Does the post office have to allow you to pick up chicks?

[happymanny]

Hello,

I am getting my first baby chicks delivered tomorrow or friday so I did what many have recommended and called my post office today to let them know they were incoming and to see if they would give me a call to allow me to pick them up early.

When I called, the guy who answered the phone had a rather rude tone and told me there was no way I could pick them up early, and that I had to allow them to attempt delivery to my home address. My postman usually delivers around 330-4PM, and I don't want to force the chicks to wait that long in their shipping container. I figure the 9-10 hour difference between picking the chicks up at 6am vs having them delivered at 3pm might possibly be the difference between having all healthy chicks and losing some, especially if it takes 2 days to ship instead of 1.

Has anyone ever had an experience like this where their post office refused to let you pick up the package early? Am I being too paranoid? This is my first time, so I am, understandably, concerned.

Let me know what you guys would do.

Thanks,

Manny

 

[eggbert420]

Do you have a tracking number? If so, when they arive at post office show up and tell them you want your chickens. They will give them to you. My post office tried that on me . I showed up at 8:00am and told them I want my package. The jerk at the counter did not want to give it to me . So asked for his boss I never spoke to his boss he just brought me my chickens.

 

[happymanny]

I do have the tracking number thankfully. I will go ahead and give that a try.

Thanks for the welcome

 

[eggbert420]

Good luck :cd

 

[Peeps61]

My post office is wonderful. When my chicks arrived, they called me to let me know they were there, and I went and got them. In fact, my father, a retired postal worker, told me if they attempted to deliver and you weren't home to get them, you would be called to come and get them. If not picked up that day, back to the hatchery the chicks would go.

Maybe different rules in different states? I wouldn't think so, but you never know. Plus, our PO is in a rural, farm community, so chicks come in all the time.

 

[llsgirls]

I'd try to talk to someone else. I've used 2 post offices and they happily called to have the little squeakers picked up, like at 7am before they were open. Lol

 

[azygous]

Yes, absolutely talk to a supervisor or go right to the postmaster. I know from experience that most postal employees are extremely aware that chicks need special care and are more than happy to give you the opportunity to be there when the mail truck brings in the early mail to get your chicks right off the dock after they scan the shipping crate into the system.

It's also common to talk to disgruntled postal employees. Theirs is a high pressure job and they deal with a cantankerous public and you likely got a hold of one of these who is close to burnout. This is why god invented chain of command so you can always ask to talk to the boss. If at first you don't get an answer you like, keep asking to talk to someone more senior. Most grunt employees are scared to death to make decisions or do anything out of the prescribed routine.

 

[happymanny]

Thanks for all the tips guys, I called them again at 630AM yesterday morning and the guy told me that I could absolutely come pick them up. By 7AM I had them settled into their brooder which is currently a cardboard box from a chest freezer I recently purchased.

I'm livestreaming them on youtube! I'd be grateful for tips and advice as this is my first time

 

[Peeps61]

I'm glad it worked out! Just make sure they have room to get away from the heat lamp, plenty of food and fresh water, and they should do just fine! They are so tiny when they come from the hatchery. Make sure you take pictures, because in a week, you won't believe how much they will have grown, and in a month, they will look like little velociraptors!

 

[debid]

Yeah, the folks who have to listen to the cheeping are more likely to be reasonable, aren't they?!