days.

 

[song of joy]

Welcome to BYC!

I've had 0% mortality with mail-order chicks. This includes the following orders:

1. Healthy Chicks & More. April shipment. 2-day transit time. 12 chicks. No shipping-related mortality or injuries. All chicks thrived.

2. Ideal Hatchery. June shipment. Over-night delivery (chicks arrived the day after they left the hatchery). 15 chicks. No shipping-related mortality or injuries. All chicks thrived.

3. Meyer Hatchery. June shipment. Over-night delivery (chicks arrived the day after they left the hatchery). 2 separate orders of 3 chicks and 5 chicks. No shipping-related mortality or injuries. All chicks thrived.

Based on numerous posts on BYC, it appears the key to reducing shipping related fatalities is 1) avoid shipping chicks from November through March if they will have to travel through ANY states with cold, winter conditions, and 2) choose a hatchery that ships Express rather than Priority. There's a significant difference in survival between 1-2 day shipping versus 3-4 day shipping.

 

[dixiebackyard]

Yes I think your are right. I think our issue is the hatcheries like Mcmurray, strombergs, and cackle are so far away it takes so long to get the orders in. And as i recall overnight or next day delivery was not an option. Being in the south it seems like the large hatcheries are up north and it just takes a while to get anything here.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I thought all hatcheries sent chicks priority mail.

 

[dixiebackyard]

yea the chicks we have been getting are shipped 3 day priority but seems like they just do not do well for that period of time. We got refunded because there was a 48 hour guarantee , but it is hard when you count on those to help build good size flocks ..

 

[kyexotics]

We try to time shipping of chicks, if we need them for either now or just before winter, to ensure temps are as moderate as possible...Our last order for season arrives first wk of April...We only use McMurray and they take care of everything, even when they can't control it, love em...