Second order from McMurray, DEAD

[cassidy22]

You need to file a claim with the post office. You should be able to see on the packaging what date mcmurray shipped, to what date to received them to see HOW LONG they were in the mail.

I had a turkey delivery last year that spent 6 DAYS routing through the mail. That is NOT the hatchery's fault. And none of them survived.

Talk to your post office. They might have sat in the belly of a plane in the cold for too long, or god knows what. We had a delivery that came on time one summer, but found out that they sat in a truck in the hot sun for hours before being delivered.

Please check with your post office as to how they handle these guys. We used to have an intermediate processing facility that would call us, and we would pick them up there, usually getting them a day earlier than if they were routed to my local post office. That facility is now CLOSED, and I have to wait until they get to my local post office. It takes an extra day to get to me now, and I don't like it, but the USPS is closing many facilities right now due to budget issues, which is why you might be seeing delivery a day later than usual. Some hatcheries will charge extra for express mail overnight delivery if you are really concerned.

 

[Fly Be Free]

I'm surprised at how the chicks are handled right after hatching that they live at all. (At the hatcheries.)

I haven't been out here for a while. I'm sickened that someone will post about chick loss and all the friggin expert wanna be's come out here and point fingers and accuse.

As if we LOVE to order chicks JUST to see how many are gonna die.

I can see offering advice. But what I've seen isn't advice. And you can say you're not trying to be mean or you're "just sayin'" but it's still just plain rude, cruel, disrespectful and arrogant.

Why do the monitors put up with it?? When someone poo pooed the way someone uthanized a chick they got told it was a no no. Do they think that someone poking us with a stick when we're heartbroken over loss is any better?

I'm afraid to say anything out here about the way I raise my chicks or if I lose one. So, I'm back to just reading the posts and gleaning what I can from the real experts and trying to ignore the others. It's too bad too, I really enjoyed it.

 

[AprilAWZ]

I know those are mild for Feb in the Midwest, but they are not mild for newly hatched chicks. As I said, thousands of chicks are mailed out now and most make it just fine. But there will be some orders, due to the winter weather, that will cause chicks to perish, that wouldnt happen if they were mailed in April. So thats all I am saying. If dead chicks arrive, dont blame McMurray, or any other hatchery.

It doesn't matter if they are mailed in a December cold snap or a sunny April day or a late August heat wave...if they sit in the postal system for a week they are going to die. So don't berate the OP or other northern posters for ordering chicks in cooler weather when it's the P.O. that's causing the problem. That's the topic of this thread, not freezing chicks. Chicks do perfectly fine traveling in 40 degree weather. Those of us who have experience with cold weather brooding will tell you this time and again.

 

[runsw/scissors]

EXACTLY!! Thank you.

It just plain sucks when you trust the hatcheries (the one I used has been in business for close to 100 years) to know the best way and time to ship chicks and some some know it all comes on and cracks on us for trying.. It's hurtful and uncalled for. just sayin'...

 

[NewChickHere]

Wow I'm so sorry to hear about your losses. I just received my first ever order of chicks on Monday. I received 28 live chicks but the 2 tiniest ones didn't make it 30 hours. I think the trip was just too stressful. But I got my order from McMurray and I honestly have had the best customer service with them. Since I am new they have answered tons of questions and warned me that I could expect a few losses due to the stress of the trip. Do you happen to know the date they actually shipped and the date you got them? I haven't read all the previous posts so maybe you answered that already but they are in Iowa and I'm in NC. They shipped them on Sat and I got them on Monday. They were packed with such care and look wonderful. Maybe it really could be your PO. McMurray has been shipping since 1917 so I really feel they do their best shipping with care. But I'm still sorry for those losses.

 

[AmyLM]

That being said you can hatch out your own eggs in the safty of your own home... and STILL have chicks die.

 

[thasista]

Wow I'm so sorry to hear about your losses. I just received my first ever order of chicks on Monday. I received 28 live chicks but the 2 tiniest ones didn't make it 30 hours. I think the trip was just too stressful. But I got my order from McMurray and I honestly have had the best customer service with them. Since I am new they have answered tons of questions and warned me that I could expect a few losses due to the stress of the trip. Do you happen to know the date they actually shipped and the date you got them? I haven't read all the previous posts so maybe you answered that already but they are in Iowa and I'm in NC. They shipped them on Sat and I got them on Monday. They were packed with such care and look wonderful. Maybe it really could be your PO. McMurray has been shipping since 1917 so I really feel they do their best shipping with care. But I'm still sorry for those losses.

I agree with you. They have great customer service and are certainly dismayed by these problems. Mine were shipped on Saturday and arrived on Wednesday. 5 days! That's the postal service for sure. My last batch of chicks from MM arrived in 2 days and did great.

 

[NYRIR]

The hatchery....the post office....does anyone stop and think what those chicks are feeling?! What they endure?! Just because they arrive alive doesn't mean they had a pleasant journey. Personally, I think shipping animals is cruel unless they are transported in a manner where the method is designed for their comfort, survival and to minimize stress.

To the hatchery ....to send a perfectly healthy new born animal into a system that couldn't care less about it's welfare -- how dare you.

To the post office ....if you're going to do something, do it right. Not begrudgingly and because you want the business. Shame on you.

To the consumer ....DEMAND and use shipping methods that both ensure your "product" arrives in useable condition as well as consider it's a living, feeling lifeform you're asking to be stuffed into a box.

If it weren't for the hatcheries making them available...most of these breeds would not exist today. Of course there is a lot of room for improvement in the system but even the way they ship now is EXPENSIVE...can you imagine if they shipped with "perfect" conditions? I for one, would not be able to pay those kind of prices!!
I also think it isn't the "PO", it comes down to INDIVIDUALS....that's hard to rectify.

It is a broken system but it does allow for a lot of breeds to survive (if on a lesser than perfect level of quality) so for now, it is what it is.
As for me, I will look forward to my "peeping boxes" each year! And hope the best for everyone!!

 

[NYRIR]

It doesn't matter if they are mailed in a December cold snap or a sunny April day or a late August heat wave...if they sit in the postal system for a week they are going to die. So don't berate the OP or other northern posters for ordering chicks in cooler weather when it's the P.O. that's causing the problem. That's the topic of this thread, not freezing chicks. Chicks do perfectly fine traveling in 40 degree weather. Those of us who have experience with cold weather brooding will tell you this time and again.

 

[AprilAWZ]

If it weren't for the hatcheries making them available...most of these breeds would not exist today. Of course there is a lot of room for improvement in the system but even the way they ship now is EXPENSIVE...can you imagine if they shipped with "perfect" conditions? I for one, would not be able to pay those kind of prices!!
I also think it isn't the "PO", it comes down to INDIVIDUALS....that's hard to rectify.

It is a broken system but it does allow for a lot of breeds to survive (if on a lesser than perfect level of quality) so for now, it is what it is.
As for me, I will look forward to my "peeping boxes" each year! And hope the best for everyone!!

And now I'll scratch yours! lol! But yeah, I agree here. It isn't a prefect system, or even a really good one. And I really can empathize with the heartache of opening a 4-5 day old box of dead and dying chicks. It made me wish I could present the box of dead babies to the moron/s responsible for holding up the shipment and yell "Look what you did! You did this!". But without being able to get chicks moved across the country like this, can you imagine how many heritage breeds would be extinct? In my area, my choices would be barred rocks, leghorns, and black sex-links, not the Doms, Dellies, or NHRs that aren't as common, but are so much better for my climate and management style. Or the Favs, Speckled Sussex, and a myriad other breeds I'm curious about?

This really does have me thinking, though. Right now, we're seeing how bad it's getting for the KY chicken folks with all the postal reshuffling. I wonder if this is going to spread, or if it's going to remain localized. Will they get their poop together and become efficient again? It would be great if we could get UPS or FedEx to start shipping eggs and chicks, but after seeing how they handle my soap making supplies, I dunno... Maybe a rebirth of localized hatcheries? More small breeders selling? What kind of effect would this have on breed integrity, etc? There's a lot to ponder here...good and bad.