We set our incubators on Monday mornings usually between 7:00 AM and 9:00 AM. It is delayed to Tuesday mornings when the Monday that we need to set eggs falls three weeks before President’s Day, Martin Luther King Day, Memorial Day. If the chicks hatch early-like on Sunday they are sent out on Monday. If they hatch on time-they ship out on Tuesday. If they hatch late-they ship on Wednesday. This has worked for over 20 years. A few years ago the PO would refund shipping charge if the express mail was late, but not now if delivered in 3 days. If the chicks are dead-it doesn’t get a postage refund or any insurance fund-its your tough LUCK! We have had a few boxes killed in the past. We have learned to ship a 72 hour heat pack with the chicks. The heat pack is placed under the toe pads. The red stripes must be up for the heat packs to work. Tried taping them to the top on the inside, but don’t recommend that. If it comes loose it may crush the chicks!
This Spring we sent a box to Missouri. It was put on the wrong plane and went to California first, then from there to Missouri. We lost ¼ of the box, which we made good, but the PO didn’t.
Thirty-three years ago, I was a sub carrier for a rural route out of our local PO. I saw what goes on behind the scenes. Every morning the postmaster pushed a huge cart overflowing with packages into the center of the room with 6 smaller carts on each side in a line. He would sort the packages and throw them to the carts for the different routes. Then each delivery person would have to go get their cart to deliver the packages. This rough treatment is why we quit shipping hatching eggs for several years until finding out about a new product of a block of foam with holes in it, to hold eggs. We have had good success with getting eggs shipped!
Didn’t mean to get off track.
A large box of chicks came for one of my deliveries and the postmaster told me that they were in the back room so we didn’t have to hear them! They weren’t outside but in a non-heated area-way too cold for the babies. The problem is the PO employees don’t know that the chicks are chirping because they are cold! They hatch at 99.5ºF! We fanciers, need to inform them every time we get an opportunity to do so!
We fanciers are blessed to have the PO to carry our birds-no others (Fed EX, UPS, DHL, bus station) carry them. We will be sending them to our 48th state this month. This wouldn’t have happened without the PO service!
