Chicks shipped today, but tracking # shows they won’t arrive until Friday!

[ChickenLittle5]

Cackle Hatchery shipped our chicks today. When I click on the tracking #, the USPS is showing expected delivery by Friday, May 1. Is this typical? Surely, a hatchery wouldn’t ship live chicks in a manner that would take 5 days! Please tell me this is a bogus tracking status. How long does it usually take for chicks to arrive after shipment from Cackle? It is an 11-12 hr drive from my house to Cackle Hatchery. I realize the mail doesn’t go in a straight line, but 5 days??

 

[CindyinSD]

I've ordered from Cackle several times. The tracking estimates have always been off. They ship first thing in the morning. I've never failed to get them in two days but the tracking numbers always cause me a mild panic. Call them--they'll give you a better idea. Very nice people to deal with ime.

 

[ChickenLittle5]

I've ordered from Cackle several times. The tracking estimates have always been off. They ship first thing in the morning. I've never failed to get them in two days but the tracking numbers always cause me a mild panic. Call them--they'll give you a better idea. Very nice people to deal with ime.

Thank you for easing my mind. When I first saw that date I assumed it was wrong. After I thought about it....I started worrying COVID-19 might be impacting the dates and I was starting to stress over it.

 

[CindyinSD]

Yeah, I don't blame you at all. Shipping baby chicks seems like such a dicey thing, but IME the PO tends to be nicer to them than they are to eggs.

 

[TheChickenHole]

Cackle Hatchery shipped our chicks today. When I click on the tracking #, the USPS is showing expected delivery by Friday, May 1. Is this typical? Surely, a hatchery wouldn’t ship live chicks in a manner that would take 5 days! Please tell me this is a bogus tracking status. How long does it usually take for chicks to arrive after shipment from Cackle? It is an 11-12 hr drive from my house to Cackle Hatchery. I realize the mail doesn’t go in a straight line, but 5 days??

Mine arrived 1 day earlier then expected and the shipping took 3 days.

 

[ChickenLittle5]

Good news...the chicks arrived today! Well, they were going to arrive at my local post office tomorrow, but when I tracked the package I saw they were sitting at the post office in the neighboring county (the local distribution USPS). Instead of letting them sit there over night, I drove 20 mins and picked them up there. We could hear them chirping when we arrived.

 

[BaaKaaawk]

Good news...the chicks arrived today! Well, they were going to arrive at my local post office tomorrow, but when I tracked the package I saw they were sitting at the post office in the neighboring county (the local distribution USPS). Instead of letting them sit there over night, I drove 20 mins and picked them up there. We could hear them chirping when we arrived.

Great news. Yes it is always funny picking up chicks at the PO and hearing them. The workers typically enjoy them from what I have heard.

 

[bluemtnwmn]

Cackle Hatchery shipped our chicks today. When I click on the tracking #, the USPS is showing expected delivery by Friday, May 1. Is this typical? Surely, a hatchery wouldn’t ship live chicks in a manner that would take 5 days! Please tell me this is a bogus tracking status. How long does it usually take for chicks to arrive after shipment from Cackle? It is an 11-12 hr drive from my house to Cackle Hatchery. I realize the mail doesn’t go in a straight line, but 5 days??

I also ordered from Cackle Hatchery and they do indeed ship Priority mail and not Express (which is a 2 day guarantee). My chicks were shipped on 4/15 and arrived on 4/17 but there were some issues with the USPS tracking system and I had to call them, which is why I know how they were shipped. The USPS person was appalled that they were shipped Priority mail. I will also say that my chicks arrived on time and very healthy.

 

[ChickenLittle5]

Great news. Yes it is always funny picking up chicks at the PO and hearing them. The workers typically enjoy them from what I have heard.

I too think the postal workers enjoy them. When I told the man we were there to pickup the chicks, the lady working the other counter said, “oh, those are probably the ones Bob had up here a second ago.” I’m glad the workers enjoy them. It is less likely they’ll get lost in the back corner of a warehouse!

I also ordered from Cackle Hatchery and they do indeed ship Priority mail and not Express (which is a 2 day guarantee). My chicks were shipped on 4/15 and arrived on 4/17 but there were some issues with the USPS tracking system and I had to call them, which is why I know how they were shipped. The USPS person was appalled that they were shipped Priority mail. I will also say that my chicks arrived on time and very healthy.

Interesting. I assumed the USPS would have a mandatory method for shipping chicks. I would hope they wouldn’t accept a package of live chicks if they were shipped in a manner that might be too slow! But then again, I posted my original question because USPS had an anticipated delivery of Friday, so nothing surprises me. Glad your chicks arrived healthy! I‘m expecting another shipment from Cackle this week and plan to drive to the other post office again to get them ASAP.

 

[CindyinSD]

As far as I know, all the hatcheries ship priority. I'll bet express is awfully expensive.