That's super odd. I have a order of 7 silver laced wyandottes, 6 Isabella leghorn and 5 BLG wyandottes. They have yet to call me so they better not tell me on wensday (the date of shipping) that my order was too small or that I need to pay an extra fee. It was placed in January and they already had it deliver once with all doas
Hoover changed this early March. My guesses - number increase due the to high losses in February. On my local chicken thread, peeps that ordered the minimum 15, no one was happy. Very high mortality and few thriving. I postponed mine until April because all the other hatcheries started small order shipments at that time. I don't know why Hoover's was shipping 15 chicks during winter. People who ordered the normal 25+ were generally happy. I'm sure the postal service shutting things down for a week put them in a bad spot too. not a good time to be in the chick business. Lots of losses to address + a whole week of backorders? Ick. My guess is in April or May they will change the requirements again and loosen them up once they've caught up with their problems.
Curious - so if you submit order through TSC they'll ship 10 chicks by themselves? Did they have a heat pack of extras for warmth?
I imagine a heat pack. I can do the 10 chick order here in MT
The batch that shipped March 3 had a heat pack and was arranged in such a way that part of the box was walled off so they were huddled together. Purchased ten. Sent ten. Ten still thriving
Very interesting/confusing! Glad they are doing well! I know that folks in my area that ordered 15 directly from Hoover's (back when 15 was an option) were shipped in Feb with no heat pack. I wish they were more transparent and up front about how things are being shipped. I ended up adding 5 more to my order because I was too nervous shipping 15. I would've much rather kept it at just 15 with a heat pack, but when I emailed with questions a month ago it wasn't even offered. I wonder if the TSC orders are shipped directly from Hoovers? Did they tracking show they came from Iowa? (Or is it Ohio? I forget )The batch that shipped March 3 had a heat pack and was arranged in such a way that part of the box was walled off so they were huddled together. Purchased ten. Sent ten. Ten still thriving
I ordered some Easter eggers through tractor supply that got their chicks from Hoover's. They did not send them with a heat pack, but they had A layer of styrofoam wrapped around the inside perimeter of the box. They all arrived alive, in this case.
Thanks for the photo! I guess that is what the rep meant by "winter shipping box". Are these chicks you just received recently?
I ordered a batch of Easter eggers through tractor supply that used Hoovers. The first batch of chicks never arrived. If I check tracking even now it just shows "in transit", And that was a month and a half ago. Tractor supply sent me a new order after it was clear the first was lost in the mail somehow, (though I don't know how you misplace a box of smelly dead chicks!
) and everybody arrived safe and sound. The first box getting lost was definitely the fault of the post office, not the hatchery. I actually sell online as a small from home business, and I have had very little issues with my packages getting to my customers. there are a lot of variables though, so it's a hard question to answer.
