My hatchery of choice is Ideal and when I need hatchery chicks I usually order from April to May. This year I needed chicks later in the year and Ideal was sold out of the breeds I wanted, so I decided to give McMurray a shot. I ordered 15 of the "feather footed fancies" plus a pair of polish, for a total of 17 birds. I later remembered that McMurray always adds a "free surprise chick" unless you ask them not to, but I didn't mind an extra chick.
When I ordered chicks it was for June 30th, I wrongly assumed that this was the day they would ship. When I received an email saying that my chicks could ship anytime between the June 27th and June 30th I immediately called the McMurray, concerned about them shipping chicks over the weekend to my rural location. The lady at the hatchery said all the right things to reassure me. On Monday June 30th I got a call from the postmistress at our local post office. I could hear the tears in her voice. The postmistress is a chicken keeper herself and she told me she had become worried when the box of chicks wasn't making as much noise as a box of chicks usually does so she peeked. She said there were only 3 chicks alive - there was actually four alive, but one just barely. The sight of that box of dead chicks was heartbreaking. I worked all day to save the fourth chick but it was not to be.
The postmistress wasn't able to tell me whether the chicks sat in a cold sorting facility all day Sunday or baked in a hot truck. At any rate, I don't feel the death of the chicks has anything to do with the USPS, the distance they had to travel (Ideal is 6 hrs. from my home, McMurray is 10); a few times my Ideal chicks have taken three days to get to me yet were still alive and thriving, or the temps. It has everything to do with the hatchery shipping them on a weekend. Last time I checked, Ideal shipped on Mondays and Wednesdays, allowing plenty of time for them to reach their destination before Sunday. I cannot believe that a hatchery that's been in business for nearly 100 years would find it acceptable to ship on a weekend!
When I called the hatchery to report that I had 4 live chicks out of a box of 18 they refunded my money, but only after trying their best to talk me into letting them ship me another order over the 4th of July weekend...unbelievable!! Infuriating me even more was the lady telling me that the chicks didn't actually hatch until Saturday the 28th, my order status on their website and the box label say differently. The order status on their website states that the chicks hatched on the 27th. The box label says the 27th. That's four days in transport and that is unacceptable.
I would have paid twice the amount I did to receive a box full of live, healthy chicks. Instead I have 3 male chicks, one the surprise chick that is not a rare breed and actually a breed I can't have due to a seizure disorder (barred rock and the pattern disturbs my vision). All three chicks are still in "intensive care".
Please let my post be a warning to you. No matter what hatchery you choose, ask to be sure that they don't ship on Fridays or Saturdays, especially if you live in a rural area as I do. To the hatcheries baby chicks may only be a product, but to me they are precious living beings. They deserve better than to bake, freeze or starve on a Sunday because a hatchery can't manage to adjust their hatching schedule to match the post office's schedule.
When I ordered chicks it was for June 30th, I wrongly assumed that this was the day they would ship. When I received an email saying that my chicks could ship anytime between the June 27th and June 30th I immediately called the McMurray, concerned about them shipping chicks over the weekend to my rural location. The lady at the hatchery said all the right things to reassure me. On Monday June 30th I got a call from the postmistress at our local post office. I could hear the tears in her voice. The postmistress is a chicken keeper herself and she told me she had become worried when the box of chicks wasn't making as much noise as a box of chicks usually does so she peeked. She said there were only 3 chicks alive - there was actually four alive, but one just barely. The sight of that box of dead chicks was heartbreaking. I worked all day to save the fourth chick but it was not to be.
The postmistress wasn't able to tell me whether the chicks sat in a cold sorting facility all day Sunday or baked in a hot truck. At any rate, I don't feel the death of the chicks has anything to do with the USPS, the distance they had to travel (Ideal is 6 hrs. from my home, McMurray is 10); a few times my Ideal chicks have taken three days to get to me yet were still alive and thriving, or the temps. It has everything to do with the hatchery shipping them on a weekend. Last time I checked, Ideal shipped on Mondays and Wednesdays, allowing plenty of time for them to reach their destination before Sunday. I cannot believe that a hatchery that's been in business for nearly 100 years would find it acceptable to ship on a weekend!
When I called the hatchery to report that I had 4 live chicks out of a box of 18 they refunded my money, but only after trying their best to talk me into letting them ship me another order over the 4th of July weekend...unbelievable!! Infuriating me even more was the lady telling me that the chicks didn't actually hatch until Saturday the 28th, my order status on their website and the box label say differently. The order status on their website states that the chicks hatched on the 27th. The box label says the 27th. That's four days in transport and that is unacceptable.
I would have paid twice the amount I did to receive a box full of live, healthy chicks. Instead I have 3 male chicks, one the surprise chick that is not a rare breed and actually a breed I can't have due to a seizure disorder (barred rock and the pattern disturbs my vision). All three chicks are still in "intensive care".
Please let my post be a warning to you. No matter what hatchery you choose, ask to be sure that they don't ship on Fridays or Saturdays, especially if you live in a rural area as I do. To the hatcheries baby chicks may only be a product, but to me they are precious living beings. They deserve better than to bake, freeze or starve on a Sunday because a hatchery can't manage to adjust their hatching schedule to match the post office's schedule.
