Shipping adult Birds

[WMeredith]

Hello Fellow Breeders:

Even with it costing almost $150.00 to ship a trio of adult birds by Express Mail. I am getting several orders.
However, I have learned that the USPS offers no guarantee of any kind on live shipments. Only if the shipment is totally lost or destroyed.

I have a dispute with someone over a bird that did not arrive
alive. I offered to refund the cost of the bird, but that does not satisfy my customer. He was aware the the post office does not guarentee the shipment, but he thinks I should.

To anyone who has shipped adult birds, how have you handled
this, and what do you guarantee?

Thanks for any help:

[Mike Gilbert]

Wayne, I think the proper thing to do would be to advise your customers in advance that once you ship the bird(s) it is no longer in your control, so any loss in the hands of the USPS will not be your responsibility.   I don\'t believe this is new, as what you described is what I always understood to be their policy.  I lost one bird, years ago, and don\'t remember how it was handled.   I do know the customer was irate, but he is still a member of the ABC.   With regard to this one, perhaps the right thing to do would be to refund the cost of the bird, but not the shipping, and offer to send another one (if you have one available) for cost of shipping only.

[Jean]

There is a refund on shipping should the bird take over three days to arrive.

Postage refunds may not be available if the Express Mail shipment was delivered or delivery was attempted within three days of the date of mailing as shown in the Date In box on Label 11.

Also, the first thing to ask is \"Did I do everything right?\"  I have shipped numerous started birds and haven\'t lost a one.

Was the shipping address correct?

Was the bird truely an adult or just a fledgling?

Was it too hot or too cold to ship?

Was the bird healthy?

If you can say to yourself,  \"I did everything right and nothing could have been done to prevent this.\", then the right thing to do is to offer a replacement bird as Mike suggested.  I say this because you may be out the cost of one bird, but you have probably made your customer happy which will lead to good reviews about your \"ethics\" as a breeder.  Your customer would also be out the cost of shipping another bird.

[Mike Gilbert]

\"Was the bird truely an adult or just a fledgling? \"

Jean, not sure what you mean by \"fledgling.\"    I have shipped many started birds, four to six weeks old, and have yet to lose one.  If they are fast feathering, they have enough feather covering to provide adequate insulation at that age.
The typical shipment is four to six birds in a box, never just one.

[Jean]

A fledgling would be an immature or underdeveloped bird.

I find that a four week old ameraucana chick does not have enough reserves to miss a couple meals during transit, so I prefer to ship older ones around 8+ weeks.

[Mike Gilbert]

Have you tried including something for them to eat in the shipping container?   It  has worked for me.

[Jean]

Mike,

Yes, I provide apples or even a cup taped to the inside of the shipping box with gelatin and crumbles mixed for smaller birds.  My chick shipments get cucumbers.

If it is cold or a small order of chicks, I add a 72 hour heat pack.

I also do alot of research before I ship.  I find out how many days the bird is supposed to take to get to it\'s destination.  If it is two days, I try to see if there is a post office within 30 miles of purchaser\'s home that will get the bird there overnight.

Even with food, I prefer to ship a bird older than 4-6 weeks.

[Beth C]

Wayne, I haven\'t shipped any out, but, from a buyer\'s point of view, I\'d never think of asking a seller to reimburse the shipping, or bird either for that matter. I understand how disappointing it must be to receive a dead bird, but it\'s a risk you take to get something that isn\'t available locally. I make the choice to buy from an out of state breeder, I make the choice to have the bird shipped, I assume the risk. It\'s a nice gesture to offer a refund/replacement for the bird itself but you are in no way responsible for the shipping.

[Paul]

Our PO goes by the book-and only ships adult birds or day old chicks-nothing between like started chicks.  We have shipped many since 2000 with the loss of only one pullet a few years ago.  They were suppose to go to Kansas to a man who works in the PO!  Someone put the birds on the wrong plane and they were sent to Colorado.  They arrived in Kansas either 3 or 4 days after we sent them.  Our PO refunded the postage as it was a late delivery.  I sent another blue pullet.  Since then I met Ken and have sold more to him.