I've read a few recent threads about dead chicks from Meyer, but wasn't THAT concerned as I had no problem with my Meyer chicks a year and a half ago, and the weather isn't horribly cold this week - I actually place my order last minute because the forecast for this week was pretty mild. But I picked up my shipment at the post office this morning and three chicks of 15 were dead. It's been five hours and there are three more chicks that I'm still concerned about, as they're lethargic, not eating and drinking like the other chicks. I've got electrolytes in their water and keep dipping their beaks in. Two of them are drinking this way, but with the third it seems like I'm drowning her, so I may just let her go.
I dug a hole to bury the dead chicks, but I'm holding off on chick burial until I see if the others are going to make it. Three dead chicks out of fifteen is bad enough, 4-6 is horrible. I don't know if Meyer gave me a batch of weak chicks or if someone at the post office left the box out on a loading dock overnight, but this is pretty heartbreaking.
The box was shipped with a heat pack, it shipped on Monday and arrived at my post office by Wednesday morning. I called Meyer this morning and the customer service person told me to wait the 48 hours to see if any other chicks die. Meyer will either credit me for the dead birds or ship new ones out - but there's a minimum of 15 so I'd just get credit for however many birds from my current batch die. Neither is a very good option - I'm not sure I can handle another 15 chicks, and the $2-$4 chick refund doesn't mean a whole lot to me. I'll think twice before ordering chicks in the winter. I chose Meyer because they're not too far from me in MD, but if I order chicks thru the mail again, I may opt for a different hatchery next time.
I just checked the brooder and the weakest chick is dead, so four dead of 15, which is pretty awful. I just hope it doesn't get any worse.
I dug a hole to bury the dead chicks, but I'm holding off on chick burial until I see if the others are going to make it. Three dead chicks out of fifteen is bad enough, 4-6 is horrible. I don't know if Meyer gave me a batch of weak chicks or if someone at the post office left the box out on a loading dock overnight, but this is pretty heartbreaking.
The box was shipped with a heat pack, it shipped on Monday and arrived at my post office by Wednesday morning. I called Meyer this morning and the customer service person told me to wait the 48 hours to see if any other chicks die. Meyer will either credit me for the dead birds or ship new ones out - but there's a minimum of 15 so I'd just get credit for however many birds from my current batch die. Neither is a very good option - I'm not sure I can handle another 15 chicks, and the $2-$4 chick refund doesn't mean a whole lot to me. I'll think twice before ordering chicks in the winter. I chose Meyer because they're not too far from me in MD, but if I order chicks thru the mail again, I may opt for a different hatchery next time.
I just checked the brooder and the weakest chick is dead, so four dead of 15, which is pretty awful. I just hope it doesn't get any worse.
