WARNING: Cackle Hatchery

[Some Old Guy]

I guess I'll add my own limited experience here. I ordered from Hoover Hatchery. First order was for my Guinea fowl. Birds went to the post office on Tuesday evening, and arrived at my local post office Thursday morning, all healthy and active. That was roughly 36 hours in transit. Second order was for 15 Australorps, they didn't ship until Thursday morning. Tracking was terribly confused, I couldn't be sure where the birds were. I called my local post office, to warn them that birds were coming, and should be here on Saturday morning. The post office told me they had no record of any poultry coming in, they probably wouldn't arrive until Monday. My heart sank, and I kept checking on USPS tracking. My birds were apparently lost. But - Saturday morning, post office called and asked if I wanted to come pick up my birds. Roughly 48 hours in transit, so, not bad. Again, the little critters were healthy and active, and took to feed and water with little prompting on my part.

Both of these shipments were in March of this year, 2024. The weather was a little cool, but not cold. Ten and fifteen chicks huddled in that tiny little box kept each other warm enough.

Our local mail ladies are very good at what they do. They may even be exceptional. I often tell them how much I appreciate their efforts. The one time I had a serious complaint, I was very careful to identify the correct person, and to complain about that person. (A contractor, not actually a USPS employee.)

 

[member 544621]

Go price a few trucks, you’ll think they have feelings & reproductive capability!

Or at least wish for the reproductivity part! LOL!!

 

[member 544621]

Hello everyone. Please learn from my horrendous experience and be very weary about ordering from Cackle or any hatchery for that matter.

I was hesitant to order any birds ever, but I saw forum after forum and many reviews stating that this hatchery was reputable. I decided to go against my better judgement and ordered 4 ducks and 4 buff orpingtons, thinking that because the hatchery was 4 hours away, I wouldn't need to worry. FALSE.

My birds shipped at 4:30pm on Monday. Tuesday morning they are received in Kansas City then go off into the ether. They sat in warehouses for FOUR DAYS before arriving Friday morning. There were three already dead (one of them was an extra buff) and the rest of the birds were on the edge of death.

The box was crushed. The birds WERE NOT GIVEN any kind of liquid or solid sustenance. I had been in contact with the hatchery every day since they shipped and they told me they had been having lots of issues with USPS. Yet they still shipped the birds with no food or water knowing full well the shipment would take a long time. They claimed they were not allowed to overnight ship. They paid a whopping $6.15 in shipping to my $27.

I lost another duck this morning. She was in horrible shape all day yesterday. She was in a state of extreme shock and nervous system overload. At least she was warm and fed when she passed, unlike her sisters.

I spoke to them about it and they claimed they will take this to the owner, meanwhile I hear in the background a conversation with another customer who lost all their birds. This is a common occurrence and they are wittingly shipping live animals through a failing system and not taking any precautions to prevent death of the animals. The animals are not given "live animal" labels and ARE NOT EXPEDITED. I was promised they would be, and that is not the case.

Kansas City USPS warehouse is TERRIBLE. Can't tell you how many times I have watched tracking of shipments either sit in KC OR be on some sort of yo yo string... leave KC, return to KC, leave KC, return to KC....

This is NOT Cackles fault at all and I find it sad that you put the blame on them. I have ordered through Cackle and will continue to ONLY order through Cackle. If something happens in shipping it is NOT their fault.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Kansas City USPS warehouse is TERRIBLE. Can't tell you how many times I have watched tracking of shipments either sit in KC OR be on some sort of yo yo string... leave KC, return to KC, leave KC, return to KC....

This is NOT Cackles fault at all and I find it sad that you put the blame on them. I have ordered through Cackle and will continue to ONLY order through Cackle. If something happens in shipping it is NOT their fault.

Miami is pretty bad too - our office sends a lot of mail Certified, Return Reciept. If it goes thru the Miami office, pretty much guaranteed we won't get that receipt returned.

Nothing to do with live poultry of course, just commenting that post offices vary.

 

[fowltemptress]

I ordered from Hoovers and lucked out got them the following day and box in good shape. All lived. They are shipped in very obvious holed boxes and I could hear my chicks as soon as I came in the post office. Our rural carrier can't deliver, we have to come into the local post office to pick them up. Me personally, if I knew my order had gotten lost, and was several days late, and the postal people lifted up the separate top (just held on with a piece of tape on each of the 4 folded edged sides) and given my chicks a bit of water I def would have thanked them and tried to tip them. My label had an obvious ship date. So it they saw the date and when called me to let me know they were in, I wouldn't be surprised if they'd ask if it was on to set little plastic cup/bowl/lid of water and id have said yes please.

If my chicks die because some well-meaning postal carrier didn't know to warm the water up first so that they wouldn'tget too chilled, so help me . . .

 

[cassie]

What is your alternative?

 

[fowltemptress]

What is your alternative?

To not mess with my mail.

 

[McChooky]

Hello everyone. Please learn from my horrendous experience and be very weary about ordering from Cackle or any hatchery for that matter.

I was hesitant to order any birds ever, but I saw forum after forum and many reviews stating that this hatchery was reputable. I decided to go against my better judgement and ordered 4 ducks and 4 buff orpingtons, thinking that because the hatchery was 4 hours away, I wouldn't need to worry. FALSE.

My birds shipped at 4:30pm on Monday. Tuesday morning they are received in Kansas City then go off into the ether. They sat in warehouses for FOUR DAYS before arriving Friday morning. There were three already dead (one of them was an extra buff) and the rest of the birds were on the edge of death.

The box was crushed. The birds WERE NOT GIVEN any kind of liquid or solid sustenance. I had been in contact with the hatchery every day since they shipped and they told me they had been having lots of issues with USPS. Yet they still shipped the birds with no food or water knowing full well the shipment would take a long time. They claimed they were not allowed to overnight ship. They paid a whopping $6.15 in shipping to my $27.

I lost another duck this morning. She was in horrible shape all day yesterday. She was in a state of extreme shock and nervous system overload. At least she was warm and fed when she passed, unlike her sisters.

I spoke to them about it and they claimed they will take this to the owner, meanwhile I hear in the background a conversation with another customer who lost all their birds. This is a common occurrence and they are wittingly shipping live animals through a failing system and not taking any precautions to prevent death of the animals. The animals are not given "live animal" labels and ARE NOT EXPEDITED. I was promised they would be, and that is not the case.

I'm sorry for your loss but I always recommend using hatcheries that have been in business the longest (the same ones who recommend using radiant heat for new baby chicks) By picking a ship date after the last frost date in the spring and no later than November I never receive dead chicks from severe cold or severe heat. Chickens can tolerate cold better than heat. I don't mix big breeds of chicks with small breeds (even if they're all standard size ) to prevent them trampling each other.

I tracked a pair of shoes I ordered off of eBay last Monday .They went from New York to my local post office in a couple days (Southern WV) But after they got here our local post office sent them 4 hrs away up North.They finally made it here today ...

 

[McChooky]

Miami is pretty bad too - our office sends a lot of mail Certified, Return Reciept. If it goes thru the Miami office, pretty much guaranteed we won't get that receipt returned.

Nothing to do with live poultry of course, just commenting that post offices vary.

Our carrier has signed for registered or certified mail numerous times (my sons so I'm not sure which)She put them in our mail box on the side of the road. Guess she doesn't like coming to the house lol

 

[Ponyiqandhens2]

Don't forget that being shipped during flash freezes is also a problem, our local feed store lost most of their Cream Legbar chicks due to being shipped during a flash freeze last year. Not sure what could've been done but it was something that can happen during the spring months on the north eastern coast. Take for instance the large winter storm we had in April this year, very cold and knocked out a large area of power throughout my area. I am glad I got my chicks before the storm and during a warming trend, but my chicks had to huddle for warmth during the power outage. And when chicks huddle they can smother each other which during a freeze enroute can likely add to the death toll when shipping live chicks. So if my carrier was to open any boxes of freezing chicks to give them a warmer place to stay I would be glad they did it.

My post office does not open unless they go unretrieved,but any chicks they receive during cold months go into the post masters office with a space heater rather than sit in the Un heated warehouse area.