How do I ship day old ducklings through the mail?

[bwalden]

I've never hatched ducks before but I know with chicks you have about 3 or 4 days to ship them after hatch. They absorb enough of the remaining egg yolk to last them during shipping. My last batch of chicks shipped when they were 24 hours old then took 2 days to reach me though the post office. All were doing great when they reached me. I may be wrong but I can't imagine ducks would be that much different. Almost all the hatcheries sell baby ducks as well and I know USPS isnt going to get them here any quicker than they do the baby chickens.

If you've ever ordered poultry from a hatchery they ship them in a box with lots of holes in the top and sides for air. They also use some nest type material. it's not hay or straw. Almost looks like it's made of wood. Anyway they line the box with this material because air can still flow through it. Not really sure where you could purchase some of this stuff. You might call some hatcheries and see where they purchase theirs from or perhaps they could sale you some.

 

[ducksarefun]

Any info on shipping fertilized duck eggs? I imagine it would be less complicated.

 

[pips&peeps]

You can't ship just two ducklings, they will freeze and die.

 

[Beautiful]

I have 2 incubators. One with a egg turner and one for the last 3 days of incubation.

I have 2 female and one male. The females lay each 1 egg a day so I add two eggs to the first incubator, while I take out two to place in the other one. I timed it exactly to put two in and take two out... I also made a homemade one out of a styrofoam cooler and a heat lamp... I have a kids pool in the garage lined with cat litter and heat lamp for a brooder...

We were being over loaded with duck eggs everywhere and the ducks werent having any luck.. They had like 80+ eggs in their bin sitting day and night for over 2 months but none were hatching... I think it was just to many eggs for 2 ducks to sit on. I put an add on craigslist just to see if I could sell some if I incubated them and I got calls and texts and emails for tons of orders all the way from March - May. I had to stop taking orders. Most of the orders that have been ordered the ducks havent even layed yet. but I let the people know when their hatch date would be and they are willing to wait...

So if I cant just send 2, how many can I send for them to not die?.. Should I add a hand warmer packet in the box?... Is a shoe box size good if I cut holes in it?

 

[pips&peeps]

No, you cannot use a shoe box, you must use an approved shipping box.

No,you cannot use a hand warmer, they get too hot.

Most of the hatcheries have a minimum of 10 ducklins per order. They all have to hatch and be shipped out within 24 hours.

 

[Beautiful]

 

[RaeRae2]

I would not attempt this feat until thoroughly reading and understanding poultry shipping rules set forth by the USPS. To my knowledge, only the USPS will ship live poultry. You cannot use a shoe box with holes punched in it because the box has to be specially designed so it does not get crushed or double stacked. Also, the USPS has requirements that the shipping boxes must meet. McMurray hatchery has a You Tube video explaining why the special poultry shipping boxes are designed like they are. They are angled so that other boxes don't get pushed flush up against them and block the air holes, and they are very rigid and reinforced so they cannot be crushed.

http://pe.usps.com/text/pub52/pub52c5_007.htm

http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/chick_shipping_boxes.html

McMurray says they can ship as few as 2 ducks but they pack them with a special heat pack. The packs they use are designed to last 72 hours. These are not standard hand warmers. Standard hand warmers last 8-12 hours. If they don't ship with the heat packs, then their minimum is 10 ducklings.

 

[nickie]

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but doesn't shipped poultry have to be certified clean for a few diseases or illnesses by a governing body before you can ship it? Especially if it is across state lines? I don't know for a fact, but I remember hearing or reading it somewhere.

 

[Beautiful]

I would not attempt this feat until thoroughly reading and understanding poultry shipping rules set forth by the USPS. To my knowledge, only the USPS will ship live poultry. You cannot use a shoe box with holes punched in it because the box has to be specially designed so it does not get crushed or double stacked. Also, the USPS has requirements that the shipping boxes must meet. McMurray hatchery has a You Tube video explaining why the special poultry shipping boxes are designed like they are. They are angled so that other boxes don't get pushed flush up against them and block the air holes, and they are very rigid and reinforced so they cannot be crushed.

http://pe.usps.com/text/pub52/pub52c5_007.htm

http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/chick_shipping_boxes.html

McMurray says they can ship as few as 2 ducks but they pack them with a special heat pack. The packs they use are designed to last 72 hours. These are not standard hand warmers. Standard hand warmers last 8-12 hours. If they don't ship with the heat packs, then their minimum is 10 ducklings.

Thank You So Much For This Info...... This helps me soooooo much......

Lauren

 

[Beautiful]

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but doesn't shipped poultry have to be certified clean for a few diseases or illnesses by a governing body before you can ship it? Especially if it is across state lines? I don't know for a fact, but I remember hearing or reading it somewhere.

Not sure about an of this... Mine are just going from south texas to central texas