Lost over half in 24 hours!!

[aart]

Dead within 24 hours after 5 days shipping pretty much tells the tale.
Hope the hatchery can help you out.

 

[3riverschick]

I agree with poster number 8 . it sounds like these birds are dying of travel stress .5 days is a huge time in transit.
go to Tractor Supply and pick up a bottle of poultry Nutri drench . Get a small bottle for about $9 .
Dosage for chicks: now give each chick one drop only by mouth .
repeat as necessary every 8 to 10 hours until perky.
put one and a half teaspoons in a quart waterer and give it to them for the next week . 2 weeks is even better. it sounds to me like these birds used up their yolk Sac nutrition and then just basically are falling apart from lack of nutrition .
because you see once a bird gets travel stressed like this, it's gastrointestinal tract doesn't function efficiently and it isn't able to uptake the nutrition from the food you're giving it . Bovidr Labs poultry Nutri drench doesn't need to be digested. it main lines directly into the bloodstream .measurable in minutes. and it jump-starts the GI tract and gets it working again. it restores the immune system and give the birds energy they need to keep going until they can get back on track .
here's their website:
www.nutridrench.com
Best,
Karen
Been using Bovidr Labs drenches on my dogs and poultry for a decade-and-a-half with great success.

 

[Frazzemrat1]

I'm so sorry for what's going on here. I hope you are able to bring back the rest of the chicks.
Have you called Meyer yet? what did they say? I got my last batch of chicks (6) from them last spring and all of them survived and most are laying now. I'd really like to hear what they said... as I was planning on using them again.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Have you called Meyer yet? what did they say? I got my last batch of chicks (6) from them last spring and all of them survived and most are laying now. I'd really like to hear what they said... as I was planning on using them again.

Here is a link to threads on here that rate different hatcheries. You might want to go through it.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/breeder-and-hatchery-index.285981/

Each hatchery is different and is run by different people, but if you read the stories closely you’ll find that most of the horror stories actually have nothing to do with the individual hatchery. Once the chicks leave the hatchery they can’t control what the post office does or how they chicks fare with different airports or airlines. A whole lot of these chicks fly. Several of the horror stories are due to the people receiving them causing the problem. If you wait a day to pick them up at the post office or don’t have the brooder ready that’s not the hatchery’s fault.

I’m not trying to say that the hatcheries are always totally blameless. If each hatchery is hatching 80,000 to 100,000 chicks a week in season there are bound to be mistakes. With all the different hatcheries that is a lot of opportunities to mess up. Sometimes you might get some people that aren’t at the top of their game at all times, and they do have different policies for when a problem happens.

I’ve gotten chicks from Cackle, Meyer, and Ideal. All the chicks arrived alive and on time. I would not hesitate to use any of them again or go with a different major hatchery. If they are still in business after several years they are probably doing something right. Definitely do your research. If you don’t feel comfortable using one of them, don’t use them. It is a nervous time, you are dealing with living animals. But at some point you need to make a leap of faith.

Good luck!

 

[debid]

Yeah, it was not the hatchery or the quality of the chicks, it was the 5 days in transit that's to blame. The yolk sac that allows newly hatched chicks to survive for a few days without eating or drinking is absorbed in the first 3 days. If they aren't able to eat/drink by that point, they decline rapidly. So, you started with chicks on death's doorstep and should be proud if you're able to save any of them.

 

[debid]

BTW, holiday volume slowdown starts around Thanksgiving and continues through Christmas. I would not order chicks to ship between those two holidays.Yes, people have done so successfully but the sad stories are definitely more common during this time.

 

[ShadyHillFarm]

I'm so sorry for what's going on here. I hope you are able to bring back the rest of the chicks.
Have you called Meyer yet? what did they say? I got my last batch of chicks (6) from them last spring and all of them survived and most are laying now. I'd really like to hear what they said... as I was planning on using them again.

Thank you. Meyer has been faithful to their policy, offering a refund on the chicks or shipment of new chicks as no cost to me. I've never had a problem with Meyer before and like others stated, they did their part. I just wasn't paying attention to dates (Hello Black Friday and cyber Monday). I normally order before now, but lost track of time. :/

BTW, holiday volume slowdown starts around Thanksgiving and continues through Christmas. I would not order chicks to ship between those two holidays.Yes, people have done so successfully but the sad stories are definitely more common during this time.

Yes. It wasn't until all this occurred that I realized the chicks hatched/shipped on Cyber Monday. I normally order earlier than this, but it's my fault I didn't check the calendar before picking a hatching date.