Turkey Talk for 2014

[Reyvaughn]

Yesterday was hectic... I am not very outgoing on these threads because, well, I am just a recluse. I am going to break that pattern tonight (and on 3 different threads, so if you are part of the Easter HAL and on PA Unite, you are going to get a repeat.. or threepeat).
I knew my turkey poults were coming in sometime in the AM yesterday. I was expecting a 6am call. I didn't get it. The night before my mother called to tell me my great grandfather wasn't doing well on Tuesday. He couldn't stand up without getting dizzy and weak. I was at his place at 8am to help him get his breakfast and pills. I stuck around and visited until almost 10:30. My great grandfather is going to be 95 in July. My great grandmother died almost 10 years ago. This man has had a stroke, heart attack two open heart surgeries, has diabetes, broke his ankle at 91 doing something with the tractor he wasn't supposed to and just finished radiation for prostate cancer. He lives alone and when he was able (up until last year) he tended a 1 acre garden, canned/froze the veges off it for himself, his youngest daughter and her daughter, he has always had at least 30 laying hens he sold eggs from, he cut, split, hauled and carried his own firewood and in his free time, he loves to bake. I mean, banana cream pie, cookies, cherry cheese cakes... really good stuff. Point is, his health is going down hill now and he hasn't been himself lately.

My mom called me to let me know my OH was calling her telling her my poults were in. I finally got out of great grandpap's (he talks your ear off) and got home to my husband telling me that the mail carrier had my poults and was delivering them. I freaked out. Um... Window down for three hours?! Who wasn't using their brains? I said I would be over for them. I told the PO the day before. I told the OH to tell them I was on my way... Well, they were all live when the mail guy picked them up. One was dead when they got here and 3 not far behind it. I lost four poults. They were so cold. I put them in the pen and tried dunking their beaks but everyone was more worried about the heat lamp - rightfully so. I think if I could have gotten 2 of the 4 to drink they would have made it. I went out an hour later and they still would not drink. Another two hours after that I finally got them to get drinks! It was a crazy poult marathon! They would run back and forth from me to the water and back!







Photo Bomb!


Another Photo Bomb!


That 'bomb' was my daughter's hand.


Meyer, of course, made good on their 100% live guarantee! They sent 2 extras and reimbursed me for all 4 anyways! Great company! Much better than Privett...

 

[BullChick]

Yesterday was hectic... I am not very outgoing on these threads because, well, I am just a recluse. I am going to break that pattern tonight (and on 3 different threads, so if you are part of the Easter HAL and on PA Unite, you are going to get a repeat.. or threepeat).
I knew my turkey poults were coming in sometime in the AM yesterday. I was expecting a 6am call. I didn't get it. The night before my mother called to tell me my great grandfather wasn't doing well on Tuesday. He couldn't stand up without getting dizzy and weak. I was at his place at 8am to help him get his breakfast and pills. I stuck around and visited until almost 10:30. My great grandfather is going to be 95 in July. My great grandmother died almost 10 years ago. This man has had a stroke, heart attack two open heart surgeries, has diabetes, broke his ankle at 91 doing something with the tractor he wasn't supposed to and just finished radiation for prostate cancer. He lives alone and when he was able (up until last year) he tended a 1 acre garden, canned/froze the veges off it for himself, his youngest daughter and her daughter, he has always had at least 30 laying hens he sold eggs from, he cut, split, hauled and carried his own firewood and in his free time, he loves to bake. I mean, banana cream pie, cookies, cherry cheese cakes... really good stuff. Point is, his health is going down hill now and he hasn't been himself lately.

My mom called me to let me know my OH was calling her telling her my poults were in. I finally got out of great grandpap's (he talks your ear off) and got home to my husband telling me that the mail carrier had my poults and was delivering them. I freaked out. Um... Window down for three hours?! Who wasn't using their brains? I said I would be over for them. I told the PO the day before. I told the OH to tell them I was on my way... Well, they were all live when the mail guy picked them up. One was dead when they got here and 3 not far behind it. I lost four poults. They were so cold. I put them in the pen and tried dunking their beaks but everyone was more worried about the heat lamp - rightfully so. I think if I could have gotten 2 of the 4 to drink they would have made it. I went out an hour later and they still would not drink. Another two hours after that I finally got them to get drinks! It was a crazy poult marathon! They would run back and forth from me to the water and back!







Photo Bomb!


Another Photo Bomb!


That 'bomb' was my daughter's hand.


Meyer, of course, made good on their 100% live guarantee! They sent 2 extras and reimbursed me for all 4 anyways! Great company! Much better than Privett...

They are a good company. I had someone we know send me about $300 worth of hatching eggs (going by what eggs sell for. She didn't charge) and the PO dropped, shook and mistreated the box. The final straw was the mailman leaving the box out on the highway in the sleet overnight. He said, "I know I was late, but I thought you would see the box!" I had no reason to be looking, and I am not Wonder Woman. I cannot see through trees!! When it comes to ordering live birds (from Meyer) I wait at the post office. They would leave the box there until the afternoon (they admitted that!) or the next day.

I will stop now. The postal service ticks me off.

 

[Reyvaughn]

They are a good company. I had someone we know send me about $300 worth of hatching eggs (going by what eggs sell for. She didn't charge) and the PO dropped, shook and mistreated the box. The final straw was the mailman leaving the box out on the highway in the sleet overnight. He said, "I know I was late, but I thought you would see the box!" I had no reason to be looking, and I am not Wonder Woman. I cannot see through trees!! When it comes to ordering live birds (from Meyer) I wait at the post office. They would leave the box there until the afternoon (they admitted that!) or the next day.

I will stop now. The postal service ticks me off.

In my mailman's defense, he thought he was doing a good thing. This man has to deal with coming to my door - inside the house and putting my eggs on my floor or table. He goes above and beyond in that aspect. What made me mad was that my HUSBAND didn't push the issue that I was going to be right over or lie and say I was already on my way.

 

[Sydney Acres]

Quote: They are a good company. I had someone we know send me about $300 worth of hatching eggs (going by what eggs sell for. She didn't charge) and the PO dropped, shook and mistreated the box. The final straw was the mailman leaving the box out on the highway in the sleet overnight. He said, "I know I was late, but I thought you would see the box!" I had no reason to be looking, and I am not Wonder Woman. I cannot see through trees!! When it comes to ordering live birds (from Meyer) I wait at the post office. They would leave the box there until the afternoon (they admitted that!) or the next day.

I will stop now. The postal service ticks me off.
The post office is as good as the people that work there. Some are horrible, most are good, and a few are exceptional. My first delivery of chicks was textbook -- I called the post office the week before to let them know that I was expecting a shipment, and asked them to call me the moment they arrived. I got a call at 4 a.m. and rushed right down. I was counting 25 + 2 extra very vigorous and loud chicks within 20 minutes, and everyone lived. They were all breeds that were known to be quite vigorous.

My second delivery was exceptional. These were breeds that were known to be not that vigorous, and I had them express mailed from Iowa to WA. They left Iowa at 5 pm Tuesday, and I was expecting a call from the local PO at 4 a.m. Thursday. At 9 a.m. on Wednesday I got a call from a supervisor at the main express mail hub in north Seattle. He said that the chicks were already there, and I had three choices. The truck delivering mail to my local PO had already left, so he could keep them in his office with the heater on overnight and they could be sent out on Thursday's early morning truck, as scheduled. Option two was I could come to the express mail hub to pick them up anytime that day. Or option three was that I could pick them up after 11:30 a.m. at a PO in a nearby town, as he had an 11:30 a.m. meeting at a PO just 30 minutes north of me, and he would be glad to take them with him if I could pick them up there. Since I was planning on going to the nearby town that day anyway, I chose option #3. I thanked him profusely, and he explained that he sees so many chicks come through his office, and so many of them die, that he does anything he can to get them home as soon as possible. The call was so unexpected, and I was so excited, that I forgot to get his name. Instead I just send an open thank you letter to the regional office, profiling this unknown person as an example of the best service possible, something that all postal workers should aspire to! The chicks were all alive and strong and were home in their brooder less than 24 hours after they left Iowa. And despite their known poor vigor, only 2 of 27 died several days later, so I ended up with the full 25 that I paid for.

On my third delivery I tried to reproduce the second delivery, but it didn't quite work out. The main express mail hub in north Seattle had closed, and everything was out of south Seattle (I live 80 miles north of Seattle). When I was notified that the chicks and poults were shipped (again from Iowa to WA) I called my local PO to get the phone number for the express mail hub to make arrangements for me to drive down and pick them up the day before their scheduled delivery. But the local PO couldn't give out the non-public phone number, so the local clerk had to act as a go-between. I will say she did an exceptional job under the circumstances, but the delivery was delayed and didn't get into Seattle until 10 p.m. that night. Luckily, the local clerk found a sympathetic mail sorter at the express mail hub that agreed to give me his cell phone number, and agreed to look out for the chicks and call me the minute they arrived. He called me at 9 pm and said tracking finally had scheduled them for delivery at 10 p.m., so I left and arrived at the hub at 10:30 p.m. The security there was unexpected, as it is not open to the public. Luckily the mail sorter had spoken to the guards, so after my car was searched by guards and dogs, and my ID was inspected, I was allowed to drive into the parking lot and go up to the little access window. I gave the clerk the sorter's name, and she went to get him. He asked me to wait there, then brought the box of chicks out to me in the parking lot. It was freezing cold and raining, and I told him that they were insured and I was supposed to count them in front of a postal employee and he was supposed to sign a statement if any were dead. He looked panicked. There was no way that could be done outside in the dark in that weather on the hood of someone's car, and there was no public area at this facility. He looked both ways, walked me to the door, slid his keycard to open it and rushed me into a tiny room with only a table. We counted the chicks/poults, he signed that 5 out of 37 had arrived dead, then he slowly opened the door to the hallway and looked both ways. When the coast was clear, he rushed me outside and quickly said goodbye. I don't think he was supposed to let anyone in the building, because he looked really worried. Luckily I had taken several heat sources with me, so I was able to warm everyone up on the way home. I got home at 12:30 a.m. and got everyone settled into the brooder. Several of the poults and chicks were extremely weak, and would have died had they still been in transit. Several more got sick over the next few days, but no additional birds died. It was a hard cold snap, and luckily two different postal employees worked together, which allowed me to pick the babies up 12 hours earlier than their promised delivery. This time, however, I did not send a thank you letter to the regional office, as I thought it might have gotten the mail sorter fired.

So there are some good people who really care about shipped animals at the USPS. Unfortunately, it's not a universal quality.

 

[chickadoodles]

Rayvaughn, I hope your great-grandfather gets better quickly. And so glad you got your poults.

I should get mine May 2nd, that feels so far off. I just hate waiting. lol

 

[sonderah]

FINALLY!!!!! I've been searching for months!!!! Sunday, I will be getting my 11 month old Royal Palm hen!!! I have an RP Tim and a blue slate hen that she will be moving in with. Do I do the same like chickens? After quarantine, cage her in there pen to see but not touch for awhile?

 

[SilkieSensation]

Quote:
I kept stealing the eggs from my 2 hens last year so none ever had a chance to sit on eggs. This year the turkeys are penned with the chickens so are constantly trying to steal chicken eggs to sit on. I have 2 out of 4 trying to be broody.

 

[Kelsykin]

Quote: I have had really great people and service and really bad people and service. First time I ordered chicks/ducks through the mail the post master drove them to my house in his personal vehicle since I was an hour drive to town.

I have had them leave in high crime area at the holidays ( when the thieves are looking for packages to be left ) a box with the 6 kids' tablets Santa was going to give them. Kids never got them.

Here the service is ok. We ordered the chicks and got called. Went and got them and brought them home. Packages are delivered fine. We had them lose a shawl I mailed with insurance and a guaranteed delivery date. A month and a half later and it finally reappeared.....


Plow driver though aims for our mailbox every single storm. Replaced the mailbox with one with the reflective stickers and such all over it. a week later the plow driver took it out.

 

[sonderah]

I kept stealing the eggs from my 2 hens last year so none ever had a chance to sit on eggs. This year the turkeys are penned with the chickens so are constantly trying to steal chicken eggs to sit on. I have 2 out of 4 trying to be broody.

I've been stealing hers too, cause still below freezing some nights, but I leave a few non fertile eggs and switch em out every week or so. Won't be able to do that when it actually gets warm though.

 

[Arielle]

Quote:
One of the few times I have been bitten-- it was a momma ferret at a zoo. I had gone in her cage to clean and she took offense. SHe wouldn't let go, lifted her right off the ground with my finger. Yeah-- I'm terified by ferrets now!! COol creatures but I keep a safe distance now. lol

lol.. i was one of the first people here in the US breeding them back in the 70's when they hit the pet trade.. had over 70 breeders at one time straight from Mr Marshall along with a few imports
LOL--- anything you havent' done with animals? lol My kids ask for ferrets and I give them the look . . . . eventually they forget about asking for one until the news or an article in a kids magazine and they ask again. NO ferrets. I have lots of limits here or we would be needing a zoo license!! lol

Quote: I was thinking in terms of putting up verticl saffolding to hold cukes off the ground and some smaller squash can limb too like the pattipan squash as I recall, been a while. I have thought of black plastic but . . . how long does it last before crumbling??

Quote: Maybe NOT!! IF 40# at 5 months but not at 9 months-- the cest on a BBB is very side and ou feel huge mucles on the chest. THe heritage birds are far far less in muscling and the keel is easy to feel and the msucling is much lighter. Now having said that, I am wondering if per haps youhappen to have a very good heritage bred bird . . . . .which is very rare but don't dump him without more information . Also I would keep him or her to add great muscling to a mixed generation of heritage and commercial !! THat has been my goal and youare beating me to it!!