Received my box of dead chicks today :(

[barnyardmommy]

The feed store in my town got in a shipment from Ideal about a week ago, so sad the chicks were dying in the boxes when they were delivered. Please wait until the weather is warmer...

 

[CowgirlPenny]

I read somewhere that you should try to order chicks from a hatchery as close to you as possible if you order before March. It's just too cold for most transit otherwise.

I got 7 chicks and 3 ducklings from Ideal on January 30. No males for warmth. All 10 are alive and healthy today (aside from one duckling with wry neck, but that has nothing to do with transit handling) I highly recommend them if you can find what you want in stock. They update the site often and post specials on their FB page. All of my 2011 hens were from there and all are gorgeous healthy girls.


So sorry about your chicks,

 

[dolphinlvr4]

I really do think it's how they are handled along the way. My post office called me at 7am but didn't open til 8 so I was there at 8am. It was nice n warm inside thankfully n I didn't lose any ( only had 5). It saddens me to hear the stories of dead chicks arriving to families excitedly waiting for them. Weather it's a meat bird or just one for eggs, it's still sad at the loss of life. :-(. Best of luck to all!

 

[DianaMallory]

I have ordered from Meyer and had no problems, but I didn't have them shipped I went and picked them up it is only a 2 hour drive for me. Next week our temps are suppose to be in the 40's pushing 50's but below freezing are the lows. Don' t you have a hatchery closer to you?

 

[dolphinlvr4]

I didn't know much so I did the mail order thing because I didn't research it like I should have. I'd never owned a chicken in my life so I had a huge learning curve. I have since bought from the local feed store here in Savannah Ga where I live. I wanted the americaunas ( spelling?). But they were all reserved for Paula Deen so I got a rhode island red n two barred rocks. Mine are all girls cuz I just want them for eggs. I enjoy them n they relax me so much that even when they stop producing I'll just let em retire n keep them. Hubby says I'm nuts but I feel if I don't " need" to eat them, as in provide food I'll keep the whopping 6 I have as pets. If they give us yummy eggs, I'll repay them by giving them a very good life. ;-). Omg, has anyone checked the price of free range organic brown eggs latley? They will more than pay for thier own food if I calculate our rediculous craving for fresh eggs!! Lol

 

[Aphrael]

It is so sad to hear of all the lost chicks.

I know I would be devastated to open a box and find so many already gone.

I also really think that it is in the way that they are handled in transit that determines how well they arrive to you. I know my order must have gotten "misplaced" or something in transit. Ideal shipped them Wednesday morning and there is no reason at all that I shouldn't have received them Thursday (I'm only 5 hours from Ideal). But I didn't get them until Friday (my po called as soon as they arrived and let me come to the back and pick them up even though they weren't open for business yet). Out of 26 chicks and 2 ducks there was one chick already dead and 5 more died shortly thereafter. Fortunately the ducks and the remaining 20 chicks seems to be strong and vigorous. Keeping fingers crossed for no more losses.

 

[alogue5173]

Well my replacement chicks (and the shipment I postponed) will ship out today. I should receive them Wednesday if nothing goes wrong.....keeping my fingers crossed

Hopefully this time I will get a box of live, healthy chicks.

 

[Hotelclepto]

Hope for the best for you!

 

[alogue5173]

Received my chicks today and I have to say I am ecstatic!!! Out of 55 shipped chicks, only 1 was DOA. I received a gorgeous assortment of chicks. I received the Leann's Adopt Me Bargain, which was a replacement because the last shipment were DOA. I also received the rainbow layer assortment which I had ordered in Jan to ship Feb, but postponed after receiving the last shipment. In the Adopt me special I got a lot of EEs, which is great because I really wanted some, 6 silkies, 3 polish and and an asortment of other chicks I haven't identified yet. In the rainbow layers I got more EEs (gotta love those colored eggs!), looks like a barred rock, a couple leghorns, and quite a few others I still have to identify. I certainly got more than 5 varieties in this batch. I am really pleased with this shipment. All the babies are really fat, fluffy and healthy. Will definately use Meyer again!!! Can't wait to get home this afternoon and try to identify some of those little cuties!

 

[jbs]

I'm glad that your replacement chicks are doing well. I got 15 chicks from Meyer the week of February 11th and 5 were either DOA or died within a few hours of my receiving them, a 6th died 2 days later, and a 7th developed cross beak and had to be put down. My chicks were shipped with a heat pack, but clearly weren't warm enough. I couldn't deal with another box of dead chicks but wanted to replace the ones that died, so I recently bought 10 at the local feed store. My 8 surviving Meyer chicks seem to be ok, but two of them are small and I'm a bit worried about them. The feed store chicks are very lively compared to the Meyer chicks and I wonder if I'm going to have any additional problems with my Meyer survivors.

Your chicks are very pretty, it does look like they sent you a nice assortment. Good luck with them.