I don't know about anyone else out there but I am getting very frustrated with the level of service for shipping live birds through the post office. Sometimes good service..sometimes not...some offices quote one policy...other offices quote another...doesn't seem to be very good training involved. I just emailed them as follows and am hoping for a good response.
I would like to address some problems that occur with the shipping of live birds, specifically chickens. USPS is the only option poultry farmers have for shipping their birds to customers. I have had problems with the boxes being allowed to get wet (rain or set on a wet cart) which then caused the chickens to get cold and die....chicks taking 3 days to deliver (their yolk sac reserves do not last that long...my last shipment of 15 chicks..only 2 arrived alive) and they get cold if not properly stored. I would like to see if there is a way to further educate those who handle the birds and see if we can have less unnecessary loss of life. I understand USPS recently changed their express mail for live birds to allow up to 3 days to arrive. Unfortunately, this is NOT likely to result in live chicks. I have spoken with Washington STate University Poultry division about this and they are in agreement. When I talk to the local post office, it seems it is out of their hands...so exactly who CAN I talk to that can perhaps make a difference. I want this to benefit both USPS (by receiving less complaints and claims) and poultry shippers by having more success with their shipments. In addition...boxes clearly marked fragile are often received with big dented corners or even smashed on occasion...how is that fragile handling? The boxes are not heavy..it must be a hard drop in order to dent the corner of the box. I just don't understand why we can't seem to make it work more efficiently. Can someone PLEASE call me to see what we can do to help each other out? I thank you in advance for any help you can provide. Sincerely, Julie Breedlove
I would like to address some problems that occur with the shipping of live birds, specifically chickens. USPS is the only option poultry farmers have for shipping their birds to customers. I have had problems with the boxes being allowed to get wet (rain or set on a wet cart) which then caused the chickens to get cold and die....chicks taking 3 days to deliver (their yolk sac reserves do not last that long...my last shipment of 15 chicks..only 2 arrived alive) and they get cold if not properly stored. I would like to see if there is a way to further educate those who handle the birds and see if we can have less unnecessary loss of life. I understand USPS recently changed their express mail for live birds to allow up to 3 days to arrive. Unfortunately, this is NOT likely to result in live chicks. I have spoken with Washington STate University Poultry division about this and they are in agreement. When I talk to the local post office, it seems it is out of their hands...so exactly who CAN I talk to that can perhaps make a difference. I want this to benefit both USPS (by receiving less complaints and claims) and poultry shippers by having more success with their shipments. In addition...boxes clearly marked fragile are often received with big dented corners or even smashed on occasion...how is that fragile handling? The boxes are not heavy..it must be a hard drop in order to dent the corner of the box. I just don't understand why we can't seem to make it work more efficiently. Can someone PLEASE call me to see what we can do to help each other out? I thank you in advance for any help you can provide. Sincerely, Julie Breedlove
