How can 3 days be considered express shipping?!?

[EmAbTo48]

Ahh I am so sorry about your first experience with this! Like PP said I don't buy chicks between november-march because of the cold temperatures,bad weather causing delays and etc. I find local breeders and pick the chicks up myself. I just purchased 8 chicks locally lthat our breeds I can't even find in local hatcheries around here.

As for birds that we do buy from hatcheries (which are only our meat chicks) they come from a hatchery in our own state about 6 hours from us. Our AG store in town actually is the one that works with the hatchery and they have there own truck pick them up and they are brought to the AG store which then calls us and we go pick them up right away. Our AG stores truck picks them up and in the same day they are at the Store to be given out. We still usually will loose 1-2 out of 40 birds, but I LOVE that our AG store does this! We don't deal with any postal service crap.

Again, it is a bad deal you got. But an experience that many people go through! Look on craigslist, and local breeders I am sure you will find some in driving distance!

 

[tamtam84]

I am definitely feeling the same frustration at the moment. On Monday afternoon (when they should have been shipped out) My Pet Chicken called to say four of the eight breeds we wanted were unavailable and we had to make substitutions. Told them what we wanted, and they weren't shipped out until Tuesday afternoon from Ohio (I'm in MO) via USPS Express Mail. I thought for sure we'd get them today and have been in contact with the local post office. They just called me to say they were NOT on the truck today. The next truck comes tomorrow at noon and I just hope they are on that truck.

Last time the tracking # was updated was last night. They were in Chicago at 7pm. The guy at my post office said if they were in Chicago last night they should have definitely come today, so I'm getting really worried. Can't stop thinking about them being in a box in a truck and not at home under the heat lamp with food and water! If any of them are dead I think I'm going to freak out. I'm already dealing with two hens right now who are laying eggs internally and not looking good.

Most of the time chicken keeping is so great and rewarding, but times like this make me rethink it all. I hate it!