Is shipping proving too stressful for baby chicks?

[EggSighted4Life]

Does one HAVE to be NPIP certified in order to sell chicks?
There are hundreds of people selling chicks and chickens on craigslist in my city....
They can't possible be following the laws..they don't even know what they are selling..(breeds--looks like they pretty much guess a breed that is popular)

No not needed just to sell... only across state and county lines, then yes NPIP is required.

Aside from guessing a breed that is popular, they also take advantage of newbs who aren't familiar with what that breed chick SHOULD look like. Now they couldn't sell me a fake SFH because I have hatched and raised too many. I am able to identify quite a few breeds as chicks now. Anyways, a good $60 lesson!

 

[lazy gardener]

How did the feed store get them?

A privately owned feed store. I was considering getting them shipped, but I read a few articles about how it was cruel, so I decided to get them at a feed store.

Waiting for the answer to Kiki's question. In a perfect world, there would be plenty of reputable breeders in every area of the country so that folks could get their breeds locally. Unfortunately, even if there are local breeders of the breeds I want to raise, I lean towards purchasing hatchery stock b/c IMO, hatcheries put more emphasis on egg production, where many breeders are mostly concerned with the "looks" of the bird, and production is not part of the SOP.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

All good points. I personally prefer hatchery stock because I believe they are cleaner than breeder birds as far as potential diseases. I'm not knocking breeders, it's just my personal choice. I definitely agree they can better layers.

People always want to blame hatcheries for dead chicks. You as a buyer do bear some responsibility in that you need to pick a hatchery that is close and you need to wait until it's an appropriate time to ship in your area.

Hatcheries want you to be happy and they want their chicks to arrive alive and healthy.

The post office bears some responsibility too. They have become a bit slower in the last few years in getting chicks to their destination quickly.

I will continue to order from my favorite hatchery. If done correctly it is not cruel. All chicks hatched under a hen will sit under their mom while waiting while all eggs hatch, so chicks are designed to sit in the dark with their siblings and not eat for 2-3 days.

You as the purchaser just need to make sure there are enough of them to stay warm in the box and that external temperatures aren't a big factor.

 

[Ridgerunner]

All good points. I personally prefer hatchery stock because I believe they are cleaner than breeder birds as far as potential diseases. I'm not knocking breeders, it's just my personal choice. I definitely agree they can better layers.

People always want to blame hatcheries for dead chicks. You as a buyer do bear some responsibility in that you need to pick a hatchery that is close and you need to wait until it's an appropriate time to ship in your area.

Hatcheries want you to be happy and they want their chicks to arrive alive and healthy.

The post office bears some responsibility too. They have become a bit slower in the last few years in getting chicks to their destination quickly.

I will continue to order from my favorite hatchery. If done correctly it is not cruel. All chicks hatched under a hen will sit under their mom while waiting while all eggs hatch, so chicks are designed to sit in the dark with their siblings and not eat for 2-3 days.

You as the purchaser just need to make sure there are enough of them to stay warm in the box and that external temperatures aren't a big factor.

One additional responsibility – the Airline. Many hatchery chicks are transported by air, maybe even most hatchery chicks. It’s not always the hatchery or post office at fault in how they are handled when you have problems. It could be airport baggage handlers.

I agree that it is not too stressful on shipped chicks when they are handled properly. The vast number of shipped chicks are handled responsibly all down the line. But like any industry that has tens of thousands of employees you will occasionally get one you’d rather not deal with. And sometimes the weather messes everything up. That’s not really anyone’s fault. No one knows what the weather will be when the eggs go into the incubator.

 

[lazy gardener]

Quote: You stated what I was reluctant to say, but... yeah, there's that also!!!

 

[RAsChickens]

Yes, the feed store got them shipped

 

[Kiki]

Yes, the feed store got them shipped

So....you could have just ordered them directly from the hatchery huh?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

The difference is the feed store removes any sick or dead ones that arrived in the order so the customer doesn't have to.

 

[Abronsyth]

Most adult chickens will have lice on them, that is perfectly normal. What is abnormal is the lice becoming overpopulated to the point where you are able to easily see them and they are becoming detrimental to the bird. This only tends to happen when the bird's immune system has already been compromised.

Day old chicks generally should not have many lice on them, if any (of course hatcheries tend to house several thousand birds at once and lice can and do travel to find a host). As unlikely as it would be, I would have to imagine the chicks picked up the lice somewhere aside from the hatchery. Cannot imagine where from, though.

The time of shipping and what actions are taken upon arrival are very, very important to chick health. Shipping does and should not have to be cruel. A huge amount of animals are shipped, and the vast majority of them arrive safe and sound. It is all about taking the precautions to make sure they ship safely and securely, and making sure they receive proper treatment as soon as they arrive.

Remember, hatcheries do not want their chicks to arrive unsafely, because then they lose money and clients. That is why pretty much all hatcheries offer a refund or replacement if you have any chicks DOA. This is also because they do not expect to have high mortality rates when shipping. So if something did go wrong it may be more important to consider how the chicks were handled by the shipping company, and what the weather was like in every place between yourself and the hatchery.


Did you contact Meyer at all after you found chicks DOA?



((edited to clarify what I meant by lice being normal))

 

[EggSighted4Life]

All chickens will have lice on them, that is perfectly normal. What is abnormal is the lice becoming overpopulated to the point where you are able to easily see them and they are becoming detrimental to the bird. This only tends to happen when the bird's immune system has already been compromised.

The time of shipping and what actions are taken upon arrival are very, very important to chick health. Shipping does and should not have to be cruel. A huge amount of animals are shipped, and the vast majority of them arrive safe and sound. It is all about taking the precautions to make sure they ship safely and securely, and making sure they receive proper treatment as soon as they arrive.

Remember, hatcheries do not want their chicks to arrive unsafely, because then they lose money and clients. That is why pretty much all hatcheries offer a refund or replacement if you have any chicks DOA. This is also because they do not expect to have high mortality rates when shipping. So if something did go wrong it may be more important to consider how the chicks were handled by the shipping company, and what the weather was like in every place between yourself and the hatchery.


Did you contact Meyer at all after you found chicks DOA?

There is NO reason a newly hatched chick from an incubator/hatchery should have lice on it period. IMHO

I do agree that they do what they can to avoid high mortality rates.

It's also true that my broody didn't take her chicks out for a couple of days & I coaxed her out.