Welp hatchery - horror stories? *graphic pics pg2*

[tnchickenut]

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I'm just about to upload photos and post them here.

It wasn't just one breed. It was a little of both breeds that seemed older... one even looked big enough to fool me at first glance as a standard. I hate to speculate how or why this came to be. I just know that if I got them at what should have been 2 days old, they shouldn't have had wing feathers and they should have still had their "horns" on their beaks.

I'll leave it at that for the moment... I'll get these pictures on the computer and then on here. BRB.

 

[HEChicken]

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Even though the yolk keeps them alive for up to 3 days, they are still more than willing to eat right away. My chicks that I got less than 24 hours after they hatched ate "ravenously" too.

Also, the chicks that I got that were less than 24 hours old did not have a visible "horn".

 

[tnchickenut]

Quote:
Even though the yolk keeps them alive for up to 3 days, they are still more than willing to eat right away. My chicks that I got less than 24 hours after they hatched ate "ravenously" too.

Also, the chicks that I got that were less than 24 hours old did not have a visible "horn".

Well, this is very far from my first brood and I have never seen such a rush to eat. Maybe a peck here, peck there... maybe even some serious munching... but this... this was like shark week on discovery. Seriously. I have lots of chickens and raised all but three from chicks... most from eggs... I have never seen this rush for food. It's not the same.

 

[tnchickenut]

Here is a picture I took after the suggestion to take photos. I never thought to do that... since I wasn't (and am not) planning on trying to get a refund. For learning purposes only sort of thing. At the time of the picure, the chick should have been approx. 3 days old. Like the rest that passed, I couldn't get it to eat anything (after the feeding binge)... it was right by the feeder... thus all the feed on the ground. And a side note... the one that is off frame at the bottom... it died about a hour later.

As you can see... they weren't on their backs until the time that they die and flip. (I just know someone will write and say "they died because they got stuck on their backs" like I wouldn't flip one over that needed help)

And here is a shot of one of the dead one's "rug burn" type wound. Not all that had that passed away... I think this was a result of the shipping material they used. It was coarse and I could see them rubbing the joint there raw in shipping. Or maybe something in the hatcher. I dunno without seeing their facility.
I would have got one of the live one's spot too... but they keep wiggling and making it hard to get the shot right.

Notice, this particular one that is dead didn't have feathered out wings... adding to the mystery.

And just for comparison... here is a shot I took this afternoon of my standard Delawares that I hatched a week ago on 2/24 and 2/25 (Wed, Thurs). Their wings are just as developed. I know not all breeds develope the same rate... but that said, standard Delawares are one of the faster ones.

So, what I want to really know is... why is it when I called Iowa and spoke to someone at Welp to ask if the shipment was still going out that day (March 2nd), and they "patched me through" to "their warehouse" did the people in said warehouse tell me that my chicks were hatched and getting boxed right then (9:30am Mtn time) to go out. Then the barcode sticker on the box said 3/3/10 at 6:30am... and it arrived 3/3/10 at 6:30pm at McGee Tyson airport (which is not far at all from me). And then it took from 6:30pm 3/3 until 8:30am 3/4 to go through 5 red lights! That is how close we are talking here.... I can count them... 5 red lights between the airport and the PO I had to pick them up from. Very frustrating. I get it. I get it... protocol. I just find it annoying.

As for how old these chicks really are. Who knows. I know what I know. I have been doing this long enough and hatch nearly back to back. I got more eggs in the incubator as we speak. It's not like I'm new to this. I know something was/is up with this order. Every chick that is left now seems to be doing good. So far, since the last report of deaths, we haven't had anymore. I really just started this thread to see if anyone else had this issue from Welp... or anyone for that matter. I wasn't looking for advice at all, really... although the pictures were a good idea

I plan on calling Welp and expressing my feelings about this shipment. I am not even going to say the word "refund"... like I said before... I'm not after the money. I just wanted to see if I had a freak occurance, or if this is the normal thing with Welp (or Privett... or whoever). If it is a freak occurance and they have some newbie there or some employee with a bad attitude or something somewhere in the mix, they need to know. Also, if they do practice sneaking older chicks in the mix, they need to know that I noticed the different sizes and feathering of the chicks. Fool me once, shame on you... fool me twice, shame on me. This is why I won't go back to Welp. I was taking a chance on them anyways... I knew that... which is one of the reasons I got so many. Without pictures to go with the birds or even good descriptions, I knew it was a little over $100 gamble.

What I'm saying is, if it is a case of sneaking in chicks that are a bit older... that disturbs me more than just my order. That's all. And I don't know for sure that that is what happened. I don't work there. Like I said, I just know what I know from my experience with chicks and chickens. I got my gut feelings and when it boils down to it... that is all that it amounts to... no proof in that. He said, she said.


Ok. I can type forever.

 

[cluckcluck42]

The dead chicks feathering looks like a 3 day old, at LEAST. I agree with you, this is fishy, and I bet they were older than they are saying. I hope they make this right. Poor little chicks.

 

[Colored Egg Farmer]

Ive ordered from welp atleast 20 times and have never had a problem with them there customer service is very great to me even with how many times I go and change my order

I heard somewhere where bants are shipped from another hatchery not sure if that is correct but you may want to look into it. you only have one day all the times I have ordered I got 48 hours? You did get your chicks a day before i ever got mine. They usually ship monday and i receive them thursday. The worst shipment I have ever gotten from them was 4 dead on arrival but I always have very good luck with there chicks.

 

[prov31gal]

when you post like this, sometimes people will attack you, nothing is ever perfect at every hatchery, but this being said , something seems fishy with your order, and sometimes some places have some really fishy stuff going on. and some of the people who have had a good experience at whatever hatchery will get really upset ,will be really nasty at you because you said something not nice about their hatchery. i have had some really bad experiences with a certain hatchery , but when i mention it, people who love said hatchery will go nuts. keep looking into it, do call them, tell them what you think, perhaps they just have someone really screwing up and it will be remedied by your inquiry into the matter.