Disappointed with Metzer's

[pekinduck<3er]

Well Said!

 

[chicken_boy_Kurt]

It is NoT Metzers fault they were in transit two days. USPS does not promise next day delivery on express live bird shipments, period, end. They can take as long as 2 days, and in very rare cases it can be three. This is standard practice for USPS live bird shipments. Metzers could have charged you for special handling it wouldn't change the fact that USPS doesn't promise over night. Be glad you can pay so little in shipping fees to get a box of live ducklings. If the USPS chooses to not ship live birds your option will be Delta dash live animal cargo and it can be $250-350 per box with major restrictions on age (nothing day old) and limit on how many per container can be sent. Newly hatched they are living on the yolks and do not require food, so two days is very adequate timeline. Grogel can be added to the box for peace of mind, and I do highly reccomend it. As a licensed and inspected hatchery all you need is your purchase receipt and their NPIP number.
Testing is part of showing birds, most states offer NPIP for free though, so be sure to double check with yours. They come to you, so you don't have to goto a vets office and pay an office fee plus testing fees.

I did not know that about shipping. I thought they tried to make it next day. I still would have preferred them arriving next-day, but I understand now.

It costs $15 to test three ducks for AI in PA. So it gets expensive.

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

Have you contacted the PA NPIP program manager? Most NPIP programs test for free so I would start there.

As far as shipping, I would love same day delivery when we send birds, but it isn't an option for a reasonable price. So the complaint lies with the shipping service not the shipper (be it a private breeder or hatchery). If you want them to arrive quicker, you buy from a hatchery closer. This still won't always be the case though. I had a box say it would be two day from here (FL) to LA, and another to MT that was next day. It doesn't make sense until you learn how they are transported.

The closer the receiver is to a major hub the faster they arrive. The more remote the more likely you can't get birds delivered in a timely manor. Some locations won't even handle live birds so shipping is not an option. We had to send a box to a Post office address and have customers drive to get them because the hub that handled the buyers mail wouldn't accept live birds. So we hubbed them through another spot and got them as close as possible so they could drive to pick up. I can spend hours on the phone with our PO hub at the airport planning shipments so we get them sent at the right time of day and with the least lay over time. Sometimes I will get bumped for, a shipment because of dry ice on a flight. I won't send birds anyway other than express mail, never priority like some breeders and hatcheries offer. To me it isn't worth the chance the box could be further delayed. There is a HUGE difference in delivery time lines from Priority to Express. You can ask your PO about it as well. Priority says normally 2-3 days but they don't promise this. So again a risk the buyer/seller has to be willing to take.

Hope that helps understand why isn't always a next day, even though we would all love it to be.

 

[chicken_boy_Kurt]

Have you contacted the PA NPIP program manager? Most NPIP programs test for free so I would start there.
As far as shipping, I would love same day delivery when we send birds, but it isn't an option for a reasonable price. So the complaint lies with the shipping service not the shipper (be it a private breeder or hatchery). If you want them to arrive quicker, you buy from a hatchery closer. This still won't always be the case though. I had a box say it would be two day from here (FL) to LA, and another to MT that was next day. It doesn't make sense until you learn how they are transported.
The closer the receiver is to a major hub the faster they arrive. The more remote the more likely you can't get birds delivered in a timely manor. Some locations won't even handle live birds so shipping is not an option. We had to send a box to a Post office address and have customers drive to get them because the hub that handled the buyers mail wouldn't accept live birds. So we hubbed them through another spot and got them as close as possible so they could drive to pick up. I can spend hours on the phone with our PO hub at the airport planning shipments so we get them sent at the right time of day and with the least lay over time. Sometimes I will get bumped for, a shipment because of dry ice on a flight. I won't send birds anyway other than express mail, never priority like some breeders and hatcheries offer. To me it isn't worth the chance the box could be further delayed. There is a HUGE difference in delivery time lines from Priority to Express. You can ask your PO about it as well. Priority says normally 2-3 days but they don't promise this. So again a risk the buyer/seller has to be willing to take.
Hope that helps understand why isn't always a next day, even though we would all love it to be.

In PA, a licensed poultry technician comes to your farm and takes the required samples. They usually charge a small fee for gas and time, however my friend's mom does it for free. Then either the technician or I will take it to a lab to get the samples tested. The lab charges 15c per blood sample (for chickens) and $15 per tube (three swab samples) of cloaca swabs (waterfowl).