New Babies!

[Rhetts]

Oh Meaghan!! I am so sorry to hear about so many lost chicks!! I have used Mcmurray many times in the past and have had nothing but fabulous experiences. I am sorry yours has been less than perfect! I can understand your frustrations with loosing so many chicks! Hopefully the rest of your babies perk up and make it through the night. Keep us posted on what happens please!

 

[Meaghan]

Rhetts: Thank you for the sympathies. I do not blame McMurray, they were well packaged, the PO just screwed up and took too long to get them here. They were sympathetic on the phone when I spoke to them about the 11 that we lost early in the day before we went to TSC to get Sav-A-Chick, and had no problems refunding the purchase price of the chicks.

This just makes me nervous to ship chicks at all. I hope our Turkeys make it okay from McMurray later in the year, and that our Muscovies from Country Hatchery in OK make it okay too.

 

[3riverschick]

Ok, Meaghan,
I thought the cloth was sand. Thanks for the heads up. Just sounds like they were in transit too long. I am so sorry for your losses, sigh. This is a difficult time of year to order chicks. Plus this weekend we have another artic blast sweeping south, sigh.
Best Regards,
Karen

 

[HighStreetCoop]

Rhetts: Thank you for the sympathies. I do not blame McMurray, they were well packaged, the PO just screwed up and took too long to get them here. They were sympathetic on the phone when I spoke to them about the 11 that we lost early in the day before we went to TSC to get Sav-A-Chick, and had no problems refunding the purchase price of the chicks.

This just makes me nervous to ship chicks at all. I hope our Turkeys make it okay from McMurray later in the year, and that our Muscovies from Country Hatchery in OK make it okay too.

I don't think I'll ever ship again. USPS delayed my chicks last year and they got chilled and several died. I feel too guilty about causing that distress (mine were only coming from 3 hours away so I thought it would be ok). I'll drive up and get mine from now on. I can plug the EcoGlow into the Jeep and keep them toasty. Anything I can't get within driving distance will just be something I can't have.

 

[DeansMill]

The USPS has become lackadaisical about everything they do.

THAT'S how you spell it!! Haha.... and yes, they have... it is sad. People should really use them more, but the more they make mistakes, lose mail, not show up through rain or snow or dark of night... people will turn to UPS and FedEx...

 

[Rhetts]

There has to be a better way to keep the chicks warm during shipment. How long do they sit and wait to get on the airplane? Are the chicks outside during that time? What about the trucks? Are they heated and draft free? I know last June I was called from the distribution center and they asked if I wanted to come get the chicks or wait to have them delivered to my local post office the next day. I said you bet I will come get them. I drove the hour there to get them and all the chick boxes were sitting on a shelf right by the door. UM hello cold drafts not good for chicks!! I am thankful I got the option to go get them. many of the boxes were pretty quiet. And to think they had at least another day to go. The other 2 shipments I got I did not get call to go get them from the distribution/sorting center. The local PO had them. Stuffed haphazardly in the big mail cart. I don't know what the better way to mail them is but there must be something better. It is sad that so many are lost along the way.

 

[Meaghan]

High Street Coop: I wish that Florida had more than just the standard breeds. Its seriously hard to find much in the way of agriculture related businesses down here. Definitely a lesson learned to use the local hatchery.

Rhetts: I wish I had known that I could pick them up from the distribution center. I'm sure they sat at the Gainesville center from Monday afternoon until Tuesday morning. Even just that one day would have made a difference, I'm sure...

Only one more died overnight, but two more died early this morning (between 7 and 10am). I called McMurray and they said to update them with the total amount of losses tomorrow afternoon, and to give them honey on a dropper in the meantime since the sugar water didn't appear to help them at all.

The last little Columbian is starting to show signs of weakness. It was fine yesterday, running around, eating and drinking, but today he's just flopped and sleeping a lot, like the rest of the ones that have died.

The Black Austrolorps are doing great in comparison, growing in feathers beautifully and starting to run and flap their wings. The shipped chicks like to cuddle into their pile. We're getting 7-8 Silvers tonight from a local hatchery that hatched out Sunday. He'll have more Golds this Sunday, too, along with BO, RIR, and a dozen other breeds. I think we're just going to replace them with local chicks and try to get Columbians later. Hopefully we still have a hen and roo Blue/Red pair left...

So far, all we have left from the order is 11 BO, 2 Silver, 2 Gold, 2 Blue/Red, and 1 Columbian Wyandotte. 17/46 left, and I'm not so sure that all of them will be here tomorrow.

 

[Meaghan]

The last little Columbian perked up... It was up walking around, eating, and flapping it's wings when I went out there. No more declining at this point. Perhaps we are through the worst of it.

 

[HighStreetCoop]

The last little Columbian perked up... It was up walking around, eating, and flapping it's wings when I went out there. No more declining at this point. Perhaps we are through the worst of it.

 

[Meaghan]

Sigh, just had another BO die in my hands. It was looking poorly this morning along with the last Columbian, but the Columbian looked worse. The Columbian still looks pretty good, but I'm not sure it's out of the woods yet.

I have a feeling I'm going to be unnaturally highly attached to these little chicks because so many of them died. Even if this Columbian turns out to be the meanest roo in the world, if it survives it's staying regardless of it's personality.