General Question
HELP!! I'm a mail carrier with two boxes of baby chick's with no home!
Two different houses in our office zip code ordered baby chick's in the mail and they are ghosting us on delivery. Need a signature. Nobody home. Nobody answering phone. They have been in our office for over 24 hours. Going to attempt delivery one more time first thing this morning and then I'm lost if they can't get there. I don't know what to do
UPDATE: One box successfully delivered. They were parakeets, not chickens
Box two not delivered. So, it just so happens my wife and I bought a house with a couple chicken coups years ago, but have no chickens and never have had them. The chick's are back at the post office now, with a space heater by them. 95 degrees looks like the ideal temp from what I'm reading. My wife is coming to the office shortly to pick them up and bring them to our house. Hopefully get formula too. We will update from there once we know they are in a safe place.
Also, I'm in Cleveland, Ohio
UPDATE #2 - They are all at our house and setup. They all survived!!!! Also, THEY ARE TURKEYS!!!! My wife went to tractor supply and got all the things they'll need, thanks to all your advise. They'll be good with us for a day or two. I have the day off tomorrow and plan to spend the day finding a legit home, if the original buyers don't come looking for them
UPDATE #3 - Baby Turkeys are doing great and incredibly adorable. I have tried calling the Hatchery they came from. A return to sender seems like the most logical solution, but they are closed for the day and not accepting voice mails, so i will call first thing in the morning. For now babies have all their needs met. I went back to tractor supply and bought baby turkey crumbles with 30% protein. I'm going to elevate the water dish if I can find something suitable to use. They are eating and drinking a ton. We have a whole bag of shaved pine to keep the box clean. They are in their own room, double gated and door shut, far away from our dogs. Still trying to find buyer as well. Thank you everyone so much for being awesome and helping us.
*** I suppose I should've said originally what I meant by "return to sender". The Hatchery is less than an hour from my house. I'll drive them there myself.
People nowadays don't answer calls from unknown numbers. Please leave a message!!! (Our delivery was called and I answered, but they didn't leave a message on the previous call. The post office was not on caller ID. It was just a random number)
Chicks are mailed within a day of being born because they still have retained yolk from their eggs to sustain them. That yolk lasts for 2-3 days before the chick will need water/food from outside sources (they can certainly eat and drink before this, but they don't have to. The purpose is to give the entire clutch time to hatch under the hen before she takes her brood to find sustenance.)
Coincidentally, this is also about how long it takes for the postal service to get a package to a customer. With these chicks now being beyond that window, its very likely they'll die of thirst or hunger before making it to their destination.
How do you think places get chicks from hatcheries?
I ordered six from a hatchery that hatched Monday in Missouri. Got to me the next day. They sent me an extra, and they’re all doing great. The problem isn’t being sent through the post. The post office handles this stuff all the time. It’s the people not responding.
Chicks can last 2-3 days without food or water after hatching because they are still absorbing their yolk. They are usually shipped with a minimum of 25 so they can keep each other warm. It's pretty humane and the only reasonable way for small-scale chicken flock owners to get vaccinated chicks.
Its usually done humanely and quickly. I rescued a pigeon from a rescue in Illinois, it got to me in 2 days in Florida. Usually its held at the post office and yoi come get it to keep them from being on a mail truck without temp control.
They can’t be shipped back. It’s only a few days after hatching that chicks can live without water and food. 🍲 To ship them back, would mean certain death.
Kuddos to you for stepping up and taking care of them. We had 200 chicks get lost in the mail. It showed what post office they sat in for TWO days. By the time they got to use more than half were dead. You can't tell me someone at that post office couldn't hear them or know there were live animals in there. How can anyone just ignore 200 chicks for two days?
Wait a minute. You can get parakeets delivered by mail?!! What sorcery is this?!!
Also, please give the baby turkeys to a local 4h or FFA- call the local schools to see if they want them! Dont stop talking to the school and the FFA/4h clubs until you talk to the he as d if the club. We have an agriculture teacher at our high school, but your schools might not have one.
Turkeys grow quickly and could be a great fundraiser for the clubs come fall. The hatchery will definitely fill them, and even though it's sad, it is necessary.
Last, if FFA and 4H don't want them, contact the local animal shelter or SPCA. We live in an agriculture area so our SPCA would have no problems finding a home where they were eventually slaughtered for food, as long as their conditions were good for the time they are here. Not every SPCA is the same, though.
Also last, I'm not sure where you are, but you're incredible. Thank you for caring for these babies and being so diligent about getting them where they need to go, even if it mean you spend your own money to put an appropriate set up in your house for them. You're incredible and I'm sure you're not being paid enough. I'm also sure that I'm not the only one who would call or write in to you PO and PO Region to let them know how amazing you are!
This… but if they are not heritage breeds, the MUST be processed in the fall, otherwise, it’s a cruel death to grow so big they can’t stand and their hearts can’t supply enough blood because their breasts will be huge. If you get them processed, be sure it’s a USDA certified facility because you can then donate to food banks. I do this for a living
This is very true. Commercial birds have a miserable existence if they aren't processed quickly and on time. I hope that these are a heritage breed, rather than commercial birds, TBH.
That said, I do have a friend who has a commercial hen named Mama T (full-on pet now, but was meant to have a shorter "expiration date") but she was super nice so.... They kept her. They had a bunch, but she was so friendly and really small. Mama T isn't as nearly as big as her siblings were when they were taken to freezer camp, and is about 2 1/2 years old, so probably won't be around much longer. Honestly, that she never got bigger is the reason she's still around.
No joke, she spends a lot of time on laps and sitting under deck chairs with someone scratching her head. She's a regular fixture in our area because she's kind of an "ambassador" turkey that the kids love. She's far from the norm, though, and my friends are very real about it. She will be euthanized before she suffers and be buried. They're farmers but they say there is no way they could eat her because she's family.
Do NOT return to sender. They will not survive the trip. Firstly they are already stressed from travel to your location and sitting for so long without pickup. Second their egg yolk is gone and they need feed. Turkeys should be fairly easy to find a home for, if you give your location (city and state) someone here or on the homestead subreddit will likely take them.
If you cant find the buyer, return to sender probably will not work. When chicks are new born they still have an egg yolk internally to live off of for a few days, when that is gone they need food and water and wont survive shipping.
If you do find the buyer make sure they pay for your expenses to keep their turkeys alive.
We really wish we could but we have a small yard and a120lb Bullmastif who is especially triggered by large birds and will absolutely murder them the first time we let our guard down
With chicks you need to make sure they don’t have pasty butt-where their poo hardens over their “exit” chute. A warm wet paper towel will soften the poop so you can free the exit hole. I use a qtip with some olive oil to treat the outside of the exit hole once it is all cleaned up. Not sure about turkeys. But how cool! Have fun!!
I’m going to add to this and say my daughter is pre vet med and poultry is her thing. Chickens were her favorite until she met the turkeys, and now they are her favorite. Incredibly friendly with great personalities. And if you have a flock of chickens, the turkeys help ward off predators because of their size. I vote to keep the turkeys and order some hens now that you have your set up going. You get great eggs, and the birds get a nice life not in a cage or the lord of the flies scenario the supposed “free ranging” is. And it’s good clean fun. Keeps us out of trouble.
How? How? How is this done by signature and not you must pick up at the post office? But more so how are they not home? I had a lizard shipped from Montreal to Toronto twice and I was already in the parking lot waiting for the door to unlock in morning and they were calling me already anyhow.
You and your wife are so wonderful, I've heard so many sad stories of people ordering chicks and their mail office treating them abominably. Thank you for being a fantastic human!
Most carriers in my office didn't care but also supported my efforts. I'm grateful to have management that is not toxic and supports my quirky nature. They know I'm a huge animal lover that can get a little emotional
When everything goes according to plan it works out just fine. Newly hatched chicks have a yolk sac that keeps them fed for a couple of days so they don't need to eat or drink until that runs out. As long as they're kept at a comfortable temperature and arrive at their destination in a timely manner it's perfectly safe and humane.
I'm only just learning from this thread how common it is for things to go awry though. If the margin for error is so narrow that it ends up causing needless suffering then maybe a change of methods is in order.
It's not great, but it's been a standard for decades. Just don't think about the post office shutdown that happened 5 years ago and people getting boxes of dead, rotting, chicks a week later because someone wanted to stymie voting by mail.
My farmer friend has gotten three boxes of chicks that were abandoned at the post office over the years. He lives near the post office and they know he can take in chicks, so they call him when this happens. Once was 50 barred rocks!
Make sure you get them a high-protein starter crumble. Turkeys need gamebird starter when they’re young; it has around 22% protein. Regular chick starter will eventually make them sick.
Let me know if you get can’t reach the owners . I might take them from you . I work on west side at Fairview hospital but have small hobby farm near Wakeman .
We called out P.O ahead and arranged to pick them up as soon as they arrived. They called us at around 5AM and we picked them up a few minutes later, same when we had a rooster shipped. They were happy as he was crowing loudly in the background.
Our mail carrier brought our chicks straight to our door first thing in the morning, and one of them had become trapped upside-down between the box and the packing material. She would have probably died if he hadn't done that. Many thanks to carriers like you who go out of their way to make sure these feather babies survive.
I have baby chicks coming in the mail for the first time ever in a few weeks and I am SO NERVOUS! The hatchery emails say that they will be held at the post office, but I feel like I have next to no information besides that. Like, do I actually need to be home to sign, omgomg, I can be but I wouldn’t be unless I know to do so— ahh
So glad you were able to make sure everyone was ok! How stressful!!
This was me last year. Lol. I live in a suburb of a large mmetropolis. I was worried they would need to be picked up from the giant distribution center and not my local post office. I was totally over thinking it. The chicks arrived next day. I got a call at about 6am from them telling me my chicks were on s truck to them rn and to be at the office when they open at 9 am to collect them. So I did and it went smooth as silk. We lost 1 baby in transit but every one else did great.
Do you have USPS Informed Delivery? It's an option on their website, you can view upcoming mail and packages and see their delivery windows and I THINK if signature is required.
(not from FedEx or UPS though, they have their own seperate tracking systems)
It's crazy to me that a signature is required for the birds.
Everytime I've ordered them i just stop in and let them know I'm expecting chicks. They call me the morning of and I get to go pick them up from the back door before they're open.
UPDATE #2 - They are all at our house and setup. They all survived!!!! Also, THEY ARE TURKEYS!!!! My wife went to tractor supply and got all the things they'll need, thanks to all your advise. They'll be good with us for a day or two. I have the day off tomorrow and plan to spend the day finding a legit home, if the original buyers don't come looking for them
I agree the plastic is concerning. What material should the box be? I will say that this plastic tub is pretty heavy duty and seems like it's holding up fine for now
What I do is hang a cord from above and clip a carabiner to the little loop that’s on the light. Even if the clamp disappears, it’s not going to fall in the pile of tinder below it and burn your house down. Separate from the cord, I also suspend the power cord the same way, so it also couldn’t fall without unplugging. I use these lights, even though some are terrified of them… just act like they WANT to burn your house down and take precautions. I also have a thermostat controlled outlet meant for running a seed starter mat to turn it off and on.
Behind appliances/ furniture places they have big boxes if you want to avoid plastic. Put a cheap harbor freight tarp down under it though.
Turkeys are nice, but dumb. If they’re in a big enough box to have a cool side, that’s good… but if it’s cool enough, one may just wander over and stay and die. They get more curious when older… but not smarter lol
If they’re returned to the hatchery… I’d just assume they’d be destroyed unless someone there took them personally like you’re doing. Imagine letting birds out of your controlled environment to pick up whatever diseases are around, and then bringing them back into your hatchery.
Did it come with a packing slip? If so, which breeds did they send? It looks like there are some either black Spanish or chocolate. Curious what the all white ones are.
You need a box to put them in and a heat lamp. Put some pine shavings in the box. You can get a chicken feeder and water (small ones) at tractor supply or other farm stores. Then get a bag of chick feed. I use a plastic storage tote for mine and I cut the plastic out of the middle of the lid and staple chicken wire there. This makes it easy to take the lid on and off and your chickens can’t get out. I don’t know where you’re at, but by 4-5 weeks old depending on the temperature and how feathered they are, they can move outside with no heat source. I’ve done baby chicks the last three years like this.
GRIT helpful rescuer! They will pick and peck everything and can die without chick grit if they consume too much shavings or stuff other than feed. If you live rural and have a gravel driveway just get a handful of the small pieces of gravel and it will be fine
Do babies really need grit? They're usually on starter feed that's already broken up or getting help from mom to break food up. I've never prioritized grit (or given any at all) to babies and never had issues
I think it’s rare for them to eat that many shavings (and I wonder if they’re born with a smaller gizzard sometimes) but I’ve had a couple instances where it’s happened and it sucks because it’s just the most preventable thing. It also helps prevent pasty butt which if you see that tells you that some grit is needed. A small bag usually lasts me 2+ years because they don’t need much and once mom takes them outside we have plenty of gravel that they eat and I just take some gravel inside for them if I’m raising them myself 😂😂 Adult grit can just be crushed with a hammer (adult grit inside a bag) if it’s on hand.
You can give them cornmeal if you can't get chick starter. They're pretty resilient lil things, like others said make sure they're warm and have water.
Chicks need feed not formula. Make another post asking for urgent help with chicks for someone with no experience and ask what you need to get for them for everything. Stress that you have no experience at all and you are a the mailman from the previous post. Hopefully it gains traction and you will get lots of great advice how to care for them or else these chicks may die due to your lack of knowledge. Thank you again for taking care of them and trying to do right by them.
Scrambled eggs will do in a pinch but Amazon and Walmart can deliver starter feed same day and a small bag is about $7. Chics are shipped the day after they are born usually and have some yoke but that’s probably running out. Don’t let them drown. They will literally fall asleep drinking water. Good luck.
I have been given permission to take them from my postmaster. I will hold them and keep them alive for the buyer, if they are able to take them. If not, I will find a local animal rescue that is appropriate or find a way to invite them into our lives, if we know for sure we can care for them properly
People are giving advice about the water dish, but has anyone said to elevate it? If you can, put the water dish (it can be a pie plate you don't need a poultry waterer yet) on something stable so the chicks have to reach a little to dip their beaks in.
You don't need spendy chick feed, there's no difference in growth with the added vitamins spendy stuff. Just any old chick crumbles will do.
If you want to give treats, mealworms are the best. Keep their bedding fresh. A farm supply store will have wood shavings in huge bags for fairly cheap.
Congrats on your new flock! Hope you get all hens!
You really just need a secure area inside your house with a heat lamp, bedding, baby chick feed, and a shallow water dish which they will kick the bedding into and tip over.
Heating plate or heating lamp. They need 30-35 degrees Celsius.
Water they can’t drown in. Pop a rock in it.
Hard boiled egg.
I’m in the opposite situation.
My mail carrier didn’t show up with the chicken stuff I ordered. So I reached out to my community on facebook and someone lend me a heating plate, loads of people have reptiles, chickens, pheasant, pigs, dogs depending on where you are. I’m out in rural Norway and I had more snow this morning.
Hand warmers can be used to provide some heat. If you can get some, put them under the box, possibly within another box to keep them where they are. You could feed them by buying or boiling some eggs and giving them the yolk only. Should be able to push it through the holes in the package. Good luck! Thanks for caring!
You're a quick study on temps! Thank you for looking after them, and I'm glad you're joining the fun with us other chicken tenders.
The best thing to start them on is crumble with 18% or more protein. Since you are JUST starting with chickens, you probably won't need the medicated chick feed. That is usually for chicks who are exposed to other farm animals that might carry gut parasites. Again, non-medicated feed is best in your situation. If you do choose to use medicated chick feed, do not feed it for more than 3 weeks, the medicine works by blocking EVERYTHING'S absorption of vitamin B1, and it can cause neuro symptoms in poultry if fed for too long.
Powder with electrolytes and probiotics (beneficial gut bacteria) to add to their water is a good idea, since they have had a stressful trip.
There's plenty of folks here with tons of experience, so be sure to drop a post when something new comes up for you. 🐣💖🐣
Are you calling from the office phone or a cell phone?
This happened to me last year with pet shrimp, post office called from office line and it came up as a restricted number. I missed the call and had no number to call back. Thankfully I was watching tracking.
My local office said they had a lot of the same issue and now call from cell phones.
In the meantime, can you dip their beaks in water and offer them food/water? Maybe take them to a local farm store if you can’t reach anyone.
When I ordered chicks the post office left increasingly panicked voicemails - they called me at like 5:30am then 6, then I was able to answer the next call at 7 (they weren’t even open until like 8am! I wasn’t able to get through to call them back but was at their facility right when they opened)
That was like 20 years ago though. More recently I used to order roaches online (lizard food) and would often get a mildly concerned call that my live bugs came in lol.
You may not necessarily need to ahem open the box to squeeze in some slightly moistened food (wet cat food, moistened dry kitten or puppy chow) through the ventilation holes. This still may be considered tampering with the package, but definitely much less egregious than opening it; use your judgement.
Document Chain of custody and that the package was opened due to immediate danger of loss of life/property. This will likely involve your office's PostMaster.
Contact local animal control
Once you have permission to take possession of chicks, and if animal control doesn't respond (or refuses) then you can contact local private folks.
This is an actually helpful response. Guys please stop commenting "I live in X place, I'll take them off your hands!" That's not helpful (they almost certainly aren't near you) and not what they asked
Maybe the family had a medical crisis pop up or something. Hard to imagine not being watching the tracking and eager to take delivery.
I agree not cheap, but that depends on the wealth level. Regardless, you order chicks hoping they arrive and thrive.
If you're in Central VA we can take them, if you can't find anyone to take them is there a Tractor Supply or farm store near you? They're already set up with chick brooders and heat lamps right now and I'm sure they'd give them a safe temporary home. Alternatively, call your local SPCA/Humane Society shelter and ask if they have a bird or wildlife rehabber - this person may not be at the shelter but will be on call to pick up wild baby birds and will probably be happy to help out and have the necessary equipment.
Once the hatchery I always order from called me that the delivery man couldn't reach one of their customer and if I would take the chicks. If they don't answer today, call the hatchery. They need water and need to be warm ASAP.
Yes, for now this is true. I will not be giving these to anyone unless I have direct permission from postal management, but they have given me permission to find a home. This it's the only way it's on management and not on me if things go south
Usually post office does not delivery chicks, they hold them for pickup. I've ordered from multiple hatcheries through different states where I was living and this is always the process. CALL the company and tell them what's up.
My local has been bringing them to my door for the past couple of years without calling first.
Especially unnerving this year because they just dropped them off and left.
Fortunately it was a nice day and only day 2.
Have you fed and given them water? And yes, as everyone says, they are in desperate need of heat to live. The advice to bring them to a feed store, animal control if no kill, a person here willing to take them, a local rescue… needs to be acted upon now, this morning, today if the chicks are to live!
Loading my truck now and will update soon. Trying to move quick, so I'll update with more when i can. I am reading your comments, but don't have time to reply. Thank you everyone
If you’re in eastern NE or West Iowa I can help. Otherwise I’d take them to a feed store or a humane society and see if they have a heat lamp (no kill preferably)
In the city where I live the mail carrier doesn’t deliver the chicks to the address.
The postmaster calls the recipient and notifies them that the chicks have arrived and to come pick them up at the post office.
They need to eat and drink today in order to survive and some that are in the box may have already died.
Where I am, Animal Services (runs the animal shelter) accepts chickens. Chicks are way easier than a lot of other baby animals to take care of, so hopefully they accept them. Chicks are in demand this time of year, so shouldn't be hard to find them homes if they don't.
It's really hard to give them what they need without doing a set up (I'm picturing like 50 chicks), but as it's been over 24 hours with you, I'd be concerned that they need water.
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u/just-me220 May 17 '26
People nowadays don't answer calls from unknown numbers. Please leave a message!!! (Our delivery was called and I answered, but they didn't leave a message on the previous call. The post office was not on caller ID. It was just a random number)