Bad Hatchery Experience

[h2oratt]

I have never ordered baby chicks before. I’ve always been a Tractor Supply buyer. This year I wanted colored egg layers which our local TSC didn’t have. I did some looking and decided to order from Hoover’s (the Hatchery which supplies our TSC). Out of 18 chicks I have lost 6 so far. 4 seemed very lethargic when I picked up my shipment and they ended up dying yesterday evening. One more passed before I went to bed and I found another first thing this morning.

I have shown them to their food and water. Some still are very “tired” and don’t show much interest. I put save a chick electrolytes in their water to give them a boost after their long transit. Is there anything else I can do?? Is this how it goes? Did I do something wrong??

I don’t know of a place that will only ship 18 chicks in early March. Doesn’t seem good, did they put in heat packs?

 

[LulaBell]

Your chicks are going to outgrow that brooder in a couple of weeks. Be prepared to move them.

I agree with @A_Fowl_Guy to reposition your heat source.

One of my chicks had been pecked and was bleeding at the top of her beak on arrival from the hatchery. She was clearly the weakest. It took 3 days for my chicks to arrive.

I supported the weak chick with daily nutri-drench and cooked egg throughout the first three days. I also fermented my chick starter so they greedily gobbled it up. She caught up to the others in about a week.

The little weak chick grew up to be second in command in my flock.
View attachment 1704821

A beautiful girl you have there

 

[LulaBell]

I don’t know of a place that will only ship 18 chicks in early March. Doesn’t seem good, did they put in heat packs?

No heat packs. I guess it was a poor assumption on my part to think they would be packaged with some sort of nutrition and heat. Considering the fragile cargo, one would think they would take precautions. They were put in a cardboard box with a bit of this straw packing stuff.

As of this morning, I have lost 9 of 18 ordered. I think I should have done A LOT more research before ordering chicks. I feel partly responsible for them not making it, I should have better recognized the situation as not ideal.

 

[flygirl1973]

@joydix thank you, I didn’t know any of that. And I also assumed there would be a heat pack in with the box. Silly me that people should value life. This is not the forum to preach, but I’d rather my animals have a great life and one bad day when they go to the freezer. Just cuz they’re a food source doesn’t mean you have to be cruel. Sorry, I’ll quit now. Well see how many dead chicks I get, pretty nervous now.

 

[ThracianHorse]

No heat packs. I guess it was a poor assumption on my part to think they would be packaged with some sort of nutrition and heat. Considering the fragile cargo, one would think they would take precautions. They were put in a cardboard box with a bit of this straw packing stuff.

As of this morning, I have lost 9 of 18 ordered. I think I should have done A LOT more research before ordering chicks. I feel partly responsible for them not making it, I should have better recognized the situation as not ideal.

As others have pointed out, time of year can have everything to do with chick survival. I order well above the 25 chick minimum, and I still will not request delivery for anything earlier than may.

As far as why no heat pack or nutrition... the chicks don't need food for the first three days of life. They are working on digesting the rest of the yolk. In the wild, this was a survival strategy that allowed for all the chicks to hatch before mom had to move them. If some hatched earlier than others, it was alright because they had a temporary built-in food source. This is why hatcheries are as successful as they are shipping chicks all around the country. No heat pack is a different answer... if the birds are in transit, a heat pack is something that can easily come unsecured, or the box can be tipped such that the chicks can't escape the heat, or the simple crush of chicks can trap chicks over the heat source... And is something else that could be damaged, or worse, punctured by USPS. This is generally why only straw bedding is included. While I would like to think that USPS treats shipped chicks like fragile things, other than the Postmaster-lady who receives them for me at my local USPS office, I have yet to see any of them demonstrate any level of intelligence in assessing what exactly "LIVE CHICKS. FRAGILE!" means.

 

[flygirl1973]

Got them this morning and all appear to be healthy or at least for now alive!

Size of the box relationship, and they’re all under the heater platform

This is how they were shipped for those of us new, I for some reason thought it would be a bigger box. They have room to spare since they’re all clambered on top of each other. This pic was supposed t go first.

 

[LulaBell]

View attachment 1709147 Got them this morning and all appear to be healthy or at least for now alive!
View attachment 1709151
Size of the box relationship, and they’re all under the heater platform
View attachment 1709149
This is how they were shipped for those of us new, I for some reason thought it would be a bigger box. They have room to spare since they’re all clambered on top of each other. This pic was supposed t go first.

This is exactly how mine came. 18 chicks in what looks to be the same size box you have in your pic. Ultimately I lost 10 of my 18 . I was refunded, which was nice. I would have preferred the chicks though

 

[flygirl1973]

@WeSt Tn, I just saw your post! It was Poultry Hollow located east of Nashville. Wish I would have caught this earlier. But so far (<24 hrs) they seem to be good. Can I ask what the name of your hatchery is?

 

[WeSt Tn]

I haven't decided if I will go with Cackle or Murray McMurray.

 

[ThracianHorse]

I haven't decided if I will go with Cackle or Murray McMurray.

For what it's worth, I had a good experience with Cackle, but I ordered ducks, turkeys, and goslings. I lost two of the six poults I ordered, but they were professional about refunding them. I have since learned turkey poults for whatever reason seem to be a bit more fragile than chicken chicks and don't do nearly as well in shipping. Pretty sure the only reason they didn't survive is USPS mishandling. The ducks and goslings though arrived just fine and were a handful from the get-go.