USPS Shipping Delays: March 2021: Should I Be Concerned?

[Davethebirdman]

Faverolles are we developed in France for the Paris egg market in the 19th century

 

[Auntiejessi3]

It's so stressful! What did you order? I've got Barred Rock, Speckled Sussex, Buff Orpingtons, and Salmon Favarolles in my order. The Favarolles are new to me; I've never had them before. Buffs and Sussex have been favorites over the years.

5 coming, buff brahma, green queen, EE, golden cuckoo maran and whatever my meal maker is. I currently have 1 BO, 1 light brahma and a Whiting true blue. I live in Texas and I couldn't find what I wanted anywhere closer. Just hope they all arrive safe

 

[Chicken Chat]

I'm so glad you posted this, I have a duck order due to ship the week of April 12 and started to get nervous myself when I saw the news report on the upcoming post office changes. Since the post office are the only ones that will ship poultry we are kind of stuck......

 

[Auntiejessi3]

I'm so glad you posted this, I have a duck order due to ship the week of April 12 and started to get nervous myself when I saw the news report on the upcoming post office changes. Since the post office are the only ones that will ship poultry we are kind of stuck......

Where are you getting your order from?

 

[Chicken Chat]

Where are you getting your order from?

Murray McMurray in Iowa

 

[U_Stormcrow]

USPS Service alerts can be found **here** There are currently none affecting the shipment of live animals nationally, contra the case about 10-14 days ago, though there remain some regional impacts on mail generally (click the "current delivery issues under Residential" to see them).

Louis DeJoy is a distraction. However "good" or "evil" you choose to believe his intentions, and regardless of the color of his politics, the numbers don't lie, and long predate his tenure. First Class Mail, a major source of USPS revenue, has been in decline since roughly 2000 - its half what it used to be. The USPS costs, OTOH, have continued to climb. Facilities, Personnel, Vehicles, Fuel, etc are all more expensive two decades later than they used to be, even with tiny headcount reductions.

At some point, something's got to give - and firing DeJoy won't change that. Keeping DeJoy and letting him implement his current plan won't change that. The numbers don't lie about that, either - his own figures don't offer the savings needed to place the USPS back on a largely self supporting trajectory, rosy though they are.

Your more immediate concern **may** be your local legislators, pushing feel good legislation in their utter ignorance. Like a NY bill which would ban live animal shipments (including poultry) by USPS. Such a bill wouldn't affect the Tysons and ConAgras of the world, indeed, its a competitive advantage to them - and it has the support of Greens and others driven by emotion over major losses of live poultry in the region, recently - but it would be utterly devastating to many small scale producers and home chicken owners.

 

[Auntiejessi3]

I canceled my order, can't stand the thought of dead babies... I'll look locally for what I want and if I can't find it I'll just not have it this year

 

[deidreg]

Yes, I did comb through back threads but didn't find anything really up-to-date; most were from spring/summer/fall of 2020.

I have a chick order from Meyer set to be hatched and delivered the last week of April. I'm growing concerned with the most recent news about DeJoy warning of NEW postal delays. Has anyone ordered recently, and has the shipping been swift? I'm on the fence as to whether to cancel my order, (but then where can I find what I want? I'm in CT) or do I take my chances?

Thanks for any info/btdt.

astrid

I'm also in CT and worked with Sugar Feather Farm in Berlin, VT to get my chickens last fall. I drove up to get them and came home same day. I was also concerned about shipping.

BTW--I got a pair of Salmon Favarolles as part of my order. They're hilarious.

 

[appleacres]

Yes, I did comb through back threads but didn't find anything really up-to-date; most were from spring/summer/fall of 2020.

I have a chick order from Meyer set to be hatched and delivered the last week of April. I'm growing concerned with the most recent news about DeJoy warning of NEW postal delays. Has anyone ordered recently, and has the shipping been swift? I'm on the fence as to whether to cancel my order, (but then where can I find what I want? I'm in CT) or do I take my chances?

Thanks for any info/btdt.

astrid

An update from my experience in last two weeks. I made an order of chicks last week, they shipped priority which the hatchery said was normal and would take two days. They arrived in three days and all perished.

They said they would try again, but this time I insisted they use a heat pack and ship priority express, which the hatchery said would not make a difference. The post office does not agree with this statement, and they arrived all alive and so far very active, on day 2. I think the hatcheries (some of them) are still just blown away by the changes at the post office.

I needed to order in March for the timing to get them feathered and in our orchards by May, but I would recommend ordering after the last frost, and definitely paying the extra $20 for priority mail express at least this year when the post office is so messed up, it made a difference for me!

 

[Astrid]

I'm also in CT and worked with Sugar Feather Farm in Berlin, VT to get my chickens last fall. I drove up to get them and came home same day. I was also concerned about shipping.

BTW--I got a pair of Salmon Favarolles as part of my order. They're hilarious.

OH Thanks for the tip! I'll check them out. We're always up for a good road trip!