Lavender Orpington project ....

[wilds of pa]

If you look about this site there a few that do this.. guess some have to learn the hard way..

even with express Ive had full grown birds take 3 days max and the deal was next day to some of these location,
most are second day though from my experience shipping express..

 

[CityChicker]

Thank you all again for the encouraging comments. I'm so glad to know that my perceptions about this deal were not off. They were shipped Express, Danny, and surprisingly they only took one day to get here. I mentioned that on my other thread too. That is the funny thing, this is the first shipment in a few years that we have had shipped by Express and got the next day and the birds arrived in worse shape than ever (Express and Priority both seem to always take exactly two days to get here). That initially made me think that something else unusual happened in addition to the age of the chicks.

Anyway, to reiterate, I really hope they learn the lesson about shipping juveniles/chicks like this. It is illegal for a reason. I never would have agreed to chicks over a day old or different ages. Unfortunately, I have seen a few sellers recently advertising that they are shipping chicks from 1-3 weeks old. I just don't understand the incentive for doing that. Chicks in that phase of development just cannot tolerate going off food and water. I am tearing up even thinking about what those chicks suffered. I still also really question what happened that so many died. I know some losses should be expected when shipping birds that age, but 9 dead out of 14? They had to have either been in awful shape to begin with or something additional happened along the way. It all just makes me question exactly how long they really did not have food and water and what the whole story is about the chicks (when they hatched, etc...).

 

[akpeeps]

Hi everyone...thought I'd let you see how my project babies are looking. "A" hatch chicks are 4 weeks old today. "B" hatch chicks are 12 days old. I can't believe how fast they're growing. I'm moving all of them to a pen in the garage tomorrow. They've been trading spaces for almost two weeks now. I never know who I'm going to find in which brooder when I go in there.

"A" chicks

"B" chicks

One of the older kids with the babies...

 

[CityChicker]

Hey Everyone...

So, with mixed feelings, I think my situation with Greenfire is resolved as good as it's going to get. I awoke to a refund from Paypal for the amount of the chicks that had died as of yesterday. For that, I am thankful. I think they knew they were in the wrong and that was the best decision. I had asked them in email to please put themselves in my shoes and imagine how they would expect it to be handled if they were the buyer.

A short time later, I received a one line email from them stating, "Please confirm you received your refund. Thanks." That's all. No apology for making me wait two months for the chicks when they said two weeks. No apology for the heartache they have caused. No apology for sending older chicks of mixed age. Nothing. Nada. Not even a signature on the email. I have to say that stuns me a little. I guess we all weren't raised in the same manner, but whatever.... At least, they refunded for the chicks that had died up to that point.

The sad news is another chick died yesterday. They are a world better than the near death shape they arrived in. I was kind of surprised to lose one more since they have been doing so much better. The older two chicks seem to be doing great at this point. It is just the three younger chicks that are still a little sluggish and not as active as "normal" chicks. What's done is done. The only thing I am still left wondering is if I should send a couple of the chicks to the State Vet's office for disease screening and necropsy. I am not sure how necessary that might be as there age alone would eliminate several diseases. I really think they were simply too old to ship, were starved and dehydrated to death, and/or exposed to harsh conditions in transit.

Any further thoughts anyone has to share would be welcome. Thanks, everyone. I have to say this has been really hard and I am starting to cry writing this. I don't normally act like this over chicks, but I had been looking forward to these for so long. It is just so sad what they suffered. These people should be ashamed.

 

[wilds of pa]

look at there eyes if super bright they are healthy , id think what happened was possible pile up in the box more than likely caused the deaths.. or they caught a good Chile along the line esp for only one day out, leaning towards pile up

Just continue to care for and love your babies that are still thriving..

 

[CityChicker]

Thank you. I would have normally thought pile up was an issue as well, but we split them into two brooders when we got them because the size difference was so obvious. That and the ones that died in the box were older ones, not younger ones. Who knows. It probably was just a combination of factors.

 

[ChooksChick]

If you can, send them off if you lose any more. Any that have died can bear some explanation if they are refrigerated, not frozen, soo after death, for up to a 5 day period, I think.

It's not worth the perpetual question of whether there's an underlying pathogenic cause here, and you'll know about whatever stress or dehydratioin, etc. that can be determined via necropsy.

I'm so sorry for all of this- it breaks a person's heart!

 

[CityChicker]

Quote:
Thank you. I was kind of thinking that as well. The last one is refrigerated, so we may do that. Thanks again.

 

[HallFamilyFarm]

Our state lab in Little Rock recieved a grant that allows them to offer free services to everyone. I would take it and have it checked.

 

[Beth G.]

Quote:
Thank you. I was kind of thinking that as well. The last one is refrigerated, so we may do that. Thanks again.

Hey I'm soo sorry about all of this. I hope you do have a chance to get the bird sent to the lab. Like Renee said at least you will know exactly what happened for peace of mind! Best of luck on the ones that are alive and I hope they can bring some joy and happiness to the situation!!
Take Care,
Beth