Shipped eggs...what is delivery policy for USPS?

[postalprincess]

i too work for the post office. and there is huge difference in how chicks and eggs are shipped. sadly eggs are treated just like any other package. unless you pay extra for express shiping your priority package is put in with every other package. we are trained to stand in the middle of the post office and throw the packages into a certain carriers gurney. saves time. as a carrier who sorts in the morning if i know your eggs are coming i am careful to look for them. but i'm sure they weren't handled any different everywhere else. i hate that about the post office.
let the know they are coming and have them call you is my best advise.

 

[classicsredone]

Woohoo! The eggs are here, and we only had two cracked. One seller packed in chux pads, foam egg cartons, with paper towel in the egg carton. I got three extra, so that made up for the two that broke. The other seller has it down. She shipped with polyfil stuffing below and on top of the eggs in foam cartons, and the package was jam packed with packing peanuts. I didn't have a single cracked egg....and she sent a LOT of extras. I planned on 22 eggs, and our turning racks will be completely packed instead. Crossing my fingers that we'll get a decent hatch.

 

[Dipsy Doodle Doo]

Hi! What's a chux pad (I hope I don't regret asking)?
What're you hatching? Good luck!

Lisa

 

[CatDaddyAlbert]

Quote:
Disposable underwear.

 

[scatteredeggs]

most known hatcheries do not ship chicks on fridays so that chicks will not spend the weekend travelling. when i was expecting chick delivery, i called up the post office prior to confirm if i was going to pick up from this office. and i also called 6:30AM on the day i was expecting them. The person told me to do the same for future deliveries.
joel salatin - the revolutionary american pastured farmer advises on his books to get the chicks when weather is warm enough for the chicks to travel, hence his broiler business is highly seasonal. (he's from Vermont and orders his chicks in spring and summer).
i have come across posts here by BYC eggs sellers and buyers about how good/lousy eggs packagings are. kudos to good eggs packagers come from buyers getting intact eggs.
USPS should not be held accountable for breakage because the way packages are handled. as one poster/USPS said, eggs are just another ordinary package, so it is really incumbent upon the seller to pack them right.
after all, buyers pay $ for packaging right?
our Posties are good enough to drive up to the house for packages. when i was expecting eggs delivery, i made sure someone is at home to receive them, rather than have them left at the porch under the sun or rain.
my 2 cents.

 

[classicsredone]

Yeah, I can't hold the postal service accountable for the breakage. The boxes were in fine shape. Usually the Priority mail boxes show up in better shape than regular boxes, though. (Both of these were in priority boxes.)

Chux pads are pads that you put down on hospital beds to catch any liquids. For example, when you have a baby, they put a stack of them underneath you so that they can just grab the dirty pad and not have to worry about changing the sheets. They may have been puppy training sheets in retrospect...those are easier to get a hold of if you don't need medical supplies for health reasons. The two that cracked had dents, really. Luckily it did not leak. I was expecting a couple casualties in the mail, anyways.

 

[classicsredone]

@Scatteredeggs - the chicks were through McMurray. Their shipping policy leaves chicks in the west sitting in the post office all day Sunday. That alone weakens the chicks, because by then they'd normally be eating and drinking.

I'm glad we called ahead of time. The mail man brought them to our door, and the eggs were room temperature. (In this weather they might have been hot if left in the truck for awhile.)

 

[Dipsy Doodle Doo]

Thanks for the explanation. I never heard of 'chux pads', but that makes sense.

Good luck with your eggs!

Lisa

 

[dwhite]

I have had great luck so far with my USPS, it was better before they made cuts and eliminated one of the two express trucks. In general they call me when chicks arrive, or deliver the eggs to the door.

Just like any organization in the USPS there will be people that are dead weight, and that don't care about what they do, hopefully these are the people that will retire on the next round of cutbacks.

Doug

 

[scatteredeggs]

i ordered from Welp. Chicks shipped on Monday, picked them up on Wednesday. When i called Welp. they asked when do i want them shipped.