Getting eggs posted

[Irishhenman]

Hi, I live in Ireland. I have been reading a lot on here about people getting chicks posted to them. Here in Ireland we never get chicks posted and none of the hatcheries would do it. We usually buy hens at point of lay. Most of the time at poultry sales and markets that are on Sunday mornings. Is posting live animals not cruel.

edit
sorry the title should be getting chicks posted

 

[tastybabies]

In harsh weather it can be, very cold or hot weather can hurt them if theyre exposed. They try to do their best so that every chick makes it though, a lot ive heard of try to do next day mail to limit the time theyre being handled. It's definately not something for someone unexperienced to do. And pray they dont get left at a post office over a weekend.

 

[Fred's Hens]

In small countries, the distances allow for somewhat easier movement of chicks/eggs. In a country the size of Canada, Australia or the US, the land mass is large enough to fit all of Europe, basically.

Thus the need to move and distribute chicks via the postal system. A freshly hatched chick does not require food or water for 48 hours. The theory is that newly hatched chicks can be shipped, if the time frame doesn't drag on too long. With growing inefficiencies, this isn't always possible today, so it seems. Yet millions and millions of chicks are successfully shipped and distributed throughout the world employing these methods.

Extreme cold or extreme heat should be avoided when shipping chicks, but human nature is such that sellers get a bit greedy and buyers are always over anxious and in a hurry. Shrug