Bad Experience w/IDEAL Poultry Hatchery: Normal Occurrence?

[joydix]

regardless..i will say i have purchased from a few hatcheries. NOT my favorite way to get birds as there seems to always be deaths and the whole process is not chick friendly. i know that going in. bantams never ship well and some breeds more delicate. Ideal is my favorite tho. it is closest to me for one thing..and i have always gotten good service. love their staff. i KNOW what i can expect now. since i am just a backyard chicken person i dont order many at a time...15-25??? i go in with people, or i get a certain amt and sell the rest after i pick out what i want and be sure i get enough of certain breeds. ALL hatcheries ship and have deaths. best to shop from ones closest to you. or hatch your own. or buy local...

 

[ESofVA]

Doesn't matter. Maybe it will help someone else. I always try to use Ideal 1st and Cackle 2nd. Both have been great for me. Please realize that boxes of chicks go through many rides and hands before they get to you and after they leave the hatchery. They are not always warm enough on those rides and not always handled with care. Hatcheries are not usually to blame.

 

[Katy in Texas]

@Katy in Texas
You do realize that Gresh started this thread in 2011, right? And FWIW, he or she hasn't been here since 2016.

Hi! I have no idea what FWIW means. I also take care of over 100 animals every day for us and our neighbor, so I don't really have time to go search the Urban Dictionary online. Thanks.

 

[Katy in Texas]

Doesn't matter. Maybe it will help someone else. I always try to use Ideal 1st and Cackle 2nd. Both have been great for me. Please realize that boxes of chicks go through many rides and hands before they get to you and after they leave the hatchery. They are not always warm enough on those rides and not always handled with care. Hatcheries are not usually to blame.

I have used Ideal and Murray McMurray in the last 28 years and have mostly positive results with both. The post office people in Texas really make an effort to pay special attention to the needs of the baby birds. Have a blessed day. I have ordered up to 100 at a time with McMurray with only 1 or 2 chicks dying.

 

[joydix]

regardless..i will say i have purchased from a few hatcheries. NOT my favorite way to get birds as there seems to always be deaths and the whole process is not chick friendly. i know that going in. bantams never ship well and some breeds more delicate. Ideal is my favorite tho. it is closest to me for one thing..and i have always gotten good service. love their staff. i KNOW what i can expect now. since i am just a backyard chicken person i dont order many at a time...15-25??? i go in with people, or i get a certain amt and sell the rest after i pick out what i want and be sure i get enough of certain breeds. ALL hatcheries ship and have deaths. best to shop from ones closest to you. or hatch your own. or buy local...

Ideal is my go to as well. Have ordered from Murray and I think belt. Strombergs as well. I’d say ideal is stellar. Yes there are some who die. It is the shipping. And postal service sometimes. I alway wait at post office morning!of arrival to save them riding around in mail truck.

 

[333113]

Hi Everyone -

We wanted to take the time to address some of the concerns stated in this thread. We are sorry to see that you have had a bad experience with our poultry. We pride ourselves on breeding and selling quality poultry. We also strive to create a most pleasant experience with our staff while you order.

We are an NPIP Certified and Monitored Hatchery. We go even further with very stringent Biosecurity and Animal Husbandry practices to ensure the health of our poultry. Poultry diseases, ones that are transferred hen to chick, are very virulent and can be deadly. Many of these also affect hatchability and fertility. We do not have a disease on our farm nor do the chicks that leave our facility. Our chickens are our business and livelihood, and would not compromise their health or comfortability intentionally. Once a disease is present, there has to be time for the body and immune system to be compromised which then visible symptoms can be seen. Most loss that can be seen within the first few days of receipt is due to stress from shipment and not from disease. It is very hot outside and we do all we can at our facility to ensure the comfort and livability of the poultry that leaves here. However, once they have left our facility, we do not have control over how each shipment is handled until it reaches the customer. Contrary to belief, we do not receive any recourse from the postal service when a shipment arrives dead or stressed. We offer to reship or refund at our cost. Our customers order and expect live poultry and we want our customers to receive live poultry. We would not be in business for 74 years by providing inferior poultry.

To Gresh - I am sorry that you feel the answer provided was not what you were looking for. If we did not provide you compensation for your loss in credit back to means of purchase, please let me know. We cannot always determine why chicks die as it is very hard to diagnose over the phone. We are always willing to help and provide solutions when we can.

When I am in the office, I am always willing to help with any poultry health or husbandry questions. I have Poultry Science Degree from Texas A&M University and years of poultry experience. We hope this information helps and also answers the concerns.

Ross Windham
Ideal Poultry Breeding Farms

Ross,
As a small home breeder, I only ship next-day, special-handling. It costs more, but it's worth it.
When I was a child, my father ordered hatching eggs and chicks by mail. Every egg hatched, and every chick made it. That's because everyone along the route knew how to handle hatching eggs and checks carefully. THOSE DAYS ARE GONE.

Today, unless the hatchery chooses "Special Handling" and "Next Day Delivery," and pays for it, those hatching eggs and chicks go through the same conveyor belt system with its three-foot drops as all other packages.

To me, it is outrageous and a sin that poultry hatcheries refuse to buck up and admit that special handling and next day charges are required these days to prevent eggs and chicks from going through conveyor belt hell.

You don't have to be a PETA person to understand that a hatching egg and a chick are not designed by the Creator for three-foot drops.

You hatcheries need to put on your big girl panties and admit that extra care and cost in shipping is needed for a viable result in your customers' coops.

And, while you are at it, look at the weather forecast before sending newly hatched chicks into intensely hot or frigid cold temperatures.

 

[imnukensc]

Hi! I have no idea what FWIW means. I also take care of over 100 animals every day for us and our neighbor, so I don't really have time to go search the Urban Dictionary online. Thanks.

FWIW = For What It's Worth. You're welcome.

 

[Robert G]

Ross,
As a small home breeder, I only ship next-day, special-handling. It costs more, but it's worth it.
When I was a child, my father ordered hatching eggs and chicks by mail. Every egg hatched, and every chick made it. That's because everyone along the route knew how to handle hatching eggs and checks carefully. THOSE DAYS ARE GONE.

Today, unless the hatchery chooses "Special Handling" and "Next Day Delivery," and pays for it, those hatching eggs and chicks go through the same conveyor belt system with its three-foot drops as all other packages.

To me, it is outrageous and a sin that poultry hatcheries refuse to buck up and admit that special handling and next day charges are required these days to prevent eggs and chicks from going through conveyor belt hell.

You don't have to be a PETA person to understand that a hatching egg and a chick are not designed by the Creator for three-foot drops.

You hatcheries need to put on your big girl panties and admit that extra care and cost in shipping is needed for a viable result in your customers' coops.

And, while you are at it, look at the weather forecast before sending newly hatched chicks into intensely hot or frigid cold temperatures.

I don't know how true that could be unless your work for the post office and actually see the process. I've ordered from IDEAL for several years including the last 2 and all of my chicks arrived fine. It could be that I am only a few hours away, but one of the regional post offices is an hour away and always call me to give me the option to pick them up the day before or wait the additional day. I guess it all depends on the distance. I've only ordered once from Murray and all the chicks died within it 2 days. They arrived in pretty bad condition, but once again they traveled a long distance. IDEAL doesn't ship birds in bad weather as far as I know. Plus the weather is unpredictable. It could be sunny in TX but not in another state.

 

[333113]

I don't know how true that could be unless your work for the post office and actually see the process. I've ordered from IDEAL for several years including the last 2 and all of my chicks arrived fine. It could be that I am only a few hours away, but one of the regional post offices is an hour away and always call me to give me the option to pick them up the day before or wait the additional day. I guess it all depends on the distance. I've only ordered once from Murray and all the chicks died within it 2 days. They arrived in pretty bad condition, but once again they traveled a long distance. IDEAL doesn't ship birds in bad weather as far as I know. Plus the weather is unpredictable. It could be sunny in TX but not in another state.

It does depend on the distance, and on the post office technology between the sender and the receiver, and also on the services you purchase for that package.

You are welcome to look at the process, yourself, on the USPS-published YouTube videos.
Here is the most recent package processing video I could find:

Look at minute 8 to see packages go flying off the conveyor belt. Imagine chicks or hatching eggs in those packages, because if you don't pay for special handling for that package, that's how it could be processed.

I remember the old days when chicks arrived the day after they were hatched. Now they arrive two days or more later than hatched. Chicks are fine with a day without food and water, but two days is a big stress, and they are not designed for that.

I don't know about you, but I have called the hatcheries and asked to pay extra for next-day delivery. Murray McMurray, Stromberg, Ideal and Cackle all said no, it's too complicated for them to track which chicks should be sent next-day.

So, in very cold or very hot weather, or when there are delays in shipping, many chicks from hatcheries will continue to arrive dead or in heartbreakingly poor condition.

The fault is not with the USPS. Their Special Handling service is designed to make a safe trip for chicks, and for hatching eggs, too. I have used it, and it works. And it is insured. The fault is with the hatcheries in failing to send the chicks safely, and the fault is with us for not insisting on safe shipping.

Personally, I think it's just a matter of time before hatcheries who don't do next-day special-handling shipping will fall by the wayside.

Sadly, in the meantime, there will be a lot of dead and damaged chicks, and a lot of heartsick people who receive and have to care for those chicks. And people in these forums will continue to be called on to respond to new and bewildered chicken owners trying to fix what went wrong.

Stepping off my soapbox, now.

 

[Jenya]

I just received 12 silkies from Ideal poultry today. They shipped it on Tuesday and I got them on Thursday. It was sent via priority mail. All 12 babies seem fine.