Welp Hatchery...What a joke

[spiritinblack]

I just had the worst chicken experience of my life.i came very very close to throwing up and just on a human level this was horrific to go through. I care very much for chickens and all living things this really sucked and I hope this never happens to someone else.but I ordered 25 chicks and 9 arrived alive the rest smelled like they had been dead for weeks although I know that's not possible and clearly the hatchery didn't ship them in this condition but wow this was awful.

 

[lazy gardener]

SB, where did those chicks ship from? Was that the bedding they were shipped on? Did you pick them up at PO? Did PO call you as soon as they came in? I'm so very sorry you had this experience.

 

[yellowherb]

I just had the worst chicken experience of my life.i came very very close to throwing up and just on a human level this was horrific to go through. I care very much for chickens and all living things this really sucked and I hope this never happens to someone else.but I ordered 25 chicks and 9 arrived alive the rest smelled like they had been dead for weeks although I know that's not possible and clearly the hatchery didn't ship them in this condition but wow this was awful.

That is horrible. I'm so sorry!
Where did you order from? I've never seen a bottom thing like that one, normally my shipments have coconut fiber mats or something similar.

I have only ever ordered from Ideal Poultry and never had a dead chick. After getting a order like yours I'd be asking for a refund and finding another, closer or more highly rated hatchery.

 

[spiritinblack]

They came from Welp hatchery.And I live in Michigan .I drove straight to the post office the molment they called they told me there was an awful odor and dead chicks when I talked to them on the phone.When I picked them up they offered their condolences.Called Welp yelled at the nice man on the phone.That made me feel a little better.He said during shipment they must have been set somewhere very hot.Like near a vent and that why they are so spoiled.

 

[lazy gardener]

So very sorry.

 

[rustymurphy]

I had a lot of chicks from 4 different hatcheries very good luck with all. one order from welp and one order from purely poultry with the welp order all chicks died due to post office not calling they chilled and died welp replaced all chicks plus threw in extras! the purely poultry some one taped all holes shut chicks run out of air and were DOA post office informed me when they called. they also were replaced with extras plus emails apologizing for their packers carelessness. a lot of stuff can happen that can kill the chicks that hatcheries ship some that the hatcheries can not control so when the company replaces the chicks that is what makes them a good hatchery.

 

[Nimueh Alene]

Welp closed?

 

[Molpet]

Welp closed?

bought out, but still selling
Welp Hatchery located in Bancroft, Iowa was established in 1929 by Joseph H Welp. On March 30, 2016 International Poultry Breeders Hatcheries, INC – an Iowa corporation – acquired the assets of Welp Hatchery which are being used for ongoing operations in Bancroft. Cornish Rock Broiler chickens are our specialty, and we offer a wide variety of chickens and other poultry which we ship from our shipping points in Iowa, New Mexico, Minnesota and Wisconsin, depending on the poultry type.* At Welp, our office personnel gives individual attention to all your needs. Give us a call toll free at 1-800-458-4473, and let us know how we can help!
http://www.welphatchery.com/on-sale/ameraucana-female/

 

[G Mitch]

I have had nothing but great experiences with Welp . Good healthy birds every time .

 

[Andrea K]

I had a wonderful experience with my chicks from Welp. I ordered them for a specific date but one breed I wanted wouldn't be ready to ship until a month later so I opted to wait. I then made a second order which was sold out except for two of the breeds so I opted to add the one breed to my current order which they did effortlessly with no fuss. I got my chicks within a day of the ship date and I live in Utah which isn't too far but also isn't really close and the chicks were all healthy and thriving they stayed that way until my husband decided that the feed store chicks were too cute to turn down and he bought a dozen chicks from the feed store. When these chicks were introduced into the chick pen of the welp which I had informed my husband please do not mix unvaccinated chicks with my vaccinated welp chicks, the welp chicks became sick. They started to get weak and have labored breathing followed by sudden death some of them didn't even show signs of sickness they would just be fine and then an hour later when I would check on them they would be dead. So if I had any complaints or have any about buying chicks its the stupid feed stores. They pack chicks into tiny cages with draftiness and then allow people to come by and look and breathe and touch them which this alone adds to the stress of the chick as well as if any of these people have chickens of their own and they are contaminated with feces or bodily fluids from their home flock this can affect the chicks in the store causing them to get sick or to become a carrier to something that lays dormant but may only show once they have been taken home. I will never buy from a feed store again plus the birds are not a great specimen for their breed and all straightrun I have bought have been boys I bought an entire cage of their straightrun golden laced and not one of them was a female I even held onto a couple I had doubts about but then once they started crowing it was confirmed. I don't like feed store chicks. I think they are just in it for the money and that's it. I know the same can be said for some of these hatcheries but I have only had a terrible experience where the chicks were a bad quality from IDEAL POULTRY and Purely Poultry. IDEAL chicks always seem weak from the get go and I even ended up with a scissor beak polish chick in the box at time of delivery. This chick should never have been put in my box that is just bad customer service. I couldn't complain too much though they did refund me anytime chicks died and their chicks are super cheap the cheapest around which should probably have been my sign that I shouldn't order from there. Now purely poultry made me angry because I bought 6 partridge cochin straightrun LF, and 6 Splash cochin straightrun LF, and 4 salmon faverolle pullets. All delivered march 21 of this year 2018. I did not mix these chicks with any others I gave them their own pen with their own newly bought freshly sanitized waterer and feeder and put them immediately on medicated feed. They were vaccinated for mareks as well. Within the first 48 hours I lost all but one of the salmon faverolle pullets and all but 2 of the splash cochin chicks. The others looked weak but if they don't die within the 48 hours you are screwed because there is nothing they will do at that point. The karma fearing person in me said that I would be wrong to report all chicks dead just in case they did in fact end up living so I didn't report more than what was dead. Four days later I had 2 splash cochin and 2 partridge cochin left our of the 16 chicks I ordered. 4!!!! out of 16!!!!! even with IDEAL I had never had this issue. I blamed it on the possibility that the weather was a little chillier than anticipated at ordering and that I would try again. I used the small credit towards my order of 3 straightrun buff cochin LF chicks, 3 partridge LF cochin straightrun, and 3 LF Splash cochin straightrun chicks. This time they came March 27 and they were a day late getting here. I ordered gro-gel but they didn't put it in the box they simply gave it to me to mix up and feed them if the chicks had had the gro gel they might have survived. I am down to 2 splash cochin and 1 partridge cochin chick all 3 buff cochins died for no reason out of the blue. I believe the delayed day had something to do with it but also these chicks just seem alittle weak. They are in with some of my shipped hatching eggs I ordered and the shipped egg chicks are thriving and are a whole week younger than the purely poultry chicks. I have ordered from IDEAL, Purely Poultry, Cackle Hatchery, Murray McMurray and Welp and the worst experience has been with Purely Poultry and second would be IDEAL. I am awaiting a shipment from Strombergs and am hopeful these chicks will thrive since they are arriving later when it will hopefully be alittle warmer. I wonder if anyone on here has had a similar ecperience with purely poultry or if it was just my bad timing of having chicks shipped to Utah too close to the end of the winter? Also any tips on raising a better chicken and how to make a better brooder are encouraged I just want to make sure I take out any error on my part before I decide to completely blame the hatchery I expect chicks to die that's why I order more than I need to hopefully account for any loss but it seems that every chick I want to raise dies or is stunted when fully grown or also in a case with IDEAL I ended up with a mix of LF white cochins and bantam when I ordered 9 straightrun LF cochins only I happen to dislike all bantam breeds aside from the silkie which in my opinion is a dog not a chicken Anyone else who has had a similar experience or who might have advice for me on what I did wrong please let me know in a reply.