Has anyone received shipped adult birds?

[Squeak61]

I am the one that ships. I was just curious about the transit. Last time I shipped a couple 12 hours away (if I drive them) which took two days. (Sigh) It was in March though so the temps were decent. As far as "packaging", you can only do so much.

Ah I see. Two days isn’t too bad, chicks usually have a harder time with that than adults. Packaging absolutely makes a difference. The box you use, the food or pack thereof that you package them with, all of that is important.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

Ah I see. Two days isn’t too bad, chicks usually have a harder time with that than adults. Packaging absolutely makes a difference. The box you use, the food or pack thereof that you package them with, all of that is important.

The boxes used are those approved by the postal system and you only have a couple of options, so that is what I meant by you can only do so much as far as packaging. Your also limited as far as food; anything you put in there will eventually dry out and or be covered in poop. So, if they end up delayed in transit they very well could die of thirst since they are not allowed to be fed or watered by the postal employees. Chicks usually have an easier time since they don't have a need to eat or drink during that shipping time whereas an adult could become overheated or dehydrated pretty quickly. I'd say chicks do better during warmer temps and adults do better during cooler temps.

 

[Squeak61]

The boxes used are those approved by the postal system and you only have a couple of options, so that is what I meant by you can only do so much as far as packaging. Your also limited as far as food; anything you put in there will eventually dry out and or be covered in poop. So, if they end up delayed in transit they very well could die of thirst since they are not allowed to be fed or watered by the postal employees. Chicks usually have an easier time since they don't have a need to eat or drink during that shipping time whereas an adult could become overheated or dehydrated pretty quickly. I'd say chicks do better during warmer temps and adults do better during cooler temps.

Oh, I see what you mean. With the food thing, I’ve had adult birds shipped with nothing, and then the one I just got had a cup of watermelon zip tied to the box. Worked awesome. Its delayed transit that in general is just a recipe for disaster. I agree; chicks in warm, adults in cold. I meant that when I’ve had chicks in delayed transit, the small box was handled rough and they didn’t make it, they’re at a bit more delicate age. Post office errors are the worst.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

Absolutely. If I worked for the post office I'd have a hard time not interfering with delayed or misrouted living animals as far as food and water goes. I've read that if they get misrouted to a hub that isn't supposed to handle animals they aren't allowed to get them back on track. The sender is notified and the animals are allowed to perish. I hope that isn't true

 

[Trish1974]

Just thought I would update this thread with my shipping experience. As terrified I was about shipping birds, I bit the bullet and purchased two 10 month old Araucana pullets from Jason Fishbein, the president of the Araucana Club. They were dropped off at the post office in Philadelphia PA at 12:30 P.M. Monday and arrived at my local post office at 5:20 A.M. this morning. That was 42 hours in a small box by the time I got them home. They arrived just fine, had good color and was alert. They didn't binge on food and water right away like I thought they would, but rather just stood still and looked around for about 2 hours. I'd imagine that was a pretty traumatic 42 hours! I could tell the box was handled with care, so much so there was an unbroken present at the bottom for me :

Shipping charges were of course outrageous. $67 for Priority Express, $10 for the box, then so much for the weight of the chickens... $87 just in shipping charges. But when you want rare breeds, that's the price you have to pay (literally)to get good stock. USPS tracking alerts was a joke! They don't keep their system updated. I didn't get any updates from the time they left PA until the time they arrived.

Overall it was a good experience. I would do it again.