McMurray's New Shipping Practices...has anyone heard about this?

[cocosandy]

Mrs. AK-Bird-Brain :

My experience with MMH has been good. I've had several shipments throughout the last 3 years, and only the first one that I stupidly chose the end of February (it's in the single digits then) had any losses. Even then, the majority of them survived and were very healthy.

This practice of shipping on Saturdays has only been in place this year because the post office felt that their bulk was too big for weekday shipping...they need to set up their own post office outlet there at the airport to ship on weekdays and overnight their birds.
the chicks and customers are paying for a business problem that is rather new.
They need to find a way to solve this problem.
The other thing that Im hearing and experienced myself is that the stock that they have is weak. I have had chicks that arrived alive not thrive and eventually die. Ive also gotten cross beaks from them. Its too bad because they offer such a wide variety and I love their catalog...its just too iffy right now, unless they change the practice, to get chicks from them.​

 

[Mrs MIA]

Quote:
This practice of shipping on Saturdays has only been in place this year because the post office felt that their bulk was too big for weekday shipping...they need to set up their own post office outlet there at the airport to ship on weekdays and overnight their birds.
the chicks and customers are paying for a business problem that is rather new.
They need to find a way to solve this problem.
The other thing that Im hearing and experienced myself is that the stock that they have is weak. I have had chicks that arrived alive not thrive and eventually die. Ive also gotten cross beaks from them. Its too bad because they offer such a wide variety and I love their catalog...its just too iffy right now, unless they change the practice, to get chicks from them.

I guess what I was trying to say (and this has been hashed out in many posts in the last couple of years) is that everyone's experience is going to be different. In my experience, the stock I have received from them has been good and healthy...never seen a blind chick, cross beak, etc etc. I live in Alaska, and February is usually our coldest month, so to lose 5 out of 30 chicks was not bad considering how cold it was. That was my fault for choosing that ship date. I've also had one shipment arrive mostly dead and dying because someone at the hatchery (not MMH) thought that AK was Arkansas... "My, Arkansas is hot right now, so I'd better open all the vent holes".

They might as well have shipped the chicks in a wire cage. But they reshipped the order and they arrived just fine two weeks later.

I know not to expect "to the standard" breeding, but I've been very happy with the birds we received for our general population. All of my "breeders" are from eggs that I hatched from private breeders, but for general purpose birds, MMH chicks have been fine. I bet if you took a poll of every one of MMH's customers over the last 5 years, you'd get about 50% that had a good experience, and 50% bad. I also bet that if you did that same poll for any of the other hatcheries, you'd get the same results. I've ordered in lots of chicks from several different hatcheries over the last couple of years, and each experience has been unique. Most are good. But no matter what day you ship on, packing a passel of newborn chicks in a box and shipping them across the country is going to be a stressful situation for them, and not all breeds can handle the stress well. There are too many variables present between hatching and arriving at your doorstep for anyone to definitively say "it's the hatchery's fault." I'm not saying that they never have problems... you (and I mean the general "you") can't just lump them all into one side or the other because there will always be someone that will have the opposite experience. And, thinking outside the box, perhaps shipping on Saturday was their way of solving a bigger problem? I'd rather have them ship on Saturday to arrive Monday, than most of the hatcheries shipping Wed/Thursday, because our PO is only open half days on Saturdays and closed on Sundays.
That's just my 2 cents. Stepping down now.

 

[Muggsmagee]

Good stuff Mrs. AK-Bird-Brain. You've got me thinking, though...I've noticed a lot of breeders and hatcheries that won't ship eggs or live birds to AK or HI. If I was in your place I would favor a hatchery that did ship to my state...especially with what seems like limited options. Have you ever had difficulty ordering because of your location? (An inquiry ONLY because we've thought of moving to AK!)

I mentioned in an earlier post the replacement batch I got from MMH were all alive, and some have become my favorites (New Hampshire Reds and Light Brahmas). Their Customer Service was really helpful and sympathetic to the first batch that died via shipping. Also, I wanted to mention anyone can get weak and defective birds from any hatchery or breeder. I recieved a cross-beak pullet from a well respected breeder, and another in the same batch that was defective in that it lacked beard and muffs. What the large hatcheries have going for them is they have almost every breed you could want in one place (convenience). The order of mine that was DOA in February, has left me with such guilt that I can not justify ordering day old chicks via Priority Mail from ANY hatchery. The exception I will make is if they are shipped EXPRESS. It costs more ($45.00 +/-). I have discovered through this that I now prefer to order hatching eggs. I'm no longer a newbie at it, and as long as the eggs come to me intact and fertile, I will have good results. That frees me from being haunted by that experience ever again. I should also add that my personal quest is after SQ stock, and the commercial hatcheries won't have that. As a breeder of Ameraucanas, it still irks me to see Easter Eggers/"Americanas"/Araucanas lumped under one name from the hatcheries. There IS a difference. But I digress...again!

 

[Mrs MIA]

Quote:
For some reason, the lower 48 states seem to think that we are a different country here.

I fight shipping issues all the time, and have educated a few companies to the errors in their thinking when it comes to shipping. When they try to charge you $24.95 for a 1 oz $3 part online, sometimes it's best to just call them and ask if they'll ship via USPS instead. I know that some companies have contracts with UPS/FedEx, but USPS ships to AK just as easily as they do to Guam. It has been a challenge getting good stock up here, and many BYCers have been gracious enough to help me get some of the stock I needed (BYCers are the best!

). I actually have never been turned away from buying chicks from the "big" hatcheries because of my location. Sometimes they balk at it for a moment, but when I tell them that my PO is only 4 miles down the road, and they don't have to be delivered by sled dogs, they ship away.

I've had Express shipping take 3 days. Miss Prissy (whom I am indebted to for the rest of my life) has sent me eggs from VA on a Friday, and they've arrived on Monday, sometimes in good condition, sometimes not so much through no fault of hers... it's always a crap-shoot when you pack an egg in a box and entrust it to many hands/machines.
I've ordered chicks from MMH, Welp, Purely Poultry, Ideal, Dunlap (gamebirds don't fare so well) and a couple of others that I can't remember right off. I will say that the Light Brahmas I got from MMH were very smutty in the coloring, but were fabulously friendly healthy birds. The Delaware rooster I have from Sandhill is also very smutty in coloring, but it was probably a fluke since my understanding is that they breed to the standard more than other hatcheries do.
Out of a dozen BCM chicks that I hatched from 4 different respected private breeders, only two birds were good enough to be considered for breeding. One actually looks like a cross between a BCM and an Aseel, and has a pea comb! So even getting eggs from private breeders isn't a sure thing. I'm working my butt off to producing GOOD breeding stock here in my little neck of the woods and it hasn't been easy or cheap. But persistence is paying off, and I have been blessed by certain individuals who have helped me along the way.

 

[Muggsmagee]

I actually have never been turned away from buying chicks from the "big" hatcheries because of my location. Sometimes they balk at it for a moment, but when I tell them that my PO is only 4 miles down the road, and they don't have to be delivered by sled dogs, they ship away.

Seriously made me laugh!

The Light Brahmas I have are oober friendly, very healthy and no where near SQ! You just reminded me of FBCM's I ordered from a recommended breeder...2 of which were not Black, nor were they French standard... they were blue and clean legged! You saying it is a "crapshoot" is right on the money. One lady sent me "Wheaten" and "Buff" Ameraucana hatching eggs. I got her name from the organizations breeder directory website. She put a piece of paper towel under each egg in the carton, closed the carton and put that in a shoe box to ship to me. There was no protection.

Half of them were smashed...the box oozing!

The eggs I recieved were gray and pink!!! I did recieve a refund minus shipping(thankfully) and tried to hatch the others out anyway. Only 2 of the remaining 12 were fertile! It helps to find people with experience, and people you can trust...BYC has proven to be an excellent resource!​

 

[mightieskeeper]

I bought eggs from a breeder. They were shipped with best care I have ever seen. I had 10 hatch out 24 eggs. I like buying local. No shipping company involved.

 

[IggiMom]

Mrs. Ak Bird Brain, what breeds are you especially interested in?

Catherine (in West Virginia, lots warmer than Alaska)