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shelovesbackshots OP t1_jcgp1mh wrote

For the first two days of life, chicks are still digesting the yolk sacks from the eggs. They can survive shipment as long as they are kept warm and arrive within three days at the most.

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myfriendandbag t1_jcgte5v wrote

Those motherfuckers would ship anything to keep that old outdated shit alive.

−23

dinkdonner t1_jcgwyig wrote

Yep, I was a mail carrier when chicks were delivered to the sorting floor. None on my route, but it was weird!!

4

goatholomew t1_jcgy33q wrote

I can't get a book delivered without USPS beating the shit out of it. This seems ill conceived.

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tronic50 t1_jcgzm5o wrote

And rest assured, you get a quick call from the postmaster when you have a box with holes in it peeping away! 😂

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apathyduck t1_jch0u2e wrote

I walked in to the post office one day and saw a guy shipping birds.

High value birds too. It was his business, he ships them like that several days a week all over the country.

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windsorHaze t1_jch11nu wrote

Replying to goatholomew (#2,246,879)

Usps treats “live animals” differently from the rest of the packages. Live animals get special labeling on transport containers, and segregated from the rest of the mail. They moved to safer & warmer locations in the warehouses between relay destinations.

Fun fact: usps is the only organization in the us allowed to ship live animals and cremated remains via package/mail.

Source: am usps employee.

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kokopilau t1_jch1uow wrote

Ahhh yes. That incessant chirping from the back of the small regional aircraft.

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bratch t1_jch30pv wrote

Because you want hawks and falcons to have fresh food.

0

SilverAudience2 t1_jch348r wrote

Poor things. I hope it's temperature controlled at least. We used to have dogs and cats dying during air shipping in the cargo holds.

−1

bikeidaho t1_jch36yp wrote

Can confirm. Have received them twice.

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AlGeee t1_jch3q7h wrote

And spiders

Probably other bugs

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E0H1PPU5 t1_jch6y3c wrote

Replying to goatholomew (#2,246,879)

Nah. I just had 16 little peepers delivered and they were handled with the utmost care for their entire journey. They moved from Iowa to NJ in 48 hours without a single strand of fluff out of place.

The postal service workers called me as soon as they arrived at the post office and let me come pick them up before the office opened.

There wasn’t a scuff to be seen on that box.

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Mother_Goat1541 t1_jch7nz5 wrote

Coincidentally, I just left the post office package annex and could hear cheeping 🐥 🐣

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Mother_Goat1541 t1_jch89fu wrote

Replying to bikeidaho (#2,247,175)

As a kid growing up on a farm, I remember being on baby chick duty and would be stuck in the house waiting for the phone call that our chickens were at the post office. Our mail carrier wouldn’t deliver them (we received mail in a box on a rural route) so we would drive the 20 miles to the post office to pick up our cheeping package

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Jammer1948 t1_jchb6cp wrote

I am waiting for my chicks now. I have also had honey bees shipped to my home. The post office called me and had come down and get then NOW.

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Minimum_Zucchini1572 t1_jchl92d wrote

Can confirm. Local PO has called several times to say they have chicks I should come get

0

junkuncle888 t1_jchowg3 wrote

They delivered 12 dead chicks to us. Kids were super excited, until they weren't.

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JDShadow t1_jchqxam wrote

Yep. Worked for 2 years at a local firm and feed shop. Twice a year we got chick's in. Had to go in at 5am to pick up from post office, man the postal workers would be so mad if we were running late lol. Fun times

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SecondTryBadgers t1_jchxb9r wrote

We get baby chicks and ducklings a few times a week in my office. We pull them off the trucks right away and take them inside and usually the box has a customer phone so we call them to come and get them.

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LongWalk86 t1_jchxhvz wrote

Replying to BirdEducational6226 (#2,246,992)

Got a call once from a very scared sounding postal worker. They were at a sorting facility about an hour away near a major hub and told me my bee shipments was damaged and bees were loose and that I need to come get them.

We raced there expecting bees flying everywhere, but of course the box was fine and still sealed, but 50-100 bees were hanging onto the outside of the box at the bee yard and just stayed part of the swarm. The lady must have really just not liked bees or had disturbed them for a moment because you almost always get a few free-bees on packages, though that was a lot.

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grc207 t1_jci4rfc wrote

I’ve told this story before but it’s worth sharing again. I used to work for a major mail order DVD company. I’d spend a fair amount of time picking up and dropping off red mailers at the postal distribution centers. That’s when I learned that they shipped chickens! The postal service used carts approx 6 feet tall that would hold many smaller mail bins. Sometimes they would be filled with cardboard crates just peeping away.

Except for one day after a holiday weekend. That bin should have been peeping. It was not. It was completely quiet. And it still had to be delivered. It was a difficult day for me after that thinking about that silent cart.

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tangcameo t1_jci5pyl wrote

Canada post does too. And bees. I once accepted a package of crickets. They’d cling to one corner of the box inside and make a sound like a rain stick. Customer made me guess what was inside.

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ryanderkis t1_jci5xpg wrote

We do this in Canada too. The box can't be sorted like regular parcels for obvious reasons so we usually put them on a Supervisor's desk until pick up occurs. Chirp chirp chirp.

1

longbongliver t1_jci9z3s wrote

I worked loading trucks at the UPS back in the day and came across a busted open box of tiny hermit crabs packed up in a mesh bag.

1

the_cardfather t1_jciaqri wrote

Replying to Font_Snob (#2,247,550)

I'm not sure if it was a duckling but I remember one time. My friend who worked at the post office carried a rather large duck to someone. Apparently there was supposed to be a male hold and they were supposed to keep it at the post office but he rushed it to their house first thing. They showed up at the post office while he was at their house so they rushed off to get in. I'm not sure if he stayed with the duck or not.

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driverofracecars t1_jcicikg wrote

I kid you not, every time I go to the post office in my smallish city, I can hear little baby chicks cheeping away somewhere behind the counter. Is this why?

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UhaRugger1 t1_jcicpuo wrote

Replying to tronic50 (#2,246,959)

I usually give my post office a heads up with my info. My info is usually on the outside of the box anyway but they appreciate the notice and I've never had an issue. I tell them to call, regardless of what time, and I will come pick them up. You can usually hear them when you walk in the building.

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personalhale t1_jcid6xg wrote

Am I weird for knowing that USPS still ships livestock and all kind of things? I'm a beekeeper that regularly has live bees shipped through USPS.

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Responsible_Smile789 t1_jciegno wrote

Replying to mattgen88 (#2,246,615)

Learned from the article: that was when Trump blocked federal aid for the USPS because he didn’t want to support mail-in election voters, the money prolly would of prevented a slow down in the USPS facilities

Louis was the top official of the USPS and should have known about the consequences of slowing the mail process in the affected facilities, therefore preventing the thousands of chicken deaths/casual and professional chicken farmers losses or at least been able to explain better

So Louis dropped the ball, but Trump for personal , not conservative reasons failed to support USPS funding(wages, new facilities, maintenance) Refusing the plan of 3B specifically for mail-election and the 25B asked in general for USPS

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legalcarroll t1_jcieykg wrote

They mail full grown roosters here. My PO is noisy!

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HarmlessHeffalump t1_jciftv1 wrote

My mom raises chickens and has gotten quite a few calls from her county’s animal control after the post office received shipments of chicks that couldn’t be delivered.

Shipping chicks that young is really risky and most sadly don’t make it.

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SmolPandas t1_jcig1q3 wrote

My family received these packages several times when I was a kid. It was awesome every time.

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New_Age_Caesar t1_jcihjye wrote

This is how we got our first chickens as a kid. It was around Easter so they were all dyed different colors. Come to think of it my mom probably did that, not the company. Anyway we ended up naming some of them based off the colors so the pink one was pinky pie.

Well, pinky pie grew up to be a very mean rooster so we’d always be yelling his name along with some choice words when he attacked us. I remember one time climbing up on the fence to get away from him and being stuck there surrounded by like 3 pissed off roosters.

But roosters are sweet compared to male peacocks. We had some of those too but that’s a story for another time

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Papadocbama t1_jcii62r wrote

True! I have bought many baby chucks by mail. Just have to be able to show up at the post office when they arrive.

1

erishun t1_jciis9s wrote

Replying to personalhale (#2,249,659)

And they were prearranged and fully planned in close conjunction with the postal service. It’s not like they licked a stamp and stuck the kid in a box.

The parents worked with post office staff to choose the appropriate day and route well in advance.

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Ulgeguug t1_jcil6f4 wrote

As a former postal worker from a high agriculture area I can confirm

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Darqologist t1_jcilgaz wrote

With how long it takes mail to arrive anymore...probably not such a good idea.

0

gnique t1_jcimn9y wrote

I raised 50 Ring Neck Pheasants for release when I lived in Idaho Falls, Idaho. They came in the mail in two boxes of 25 each. Not much bigger than a cigar box. Pheasants love watermelon BTW. I was a member of a retriever field trial club. We released probably 500 twelve week old pheasents at a family pic-nic day. 500 pheasents, kids and puppys way out in the desert. I don't know if it's widely known but Ring Neck Pheasants were introduced to the US by a foreign service officer serving in the Theodore Roosevelt administration. The first ones were released near Salem Oregon at what is now a wildlife preserve.

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OozeNAahz t1_jcip2mv wrote

Worked at UPS as a developer back in the mid 90’s. Was on a tour of the hub in Louisville and was chatting with the guide. Evidently someone shipped live baby frogs the previous summer and the box got damaged and they got out on one of the conveyor belts. Not knowing what the hell was going on the were all hopping like mad trying to keep from being swept off the belt. Both hilarious and sad.

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KnudsonRegime t1_jcirjmv wrote

They ship fully grown fighting cocks too. Also, bees. All my bees come USPS.

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trijkdguy t1_jcirws0 wrote

I get chicks and ducklings every year.

1

jolinar30659 t1_jcis21g wrote

They sure do! We’ve gotten meat chickens this way several times. :)

1

TheCorgiTamer t1_jcit28d wrote

Not efficiently; we did this with our first batch of chicks when we first started out raising chickens

It was supposed to be "next day" and instead took almost 4 days

Of the 6 we ordered, 2 were DOA, 2 more didn't make it past the first 5 days (the last 2 made it to about 3 month, but fowlpox got them)

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flightwatcher45 t1_jcitb62 wrote

USPS ships a lot of things that would surprise you WAY more.

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Plethorian t1_jcitex1 wrote

In 1996 I was performing implementations of in-house medical repair operations at the (then named) Columbia Hospital system. I had the west coast, and one was in Riverton, Wyoming - a lovely place. I had finished my work there, and was scheduled to fly to California for a meeting the next day.

I got to the airport way early, and the staff was excited. They were hoping I'd be there early, because there was a spring storm front moving in. The Hertz rep had told them that I was due back, and got on the intercom to let them know I was there.

My later, direct flight to Denver was already cancelled, but they had room for me on a flight that stopped first in Worland, Wyoming. If I'd had a map, I'd have stayed an extra day. Worland was north, Denver was southeast.

So we take off, in the ubiquitous Dash-10, heading north. At the back of the plane only a simple partition separated the cargo from the passengers. I was annoyed, because there clearly styrofoam coolers rubbing together, and the squeaking was annoying. I was distracted by watching ice form on the wings as we flew into the storm, though.

We make it to Worland, and we all had to disembark so they could refuel. We're in the one-room terminal, and the baggage gets unloaded. There aren't any styfrofoam coolers. There are boxes and boxes of baby chicks.

Turns out that it's completely uneconomical to keep chickens over a winter in Worland. They get new ones every year, and I got to ride in with them. If you ever wondered what a thousand cheeping baby chicks sound like, just rub a couple styrofoam coolers together. For an hour.

Edit: Worland, Wyoming

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BumpinBakes t1_jciua1n wrote

Same with honey bees and honey bee queens.

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Pony_Express1974 t1_jciupd3 wrote

Yes, and sometimes they all arrive dead. I used to work as a contract driver for the Post office, and one time, I had several boxes of baby chickens in my load. In one box, every single baby chicken save one was dead. Often, there will be a few dead baby chickens in a box. They even ship baby ducklings the same way as well. Almost always just before Easter.

1

Derpsauce1337 t1_jciuwwm wrote

Replying to SilverAudience2 (#2,247,151)

They're only allowed to be shipped on the ground, stay in temperature controlled environments between drives, and have enough nutrients for 72 hours

If everything is done as it should - the peepers will be just fine

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Maanee t1_jcixcxc wrote

The absolute, and I mean Disney villain level worst, is when the resident doesn't give the shipper a good phone number. We had one customer do that a few years ago, we called and called and called thinking the box just wasn't set up and they would pick up the phone eventually but they never did.

They have to be held at the post office because of the instructions on the box and expectation that the customer is going to pick them up ASAP. The entire box died before the customer got there 2 days later. Just wretched people.

1

Maanee t1_jcixzam wrote

Replying to DrManhattan_DDM (#2,247,076)

Books do get beat up but that is mostly because shippers send them as media mail, our cheapest and slowest option, while not properly packaging them (little green plastic bags are the norm). If they shipped them as live animals, they'd have to pay way more than they currently do.

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Psnjerry t1_jcizo96 wrote

my grandparents were looking to buy some chicks and I was shocked to find out they ship them with usps

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Iz-kan-reddit t1_jcj1jw7 wrote

Replying to Derpsauce1337 (#2,250,630)

>and have enough nutrients for 72 hours

Baby chicks have 72 hours of nutrients built into them when they hatch. That's why the process of shipping chicks the same day as they hatch works so well.

It would be a logistics nightmare shipping three-day-old chicks.

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flagpole3 t1_jcj49uc wrote

When you order a dozen, they send like 15 because they expect a certain proportion to be killed. It's pretty horrible.

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TheCervus t1_jcj6aw1 wrote

I saw a dude leaving the post office today with a box of live baby chicks. He was walking very carefully and I held the door for him, but I didn't realize what the package was until I heard all the cheeping. It made me smile because while I knew that chicks can be sent through the mail, I'd never seen it before. I hope they all made it.

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TheCervus t1_jcj6mvn wrote

Replying to Disneyhorse (#2,248,935)

A zoo in Minnesota once shipped a camel to Alaska via FedEx.

My source for this info was a zoo employee. I neglected to ask him why the camel was shipped to Alaska. I presume it was being moved to another zoo.

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eternalankh t1_jcjco0h wrote

well that's convenient. if i ever can afford enough land to keep chickens I'll look into it

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D-F-B-81 t1_jcjl52h wrote

Ah yes. Will never forget that I got really drunk and forgot that I ordered 20 chickens. Until I got a call from the post office saying to come pick up a package. She walks out from behind the wall with a box that's just peeping like crazy.

The wife was not pleased...haha.

1

PineapplesAreLame t1_jcjnkme wrote

Replying to personalhale (#2,250,012)

For every "fact" post, 10000s read the title and no more, a few 100 read the 10th down comment with the real info/context.

Most of what people think about the world is just fiction effectively. I believe it's a large problem with society. Worst is with news events and science (cherry picked articles with sensationalist headlines).

Not limited to reddit of course.

You can usually see if a title is corrected cos the vote % will be a bit lower, maybe 80-93%. Some go back and downvote it. But clearly most people upvote and move on

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DorsalMorsel t1_jcjrolx wrote

I fucking hate it. They are all in there innocently cheeping away and NO ONE IS DELIVERING THE DAMN BABIES as if it were a priority. Drop everything and deliver those chicks first thing... I can't stand the cheeping while trying to case up the park and loops.

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Altaira99 t1_jcjthj1 wrote

When we lived on a farm I ordered chicks and goslings...the postal carrier was always intrigued.

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Timerider42424 t1_jck1wei wrote

FedEx too!

One time I was loading a box of them onto a plane and the bottom fell out. Had to work quickly to get them back into the box before they ran off.

Also, apparently a full grown rooster got loose and ran around the airfield.

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Famous1107 t1_jckb95c wrote

I heard it's cheap cheap cheaper than UPS

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BylenS t1_jckbh0y wrote

Replying to Responsible_Smile789 (#2,249,713)

Do you remember that the USPS was one of the entities Trump attacked. When he put Louis in Louis made the statement that he would break the USPS and cause its demise. Trump put him in to cause USPS to fail. I worked for th USPS at the time ( recently retired) and I saw first hand the delays. The mail is usually at the post office when we get there. During that time we would be standing around waiting for our mail till 2pm and then have to rush to get it out and saving some till the next day, or calling in back up to help us get it done. It was costing USPS a ton of money paying 2 carriers for one route and paying overtime. It was a nightmare!

On a happier note... I loved getting baby chicks in. When we got chicks we always peaked in the holes and talked to them. When we get them we know they're special, and get special treatment. We usually call to see if someone's home to get them or if they want to pick them up.

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BylenS t1_jckd9db wrote

Replying to erishun (#2,249,949)

Back in the day on rural routes you could ask them to bring you other items... like milk, sugar etc. I once had a woman ask me to pick her up a loaf of bread. (This was in 1992) I told her we don't do that anymore. She got mad and said, "Well, you use to bring me what I needed!" So yeah, I can see someone saying, "John can you stop by Annie's house and pick up Billy for me on your way out here."

1

BylenS t1_jckfgyz wrote

Replying to longbongliver (#2,249,460)

Now that is sad...most of those don't make it. They harvest them in the carribean at night, throw them in a sack and ship them with no food or water. Half of them are dead by the time they arrive to the pet trade. Half of the ones left alive soon die after sale because they're in poor health. Sometimes they force them into painted shells and glue them in so they can't leave the shell, knowing full well they are killing the crab. They don't care as long as it lives long enough to sell it. Don't buy crabs at pet stores, and especially at vacation sites. There are American breeders that sell online. (Crab momma rant over)

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Local-Parfait-7257 t1_jckpivw wrote

Cackle hatchery, received all my chicks from USPS alive. I recommend this hatchery.

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HarmlessHeffalump t1_jckvva0 wrote

Replying to Iz-kan-reddit (#2,253,203)

We’re splitting hairs here.

Plenty do survive. Plenty die as well.

My point is animals do get harmed because of negligence, and as this post indicates, not many people are even aware of birds get transported this way. Awareness can hopefully lead to improving the process so that fewer birds are harmed.

0

Iz-kan-reddit t1_jckyizz wrote

Replying to HarmlessHeffalump (#2,254,332)

>We’re splitting hairs here.

No, we're not. You're taking the rare instances where chicks are undeliverable, and extrapolating them to the general practice of shipping chicks. In reality, chicks aren't "undeliverable," as they don't get delivered. These are chicks that someone decides to not pick up from the post office. That's a shitty recipient problem, not a shipping problem.

>Plenty do survive.

You just said most don't. Which is it?

>not many people are even aware of birds get transported this way.

The vast majority of people don't know how the vast majority of things are done.

>Awareness can hopefully lead to improving the process so that fewer birds are harmed.

There's nothing wrong with the process. It's extremely reliable with very low mortality rates. Someone choosing to not pick them up at the post office isn't a reflection on the shipping process. Claiming otherwise is like claiming that Amazon has a problem with their shipping process because you left your package on the front steps for a week after they dropped it off.

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Iz-kan-reddit t1_jckzujd wrote

Replying to HarmlessHeffalump (#2,254,485)

>Animals are dying.

They are, but not from the shipping process.

>I don’t know about you, but I’m for making that happen less rather than arguing about semantics with someone on Reddit.

Then push for a change in the law that allows for the USPS to do something with the chicks sooner. Or, make it illegal to order them and not pick them up.

That's much better than arguing from a point of abject ignorance about both chick biology and the shipping process.

0

Iz-kan-reddit t1_jclec1t wrote

Replying to HarmlessHeffalump (#2,255,093)

>You seem to be the one who started an argument with a stranger on the internet.

Yes, because you're spreading abject bullshit after viewing a miniscule percentage.

By your irrational thought process, since I've seen animal rescues that neglect their animals, I must conclude that your mom abuses animals at hers as well.

0

Ultimategrid t1_jclkj1h wrote

Shipping animals is more common than you'd think.

I just received a goanna through UPS last night.

1

Controllerpleb t1_jclknux wrote

Replying to frostydolphins (#2,254,830)

https://www.saintlukeskc.org/about/news/research-shows-vegan-diet-leads-nutritional-deficiencies-health-problems-plant-forward#

“Animal-based foods have been an important part of the human diet for at least three million years. Eliminating all animal foods would be like deciding you’re going to feed a tiger tofu and expect that it’s going to be healthy. If you want an organism to thrive, you should feed it the diet for which it’s been genetically adapted via evolution down through the ages.”

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worfspack t1_jcmku2u wrote

My post office called me at 6am to tell me my chicks were in. I mentioned this to my neighbor. His response was they freak out more when you order Bees.

1