pastrymama - So sorry, I should have responded, thanks for asking! YES! They made it ALIVE! All of them! We can't believe it.
THE SHORT STORY - They finally arrived, they are all doing great, a few possible pasty butts yesterday, no surprise, dealt with it, but tonight all are sound asleep, dispersed through the brooder, no pasty butts. Just vigorous, normal chicks. ALL asleep right now, all over the brooder (a first, all asleep). Hooray!
THE SLIGHTLY LONGER STORY - The breeder and I were both angry and on the USPS and FedEx for 2.5 days with no information after they were "in an unknown location", then they suddenly appeared in Phoenix. My pesty-ness, and tenaciousness with the main PO here (got to be on 1st name basis with someone on each shift) inspired them to call me as soon as they arrived in Tucson (I was a pain, I am sure they wanted to shut me up). At 1:15 AM Thursday I drove to pick up my screaming, cold chicks, who survived Memphis storms after shipping from TX Mon. morning (Xpress OVERNIGHT!), blasted them with heat in the car, brought them home, put them under a lamp and a ceramic space heater blowing on the brooder, fed them warm scrambled eggs, crumbles, warm slightly sugared and vitamined water, and watched them for about an hour and a half. Once all were drinking, eating, stretching, preening and pooping, I slept for a couple of hours before checking in again. All ok. The woman who shipped them did a great job: they were well packed, well provisioned from egg yolk( healthy, happy hens) to gel in the box, and she helped lean on the USPS and FedEx to find them - well, OK, we had no luck with the "tracking" and finding, they just finally appeared. At least we were thorns in their sides!
What a relief!
