any trouble with Mcmurrays?

[fowler_chick]

we were like new parents waiting for the birth of a new baby.....the call came in at 7:15 a.m from the post office to come and pick up our chicks......putting off my morning farm chores i jumped in to the truck and headed there!!!.....first off when first seeing the box that they were CRAMPT in to (final count was 27 chicks) was extreamly shocking. it was heart braking to see that a few chicks where dead already (the garuente them) with in 48 hours we have had 8 die in total out of 27......in the past years we have always bought our chick's from the local farm store and after this experience with mail order chick's we will be buying once again from our local farm store....has any one gone through this before?

Side Note:: they did refund use for the dead chicks.

 

[below_gravity]

Ugh that sucks! Im sorry. I got my first batch of chicks this year from Ideal (16) of them and they are so far safe and sound. Sorry for your loss!

 

[Cackling Hen]

Out of 50 I have 23 left it was sad i always order from McMurry. This time was a bad experience. I posted a thread last month all about it. I also got refunded.. Good luck with your chicks all the rest of mine are doing great What kind did you order from them?

 

[4hooves&featheredfriends]

Travel on day olds can be extremely stressful, as I am sure you know, however, I ordered 36 chicks at the end of Feb to ship to brrrhhhh New England and lost only one chick. I did not use McMurrays - I also used Ideal.

My parents always used MMM and had incredible luck with there arrivals with the exception of the rare breed freebie. They always seemed to die within the first 24 hrs.

Sorry for you loss.

 

[CountryMom]

Received a shipment from McMurray a week ago. Ordered 25 got 27 and all alive and well. They were in the mail for 4 days and were fine. Their box was small, but they needed to be close for warmth. It is no different than the orders I have received from Ideal on box size. I am sure your local farm and ranch store gets them the same way - maybe bigger box because of larger amount of chicks.

 

[The Wolf Queen]

Always order from Ideal. They are the cheapest and ive never heard one unpossitive thing about them

 

[DawnSuiter]

Quote:
First, let me say I'm so sorry you lost some little ones, that always hurts.

Second, let me reassure you that the small box is normal for that number of chicks, and hundreds upon thousands arrive healthy and fine. I've been trying different hatcheries and consistently get the same packaging from all. Every one of my hatchery chicks have been healthy and alert, and on that note I can say that I have been very lucky!!!

I have 26 week and a half olds in the brooder right now, White Orpingtons from McMurray, they took an extra day and all are alive, well, alert and quite vigorous. The same for Ideal, Meyer and what was that other one... oh my original order came through MyPetChicken.com but I'm not sure where those chicks actually came from.

I have recieved lethargic, weak chicks before in the mail, but not from a hatchery. So.. in summary. Don't be discouraged from ordering shipped chicks. Your best bet is always to find ones that are closest to you and order when temperatures are warm and mild for your ship dates. Of course your local feed store can do the ordering for you lots of times, and getting whatever thye have on hand is fine too! But sometime you may want something specific and have to go out there and find it yourself... if so, don't be discouraged.

While what happened, happens.... it's not "common" by any means.

and

 

[D Bar J Acres]

I ordered for the first time from McMurray's in February and had my order of Black Stars and Buff Brahma Bantams shipped to me in WI (cold!). They arrived healthy, 1 DOA, 1 died w/in a few hours. The other 23 are healthy, growthy, beautiful birds. I'm thrilled with my McMurray birds.

I've ordered from a few other hatcheries and can't say the same for those.

 

[thekla]

I got my order from McMurry in one day shipping (Iowa to Oregon) my order for 25 plus one free ''rare" - I got 27 ALL fine and healthy - I also bought some from local farm stores and lost 2 within a day - so sometimes the distance isn't the only factor - and yeah the box looks tiny - but they need to stay warm and remember that they just hactched out of even tinier shells so being packed tightly together is probably somewhat familiar and reassuring to them at that point?

 

[Isabella]

I got all chicks safe and sound from McMurray Hatchery and they were in a smaller box than they have shipped to me before, but included in my shipment were suppose to be 8 Ameraucana pullets and 4 of them turned out to be roosters. I was so disappointed and contacted McMurray and they told me they only guarantee their sexing 90%, but if I wanted a refund for anything over that I would have to call customer service. I just placed an order with Cackle Hatchery for 15 Ameraucana pullets and I'm hoping they turn out to be pullets this time.