Is anyone else having issues with the USPS and dead chicks?

[Genevajones]

I am so furious and sad.

I ordered 27 chicks from McMurray a while back to ship last week.

They shipped 30 on Fri/Sat 2/20 and they were all dead when they arrived Tuesday morning. Apparently, they were actually dead by the time they hit Columbus and then another day later they got to me. The temps were record cold here (-18 one day) so I was sad but not surprised they didn't survive. Although I was expecting that with that kind of weather they would have included heat packs of some kind?

I was surprised McMurray shipped given the severe weather/storm that was all over the news. I worked for a large specialty pharmacy that shipped out drugs that required special handling and we all checked the weather for our accounts and knew what/if there was bad weather coming and adjusted shipments accordingly. Just thought this was sad that they didn't. But certainly that was just a fluke.

McMurray was great and offered to replace them or refund my money. I need more hens after a particularly hard Fall and Winter so I opted for replacement. I looked at the weather and it looked warmer/clear for this week, so they reshipped the entire order on Fri/Sat(they say Sat, tracking says Fri).

Well, we are a 9hr ride from the hatchery and this shipment went from IA to MN to ATLANTA, GA then back to Columbus and out to me. I realized there would be a delay when I saw it went to GA, so I started calling to see if I could at least pick them up in Columbus and hopefully they'd be okay. USPS said no, there was no way for them to locate it, I'd just have to wait for them to arrive.

Out of 30 chicks, 8 arrived alive, 2 died immediately and 2 more are on their way out. So FOUR of 60 chicks total look like they might make it and that's only after 3hrs. Not sure what the next few days will bring.

It's not McMurray, it's the USPS. I understand mistakes happen but this is not only absurd but cruel. I'm not really sure what to do. How does the USPS not have a policy regarding live animal shipments that at least minimizes the possibility?! I had this happen once before and the "guaranteed" shipment in 2 days took 4 and they refused to refund my money. They could not have cared less!!!

McMurray says they'll try one last time and then they won't ship again. Do other hatcheries pack differently or am I kind of stuck because it's the USPS?

Sigh…I'm more complaining than anything else because I know you guys will understand. : (

 

[havery]

I just received my shipment from McMurray yesterday (Tuesday) after them shipping out Saturday. They spent almost 24 hours in the Dallas office, I was livid. It was nerve-wracking and I was almost certain I was going to find nothing but dead chicks. But they all arrived perky and chirping! I lost one last night, but out of 39 chicks who spent 4 days on the road I expected stress losses. Thankfully I seem to have been lucky and hit a week of mild weather all the way from Iowa to East Texas, and combined with the gro-gel they put in with the chicks I'm sure that's the only reason why mine made it. I do agree that USPS is declining in quality, and it's really infuriating for me, because my local post office is so wonderful. At my request my postmaster called me at 4 am to pick up my chicks because he knew how worried I was! I guess that's just the perks of a smaller office, though. My problems always come out of either the St. Paul, MN or Coppell, TX sorting facilities, where packages (even live birds apparently!) seem to get misrouted or lost for days.

 

[Clearly]

I feel as though mcmurray is making a huge mistake shipping on a Friday or Saturday, no? That's an extra day in transit over the weekend. Why are they doing this???

And a well established hatchery should have hatch times down so those chicks are hatching on Mondays and Tuesday's, so I justdont buy this "day of hatch". I recognize that is a necessity, but they need to schedule their "day of hatch" better.

I wouldn't order from them after hearing all these horror stories.

 

[CrazyTalk]

The problem isn't usually the cold, its the delays.

And you're going to have more delays in Jan-Mar than any other time of the year - especially a year as snowy as this one- this is the worst time of the year to ship these things.

Chicks go through their yolk stores much faster when they're cold. They need energy to keep warm.

Wait a couple more weeks - it'll save everyone time, money, and heartache.

 

[CrazyTalk]

You're confusing federal law and postal regulations.

This is what it says in the requirements:
Quote:
This means they won't ship from Florida to rural Alaska - it doesn't mean they won't ship before a snowstorm. Chicks can only be shipped at a day old - they have to go in the mail immediately, or they go into the grinder. USPS makes it very clear that they're not liable for loss of live day-old chicks due to delays out of their control.

We've had several times over the last couple of weeks where the entire eastern half of the country has had flights grounded because of weather. I've had packages via USPS/UPS/FEDEX show up a week late - this is expected when snow is in the forecast. There's nothing the postal service can do about that. There's nothing the hatchery can do about it - they have to make decisions 4+ weeks in advance because of hatching times.

Losing shipped chicks in the winter IS TO BE EXPECTED. If you have a problem with it - don't order chicks in the winter. There's no reason to start a thread crapping on the postal service every time the roads get dangerous.

 

[olliegrow]

Ive had work around weather many times because USPS doesn't care if they are live animals or not, warmer weather is a must or order from somewhere a little closer if possible. USPS vehicles are not equipped with heat in the parcel departments.

 

[PapaChaz]

just curious, but can't you request a fedex or ups direct ship? I've never ordered from a hatchery (and won't) because there are several local
"breeders" close enough to drive to

 

[mayble]

I'm surprised there aren't more incidents of chicks not surviving delivery in this kind of weather.
Why do so many people in the north order chicks at this time of year? Wouldn't it make sense to wait a few weeks? What am I missing?

 

[Genevajones]

Undortunately, neither UPS nor Fedex ship live chicks. But ship another animal and you'll need all KINDS of things!! correct cage size, they're mandated to water/feed them after a certain time, not over or under a certain temp.

And I ordered them early because normally our hi/low this time of year is 40s/20s, plenty warm for chicks. Mine free range and I like them to be a decent size or they're easy prey. Getting them early lets me do that. All of the feed and grain stores have theirs in now, so I guess I'm not the only one?

Our "local" hatchery had a massive recall last year for Salmonella, and it's not their first, so they were out. Honestly, 9hours away really isn't that bad since we're 2.5-3hours in all directions from any other state.

I think the biggest issue is the USPS rerouted to Georgia which is 18hours out of the way!! And then they inexplicably sat there for two days?!?

The woman at McMurray basically said they're fine down a bit below freezing but when they are delayed until Wednesday there's a very good chance they're not making it. With no food and no water they just can't do it.

 

[Genevajones]

Oh and I have also had issues with shipping later because of the heat. Had a shipment that was cancelled by a breeder because it got too hot...in June. Said to reorder in March.

I hate central OH weather.