"Packing Peanut" Disposal & Survival Rates

any good websites to dispose of "packing peanuts"? culling is last resort. im probably going to have to get chickens across the border, (insert trump joke here), because ive looked (for entire weeks) EVERYWHERE for a canadian hatchery with delawares and murray mcmurray supplies the paperwork (apparently) to get across the border, for 75... dollars... (R.I.P. in politics my wallet 2006-2016) so i need packing peanuts to keep them not dead. (alot might still die anyway unless i get a hotel, because maine is an hour away!) speaking of the devil, is there anything i can get the hatchery to do to increase the survival rate? Thanks!






yes, i have, in fact, searched for weeks, and yes, i do not have a life, might get one from the u.s. if i sacrifice my wallet.

You could maybe get them to add a heat pack?

If I was paying an extra $75 for a box of chicks, I would want every chick in the box to count. Say you only want 10 but they are going to ship a minimum of 25, get 15 female peanuts. Find someone who will split the order or sell the extras. I would also get 2 male Delaware so you can replenish your stock.

KDOGG331 said:

You could maybe get them to add a heat pack?

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im not sure if mcmurray has them, ill ask when i place my order

Percheron chick said:

If I was paying an extra $75 for a box of chicks, I would want every chick in the box to count. Say you only want 10 but they are going to ship a minimum of 25, get 15 female peanuts. Find someone who will split the order or sell the extras. I would also get 2 male Delaware so you can replenish your stock.

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quite an interesting idea, most people seek female chicks anyways so i could get some of my money back, i will probably get buff orpington packing peanuts seeing how they are friendly, good layers and meat producers, cheap and generally good birds, very valuable.

Get unique hard to find breeds to sell. You will be able to get a few extra $ for then. BOs are probably plentiful and that's part of the reason they are popular.

that is true, ill look for some good rare breeds.

Mcmurray's does have heat packs. The hatchery shipped my first batch of chicks in Feb without a heat pack. They all arrived dead. I talked to the hatchery and paid for a heat pack the next week. Despite it being even colder than the previous week, all the chicks arrived alive. They charged me $2.50. All the chicks arrive alive and healthy the second time around.

I'm with Percheron chick. I never, ever let a hatchery give me packing peanuts. They're a waste of my time and money, far as I'm concerned. I have enough cockerels of my own, thanks very much. If my desired breeds fall short, I'll round out the order with unusual breeds, ornamentals, or even good steady money makers like red sex links or barred Rocks. I can sell all those as soon as I unpack the box, for a profit no less. I have no feed, etc invested in them, so any extra is a nice bonus for me.

When are you planning this? Because as of now you cannot import from Iowa and not sure when the restrictions will be lifted. I usually do a service for people in our area and bring in a shipment, I charge a fee per bird ($3-$4) to cover the health certificate, shipping, my going to get them at the border, brooding for a couple of days til they are ready to travel again. This year my shipment was cancelled. At this point Iowa cannot ship to Canada.

*** Please note that due to the current outbreak of Highly pathogenic avian influenza in the states of Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin the importation of live poultry, birds and raw or untreated avian products is suspended commercially from Quarantine Zones from the affected states, until further notice.

Specific animal health zoosanitary export certification is required for poultry / live birds / hatching eggs and all unprocessed ("raw")avian products, by-products. Personal importations (not certified) are suspended from the entire affected states for these products until further notice. For the list of restricted zones please consult the import specialists at CFIA in your region. ***

Many lose half to 3/4 of the shipped chicks, defenitely use grow gel, have them pack some with and add an extra package when they come, and be there BEFORE The post office opens (they allow you to come the back door) and run home! Have brooders ready. My first batch we lost 1/3 the second batch only 1-2, but I brooded them for a bit.