What percent of chicks arrive at your house dead?

[keeper 1960]

12 ordered from meyer, all doing well

 

[Morrigan]

My shipping route tends to be rough.

Most chicks seem to go through SFO on their way here...

It's not just your route. The USPS in Northern California is messed up. My last order of chicks was 8 from MPC. I paid extra for the express. Overnight, the chicks made it all the way from Indiana to the Northern California distribution center in Sacramento. Sacramento is only 2 hours away from me. They then sat in that distribution center for 2 days before being put on a truck for delivery to my local post office. My local post master tried to track them down. I tried to track them down. I would have gladly driven to Sacramento to get them. It was impossible for either of us to reach a live human being in Sacramento. Luckily the chicks were still alive, when they finally made it to my local post office, although one chick was in very bad shape. I vented about it here when it happened. (https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/venting-postal-service-lost-my-chicks.1265437/)

It boggled my mind that someone would get a box of live animals marked priority express and then just chuck them in a warehouse to sit around for a couple of days.

I've had several orders of meat chicks over the years. Even if they are coming from the next state over, they always take 3 days, usually arriving with a couple dead, or near dead. Once it took 4 days and I had several dead chicks that time. For a while my favorite hatchery was refusing to ship chicks to Northern California due to the high number of losses.

I've switched to buying hatching eggs when I want new stock. My hatch rates are only 30% or so (the post office isn't kind to the eggs either), but at least I'm not dealing with dead chicks.

 

[Folly's place]

So sorry about your experiences in California!
I've had all arrive alive, and then twice, 10% dead within three days of arrival, with some dead in the box. Our local post office does very well, and I've driven to another town once when they were shipped there, and out post office called to let me know. Last April, when 10% died, I blame the hatchery for failing to include a heat pack. It's not balmy in Michigan in April!
Most shipped chicks have arrived in good shape, with maybe one dead out of 30 chicks, and this includes bantams.
Mary

 

[Henry&Friends]

I buy them from rural king a town over and worry the whole bus ride back that they’re all going to drop dead in the box.... never had one die during the ride though.

 

[bruceha2000]

I know one of my LFS has some of her chick shipments held at the post office in Oregon... about 25 miles north of us.

You are WAY the heck up there! And if they are flying Oregon chicks to Portland, it is just about as far from you as SFO. I don't know of a way to figure out the probable route from a given hatchery to a given PO. I know the chicks from Meyer go through Cleveland. Most often they seem to spend the night there even though the left the hatchery pretty early in the day.

3 times I've gone to the PO to get my chicks but twice they were brought straight to the house. Something about not getting to the truck on time that brings mail to the PO so they go through some small center and are sent out "direct to door" courier style. I would sure like for them to let me know they are doing that and about when they will arrive. Both times I arrived home to find a box of chicks in front of the door. Fortunately I'd not been gone long, if I still worked and didn't get home until 5 PM they would have been there for 6 hours.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I buy them from rural king a town over and worry the whole bus ride back that they’re all going to drop dead in the box.... never had one die during the ride though.

RK likely takes care of the losses if they have any... Most often without customers realizing, I think.

How long is your bus ride and how many chicks are ya usually bringing home?

Glad you never had it happen!

 

[analyticalblonde]

Ordered 10 chicks, got a call from the local Post Office at 4:30AM, picked them up and took them home with no casualties! Ordered from My Pet Chicken which has a customer support policy of either refund or replacement if notified within 48 hours.

 

[Henry&Friends]

RK likely takes care of the losses if they have any... Most often without customers realizing, I think.

How long is your bus ride and how many chicks are ya usually bringing home?

Glad you never had it happen!

2 or 3 hours with Usually a half dozen chicks, and yes RK does cover losses in the first 48 hours i think... Ive done this in the dead of winter and the heat of summer and I excessively worry each time.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

2 or 3 hours with Usually a half dozen chicks,

That's a bit of a ride! I understand your worry now.

 

[Manda at old mill]

I put 15% or more...

My shipping route tends to be rough. Bantams from MPC arrived with a BUNCH of stargazers... 100% loss and second shipment... lost all but 2. Also, on the second round I learned to crush the feed extra. MPC, decided not to ship to my zip for the rest of THAT season, which I thought was a good idea.

Coming from breeders and other hatcheries my bantam loss is usually around 50%. Standard birds fair MUCH better. probably at least 10% still though if not a little more.

Knowing how rough my route is... I only purchase chicks with live arrival guarantee. But I also disclose my shipping concern with any private breeder and let them assess whether or not they can afford the risk.

To my location... no such thing as "express" mail, even though that's the only option from MPC. One breeder said even though it wouldn't truly be express that shipped that way it would get on a plane on their side. First shipment sent express with about 50% survival rate. 2nd shipment sent priority for about $8 instead of $55... arrived in the same amount of time with the same approximate amount of survivors. Shipping was paid by the sender... I personally request priority because according to my experience... express goes onto other planes and misses it's truck connection to come up the coast out of SFO... verses being on the truck. *Sometimes* express takes a day longer to MY location. Most of time it's the same, but never has express beat priority... YET.

I do value the effort made by our post people and the hatcheries that supply us!

My last batch hoover's added a warmer in with which considering im in pa and they are way out west I thought this was fantastic considering I had them shipped februay 10th (I know dumb but I just couldn't wait). All 16 chicks (I ordered 15 someone miscounted) survived and I lost one duck of 15 which I believe was an indian runner. arrived with her eyes pasted shut. of course my practice is they go right in a house bathroom with heat lamp and warm water with electrolytes and probiotics and I hold off on food for about an hour or two until they warm and drink first