My 55 new chicks arrived today! ALL DEAD

[WalkingWolf]

Quote:
Ideal always bends over backwards to make a order right. With as many orders as they ship things are going to happen. Overall they are a very good hatchery.

I love my post office here, the rural carriers is another story. I have a problem with packages being loaded loosely into the back of a pick up and bouncing around before being delivered. But they do seem to be experiencing some sort of problem that started at the end of January. Packages of all types are being lost or delayed. Something is up, something has changed.

 

[Bullwinkle]

Quote:
The local PO buildings might not have been open to the public, but there were PO employees working Monday morning.

I picked up my chicks from McMurray at the PO distribution center Monday at about 7:45 a.m. They were supposed to be open till 8:30 a.m.

In the future when I order chicks I'm going to pay better attention to holidays before ordering.

For the OP:
It sounds like the PO must have messed up and lossed the package for a couple of days. I live further north (Nebraska) and received a package from Ideal that was shipped on Wednesday this week and arrived the next morning at 6:30 (less than 24 hours).

 

[texas_chick]

Quote:
I am glad to read your post.
I was already starting to freak out. My chicks are due to hatch and ship Monday but I am getting them shipped Express Overnight with a heat pack to the nearest big city. Fingers crossed.

So sorry to the original poster!

 

[lilshadow]

I received mine yesterday from Ideal. Out of 23 I only have 13. Some DOA, and some have died since last night. However, I do live in MN, and the weather isn't the greatest right now. Ideal was very nice over the phone, and is replacing the chicks, but at a later date when it will be warmer. I blame myself for ordering in cold weather, and from a hatchery so far away. I like their customer service they are very nice people so far.

 

[Katy]

Quote:
My opinion too. If it's at least warmer out when they're shipped they can handle taking a little longer to get to their destination. When they're exposed to the cold it uses up their reserves from the yolk much faster.

As long as people continue to order year round the hatcheries will continue to ship whether it's in the best interests of the chicks or not.

Lots of these sad outcomes could be avoided if people would just wait.

 

[MobileChickenCoops.com]

Ideal is a great hatchery and will take care of you. Often times if the chicks get chilled in shipping they can get sick and will often die within 3-5 days of arriving. If you are ordering bantams it is best to wait until spring as the chicks are much more delicate and it is harder for them to survive the cold. I know at our local post office one of the guys that works there hates the chicks and I wonder sometimes how they are handled!

 

[Patch of Heaven Farm]

So sorry about your chicks. I have always had a good expierence with mail-order chicks.I have only ordered from Murray Mcmurray but they have always arrived in good shape. Out of 175 chicks I ordered last year only one was DOA. I don't order in the colder months though so maybe that is what has made the difference. I have heard great things about Ideal and plan to order from them this spring because they are closer to me.

 

[tofuranch]

I got my order from Ideal this week, shipped Wed, and I got the call at 4:30 AM Thurs to come and pick them up. All of them are alive and doing great.

One thing though, I live in AZ and Ideal is in Texas so my chicks had a short trip....I really do think that you need to look at postal holidays and how far they have to travel and what weather will be along the way to diside when to have chicks sent to you.

 

[speckledhen]

Personally, I will never, ever order from a hatchery or have chicks shipped through the mail. Never have, never will. I just cant do it. I cant be the one responsible for a bunch of traumatized and/or dead chicks. But, I know people do it every day. I just cant be one of them. Hatcheries ship chicks to whomever buys them. That's what they do. It's up to us to have them shipped when they are most likely to survive the trip.

 

[Faverolle]

Quote:
Ideal always bends over backwards to make a order right. With as many orders as they ship things are going to happen. Overall they are a very good hatchery.

I love my post office here, the rural carriers is another story. I have a problem with packages being loaded loosely into the back of a pick up and bouncing around before being delivered. But they do seem to be experiencing some sort of problem that started at the end of January. Packages of all types are being lost or delayed. Something is up, something has changed.

I agree that lately it seems that packages are taking longer to arrive and I had several not even arrive, not birds of course. My wife ships and receives a lot of packages daily and a lot of them are taking quite a bit longer via USPS.
Usually I get my orders shipped on Tuesday from Ideal and they arrive on Thursday. This past week the birds came Friday and I am sure that played a part in the deaths. I don't blame Ideal and I realize that ordering this time of the year you are taking a chance.