WARNING: Hoovers hatchery

[tranquiliti]

I’m not a hatchery expert lol but I wonder if there is still anyway around this. I agree with you that waiting is bad because of yolk absorbtion but I also agree that going ahead and sending them in very cold weather is also bad. I’m sure there is a valid solution it’s just hard to come up with one when you aren’t in the hatcheries position. But one thing I do agree is that hatcheries still hold responsibility in this particular situation and the fact that they are not/barely responding to emails is extremely unprofessional. If 10 out of 15 chicks died they should offer a refund at least

In frigid weather, add enough free chicks to reach 25 total?

 

[JacinLarkwell]

In frigid weather, add enough free chicks to reach 25 total?

Some do, which are almost always extra males. Then people get mad because they were sent a bunch of males they didn't want

 

[JChipowsky]

I've never shipped chicks or had them shipped to me, but I do send and receive reptiles. If shipping chicks wasn't a thing the local farm stores would never have anything that I would want. Locally it's mostly bym, barred rock, Rhode Island red, black austrolorps etc. Most common breeds and mixes of those. I did a lot of research before getting my chickens and although we ended up with a mixed flock (when the chicken math set in) our main flock consists of Crested cream legbars. Without shipping we would have never been able to aquire this breed.
I have my own issues with hoover hatchery, not because of shipping, but because of not breeding to the sop for most of their breeds. Cream Legbars are an auto sexing breed, males and females should look very different at hatch. Out of 15 chicks we got, only one was supposed to be a roo, we had 5 roos and 2 of the hens are actually a mix making them Easter eggers. If you breed low quality, you lose the auto sexing.
As for the shipping. As a reptile breeder, most of the good ones will not ship in temperatures below 70° for tropical species and not below 50° for temperate (northern) species. Heat packs can help, but they can also hurt. Most generally get to about a max temp of 115° about 30 minutes to an hour after being activated. They also use oxygen, so a completely sealed box would mean death. There's also phase packs witch help to regulate the temperatures. Ideally shipping would only happen at temperatures over 70° with no additional heat, or over 60° with a heat pack and phase pack. The phase pack will reduce temperature spikes while letting the heat come through slowly and more evenly. They have to both be secured to the top, side of the box with enough head room as to not be in direct contact with the animals.
It's really complicated, and I hate shipping animals, but there's not always local people who want designer reptiles or poultry.
I'm sorry for your loss and the terrible customer service. I definitely believe that the company selling the animals should take proper precautions when shipping.

 

[Chikenshiken]

So part of the problem really does lie with the person who placed the order: they could have ordered for a different month, or bought from a local hatchery, or ordered an incubator and fertile eggs. I do wish the hatcheries would make warnings a bit more obvious, telling people there could be problems if they order chicks shipped during certain months.

Unless it is stated on the website as a HUGE WARNING, everyday people aren’t going to know and is going to trust the sender that the chicks will be okay. Like OP thought there would be a heat pack because the hatchery allowed them to be shipped so the assumption was “this must be ok because the people handling the chicks shipped them.” We can’t expect everyone, especially first time buyers, to know the ins and outs of hatchery shipment. Even I didn’t know! I think hatcheries SHOULD have a warning if it’s a huge issue why isn’t it already on these websites? Bad business and makes the hatchery look bad

 

[TexasBlues]

Eggs are more of a risk. They might not hatch at all or you might end up with all boys. Which, granted, not every shipped chick will survive either but still. At least you can order girls and have a pretty good chance of getting them. Also not everybody has the means or desire to hatch eggs. It’s a lot of time and effort to get right.

Risk for the buyer or for the chick? I’m looking at it is risky for the chick to be shipped, not a risk for the customer. The customer ain’t being stuffed in a box.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Risk for the buyer or for the chick? I’m looking at it is risky for the chick to be shipped, not a risk for the customer. The customer ain’t being stuffed in a box.

The buyer since they might not hatch. But I do see what you’re saying. But for the record, I ordered from a hatchery several times and never once had an issue. All were happy and healthy.

 

[Sammster]

I'm so sorry. Thank you for the warning

 

[No Coop No Problem]

The buyer since they might not hatch. But I do see what you’re saying. But for the record, I ordered from a hatchery several times and never once had an issue. All were happy and healthy.

I think the issue is different climates and seasons. It sounds like the average hatchery is willing to ship baby chickens through molten lava if it'll make them $50

They shouldn't send babies in the mail that have certain death before them. At the very least there should be a warning for customers

 

[AinaWGSD]

I buy fertile eggs locally and shipped. What else do you want to know about them?
Personally I don’t think shipping eggs is cruel.
I don’t honestly care if it’s 10% or 1% of chicks that die in shipment. I don’t want to gamble with someone’s life.

That's fair. Personally I prefer to pick up live animals in person when possible. But that's not an option for everyone and live animals have been shipped since the advent of the postal system.

I do not believe that the post office would continue to ship day old chicks if the mortality rate truly were as high as 11% in transit or 50% within the first week. As for the cruelty of shipping I suspect we may have to agree to disagree a bit there. Is it the best opinion, probably not. But I suspect it's far from the cruelest thing hatcheries do.

 

[ShrekDawg]

I think the issue is different climates and seasons. It sounds like the average hatchery is willing to ship baby chickens through molten lava if it'll make them $50

They shouldn't send babies in the mail that have certain death before them. At the very least there should be a warning for customers

Yeah that’s true. I do agree with that. They shouldn’t ship them if it’s too cold or too hot.