CACKLE HATCHERY A BIG NO-NO!!!!!

[HenAddiction]

Well all of the post offices are closed and I do not have my girls. I was on the phone for many many hours today trying to locate them. The person named Sandy at Cackle has been very compassionate but they still can't do anything now that they have sent them out. I wonder why they tell me there is no tracking number and yet the post office tells me that the ONLY way to ship live animals is "express" shipping. ( makes since to me ....?) then the post office tells me that express shipping has a tracking number. At Cackle, another not so nice lady tells me that they don't use tracking numbers because it doesn't actually track the location just the departure and arrival and nothing in between. Who do I believe? I know one thing for sure, if they are not here tomorrow they will not survive through till Monday. My local post office has been very thoughtful and I know I can count on them to call as soon as they have them.

I don't care at this point who is to blame, I only know that this whole process of shipping birds is not in their best interests. I hope that those out there considering ordering from a hatchery can find one 1) nearer in location 2) reputable 3.) with compassionate customer service that can handle issues competently. I have never ordered from a hatchery and admit to being pretty new at all of this so I wasn't fully aware of the problems that could and have arose. The only reason why I didn't place my order with Murray was because the birds I was looking for they didn't have at that time. What a huge mistake. I understand that not everyone has had an issue with Cackle and I am thankful for that. Like I said, I can't say I know who is to "blame " for my girls being missing... the hatchery or the post office? I only wish that some of the ladies at Cackle were more understanding and not so rude.

My husband wants to let PETA know about this. If it is the post offices' fault, it needs to be corrected and they should be more careful with these little lives. This has made for one crappy day.

Thanks everyone... I will post when they come.

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

Quote:
Dont let the P word know about this. They might cause a big stir, and there goes shipping birds and chicks.

Baby chicks can be shipped by either priority or express. Cackle guarantees 100% live delivery.

 

[fullhouse]

Chicks are shipped priority mail with delivery confirmation unless you pay for express. Priority shows delivery only. If they shipped when they were supposed to the post office is to blame. I have never ordered from Cackle, but every big hatchery ships that way.

 

[PoultryPedia]

Prio Mail doesn't have a GUARANTEED delivery time, so I imagine technically you can't "reprimand" the post office in any official sense. But I do believe the post office needs to be VERY CONSCIENTIOUS with shipments of live animals. I don't know how to best encourage that...
I very much hope your chicks are well upon arrival. If you haven't already thought of it, you might consider adding a little sugar and vitamins and electrolytes (not minerals) to their drinking water when they arrive, to give their little bodies extra support.

 

[mtnhomechick]

I think from now on I'm just going to order from Murray Mc. I've never ever heard a bad thing about that hatchery. I had decent enough experience with Cackle but I have read too much on these forums about them.

The best bet is to try and get them from a local farm supply store if at all possible.

Gosh...........I hope you get them. Please let us all know.

 

[vicki2x2]

What they are telling you is true. All hatcheries ship priority mail and even when I have been given a tracking number, no one scans priority mail until it reaches it's destination. This has nothing to do with Cackle, they have no control over the P.O. and it is not uncommon for chicks to take this long.

I understand your panic over your chicks, I was the same way, but I think you should be careful about blaming Cackle so quickly and publicly. If they did something wrong it would be more understandable but you open yourself up to slander charges. Especially in this case, where they had no control over this.

Now for our story, like everyone elses! We ordered from Cackle last year and while our order was delayed due to something we wanted not hatching out enough, we had wonderful communication and the chicks were gorgeous. This year we ordered from two different hatcheries because they had what we needed. Also the one was closer, well known and mentioned often, we thought they would be easier on the chicks. NOPE! When they came from a farther distance, they were flown the majority of the way and arrived in 2 days. When they were closer (less than 6 hours by car) it took 3 1/2 days because, according to the P.O. they were trucked they whole way and can only go on "certain" trucks. We actually got two orders from Meyer because again, what we wanted wasn't hatching. The second time got delayed repeatedly and finally they sent it and basically sent what they had, not even close to what we ordered. Never called us, never told us, no letter, no invoice, nothing. Not happy about that.

The other hatchery, well known and mentioned here, I ordered geese from. I ordered 3 buffs, 2 females and 1 male. A friend ordered a pair of Embdens and an African. We asked they all be marked. They only marked the african, which was obvious anyway. I called to ask them to help me identify them and got the run around over and over, finally they put me through to the people who pack the boxes like I asked and they seemed to know less than I did!

So I raised my geese and one turned out to be a Embden and one died. So I was left with one lonely buff. My friend got a free embden from me, because I did not want embdens.

 

[LoneCowboy]

I've not heard much good about Cackle this year. I guess they didn't hire enough people and they are very stressed and short handed. Of course I've heard that chick sales are up 400% this year, and none of the hatcheries saw it coming. So that could be part of the problem. I've not heard anything bad about their birds however. I hear they have great birds, just really lousy customer service. It sounds like it's the same crabby lady in every case, and I'll bet it's the owner. Nobody else would keep a person like that around.

I do understand exactly how you feel. I ordered from Meyer and the Post Office let them sit in Ohio for 2 days. I lost 8 of them. I ordered again from them to see if that was just a bad Post Office day or if it would happened again. I'm happy to report that the next batch got here just fine and right on time.

I've ordered from MMH several times and have been really happy with them on every shipment. They get here fast and are all healthy. Ideal was pretty much the same, plus Meyer, Ideal and MMH all had EXCELLENT customer service so I see no need to ever buy from Cackle.

On a postive note for you, Post Offices actually works around the clock and on weekends. I've been called at 9 pm on a Sunday night from the sort center to pick up my birds. So if your local PO is on the look out, don't be surprised if you get a call on a day and time you least expect.

 

[vicki2x2]

Quote:
You must have missed the huge threads this spring when people were losing their entire orders of chicks. Thousands of chicks died and they had all been exposed to something that now escapes me........ Anyway, the point is, any hatchery can have problems. On a good note, I believe MM made good on all those chicks.

 

[shay20]

Even if the birds come to you in good health i pray they do, but we all know what my happen for being out so long, you should tell them that most of them died and demand your money back, most likely they will, sorry that happend to you .

 

[Mahonri]

When I got my chicks from McMurray, we got a call from the post office early on a Sunday morning verifying we were home and then a gal in a special little truck drove up and delivered the loud little chicks.

Unfortunately, 11 died within the first 6 days.... sickness of some kind.