Meyer Hatchery - 4 of 15 chicks dead

[Debs55]

Hi everyone I just wanted to contribute to this thread by reporting that when I picked up my Meyer hatchery order from the post office 5 out of 15 dead and 1 more that was not doing good at all. Since then she has perked up a bit and is finally pecking the food! But I think this is the only time I will order chicks through the mail.

I'm so sorry for your lose and I completely understand how you feel. I'm never mail ordering again

 

[jessicaroo]

So far I haven't lost anymore since Sunday. And I got more TSC chicks. 9 black australorps since they were one of the breeds I ordered. I may be getting some more buff orps Friday too

The gang

And look at this wittle face

Cute babies! I definitely recommend adding some more buff orps, they are my friendliest chick so far good luck

 

[RyanFunFarm]

So glad to hear no further fatalities! Your tsc is better stocked than mine. Only 1 breed there yesterday

 

[RyanFunFarm]

So far I haven't lost anymore since Sunday. And I got more TSC chicks. 9 black australorps since they were one of the breeds I ordered. I may be getting some more buff orps Friday too

The gang

And look at this wittle face

Such a cutie! What beautiful markings on his face

 

[Debs55]

Thanks! They are pretty cute. And about the buffs. I ordered five of them and only one survived so I thought it would need some buddies

 

[kynewbchickie]

About the shipping issues...

We'd had a pretty harrowing ordeal with shipped hatchlings from My Pet Chicken. We paid extra for Overnight Express delivery, from mid-Ohio to mid-eastern Kentucky. Hatched Monday morning, I picked them up that following Wednesday morning - but they'd actually ARRIVED to our local P.O. after "regular business hours" and were left out back on the cargo dock. SO thankful for the heat pack they included...I'm certain that's responsible for keeping them alive overnight, given that our temps that night dipped into the low 20s.

I received a call from the USPS about my refund form I filled out for the Overnight Express delivery charge this afternoon...they didn't want to refund it, because the hatchery said it "could take up to three days to be delivered." I reiterated the "Express delivery" charge was $12 LESS than what I'd paid, which was for "Overnight Express." The lady promptly forwarded me to a supervisor, which is where I learned about my chick order's transit and ordeal. She was happy to refund the extra amount I'd paid for the Overnight part of the Express delivery, and she apologized profusely for their mess-up in transit time. She acknowledged the time constraints on a faltering postal service which has been cutting jobs and hours, even whole days of delivery, over the last year and it's only expected to get worse. Given this information she shared with me (she was a fellow chicken Mama, too), I don't believe I'll be ordering any more chicks any earlier than April, even here in Kentucky. Our weather is too unpredictable in Feb/March - the last we need is a more unpredictable postal service, too, making these special deliveries devastating...

Just a heads-up - I'm sure the USPS doesn't intend for things like this to happen, but they do. It's probably best to follow your climate closely - almanacs have kinda been screwy the last couple of years for our zone - and make your delivery decision based solely upon the conditions your babies will be traveling in. They can't control what one processing center does or doesn't do from place to place, and there's really no way to be certain you'll get them fast enough to prevent them getting too cold and dying.

 

[coop-er]

Again....... The Deliverry service and not the hatchery....

 

[Debs55]

I know it was not the hatchery. I even said that during my whole ordeal they were very helpful

 

[jarodw45]

I ordered about 15 chicks from ideal and they shipped 5 replacements from a prior order. All 7 WFBS were doa as well as red leghorns.... i like you felt so bad about it. I decided to place another order and this time i chose mcmurray since ideal was out of everything and decided to purchase 40+ so they would be plenty warm. When i received the order i had several just like you that were lethargic and lost all the red leghorns and several WFBS in this order. I am thinking now that it could be breed specific. Both orders were two day journeys and i feel this has alot to do with it. Don't feel bad it's just nature sometimes. I am glad that USPS will still ship chicks so i hate to harp on them too bad but Geeze if you are a postal worker and you know you are shipping live babies, make sure they are not left out in the cold! Don't be upset it's not your fault.

 

[poultrylubber]

Again....... The Deliverry service and not the hatchery....

For my order it was totally the shipping and not the hatchery. We found out later from the tracking # that had gone to a post office only 2 hours away and yet they didn't come into our local post office for about 6 more hours. And then we also found out that they got into our local post office at 6:30 and they did n't call us until 8:15. So they sat around in who know what conditions for almost 2 hours before we came and picked them up. And a couple days before, we had asked them to call us as soon as they came in.
The harchery was really nice when I called to get my refund. But Iam really upset with the usps right now and that is why I will be buying local chicks from now on.