I've canceled subsequent orders after being shipped a 50 chick order on March 3rd. I don't buy any of this stuff concerning their going through regulatory bodies first. With all the feed back they've been given, their first obligation should be to their customers and the chicks themselves.
Never once have they contacted to me to determine if my order has experienced problems. When I contacted them they were not even in the smallest way interested in learning about the serious problems I've had with my chicks. They did not ask my name, ask for my order number or anything. They seemed to prefer getting me off the phone as quick as possible. They did quickly offer refund on any dead birds, but that doesn't even in the smallest way reimburse me for the time and expense in rearing them along the way. Nor does it address the gut wrenching experience of dispatching a cute cuddly chick who has come to look at you as their trusting care giver. I'd much prefer no reimbursement, but instead be provided some assurance that they appeared interested in determining what was going on with all these sick chicks. But NOTHING and I mean NOTHING. Think about it. It's common sense. If you own a hatchery and you receive unprecedented reports from customers that their chicks are falling like flies from a mystery illness what would the right thing to do be? For me, it would be to e-mail (they did solicit my e-mail address) all customers who received shipments within that block of time and inquire thorough a standardized form as to the condition of chicks ETC. They would not even necessarily have to advise people that their was a problem. They could do it under the guise of checking customer satisfaction. Then if customers had issues they could send a second form requesting details about the symptoms, type of birds affected and other pertinent information. This information could be INVALUABLE in determining the possible cause of the problem so it could be dealt with in the best possible way. But NOTHING, NOTHING, NOTHING. No inquiries whatsoever, even when when I called them. No matter how blindly supportive a person might be of MM Hatchery, there is no acceptable excuse for this. After my call to MM, it became so clear to me. It's MUCH, MUCH easier for them to bury their heads in the sand and offer two bucks back for each horrible death.
When an epidemic arises, epidemiological evidence is the key to determining cause and effect. Necropsies explain cause of death, but do not reveal what led to the chick becoming affected. That comes from crunching information concerning where the birds were hatched, who handled them, where they were shipped and many other factors. But to not attempt to determine which birds shipped across the U. S. have fallen ill and then investigate backwards is a clear and monumental dereliction of duty in my opinion. That's why I canceled my orders and would be very very hesitant to order from them again.
