POULTRY ORDERING INFORMATION
Requirements for number of poultry needed in the shipping box to insure safe shipping.
- Chicks, bantams, guinea keets: Must be ordered in multiples of 25 (25, 50, 75, 100, etc.).
- Ducklings and turkey poults: Must be ordered in multiples of 15 (15, 30, 45, 60).
- Goslings: Must be ordered in multiples of 6 (6, 12, 28, 24).
- Mixing different kinds of poultry for shipping: You may mix guineas and chicks, or turkeys and chicks, or guineas and turkeys in the same shipment as long as the breeds are all hatching at the same time. Ducklings and goslings may also be mixed with each other in the same shipment. You may never mix ducklings or goslings with turkeys, bantams or guineas because these do not ship well together. You may mix ducklings with chicks as long as there are more chicks than ducklings. You may never mix goslings with anything except ducklings.
- Note: 1 duckling = 2 chicks; 1 gosling = 2 ducklings; 1 turkey = 2 guinea keets or 2 chicks.
Poultry Shipping Information
Day Olds: We will telephone or e-mail you the day your birds are shipped so it is very important that you include your daytime and evening telephone numbers (if they are different) and your e-mail address on your poultry order form (if you want us to use your e-mail address). We call in the evening to let you know they have been sent and the Postal Service calls during the day to let you know they have arrived at your Post Office. We will basically try to contact you first by telephone and will use the e-mail as a backup contact in case we can't reach you by phone. We do not call if we do not ship.
Poultry Guarantees
- Shipping date: There is no guarantee on shipping dates. We will do the best we can to meet your requested date. We ship on either Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday of each hatch week. We always contact you (either by telephone or e-mail) the evening the shipment goes in the mail.
- Insured shipments: We use the Insured Shipment Form which we created. There will be an envelope taped to the outside of the shipping box which contains the NPIP paper and a breed tally sheet along with the Insured Shipment Form to fill out and return to us regarding the condition of the birds and the shipping box upon arrival. Please have the postal worker inspect the shipment with you if they will. The form is very simple and will only take about 30 seconds to fill out. There is a place for the Postal Worker to sign and date the form. If the Postal Worker refuses to sign our form, they should be able to provide you with some sort of proof that they inspected the shipment with you. You will then need to mail it back to us within 7 days of receipt of the shipment. If we do not receive this form back from you within that time limit, no insurance will be filed and no replacements will be sent. Voluntary return of this form on a successful shipment is also helpful to us as well.
- Cancellation policy: We reserve the right to charge up to a 25% cancellation penalty for any order that is canceled 10 days or more after the date on the confirmation letter which we mail to confirm receipt of your order. If you decide at that time to cancel the order, the cancellation must be received in our office in written form. We will not accept cancellations by e-mail or telephone.
Poultry Shipping Charges
Standard Service: (See Chart Below)
* The shipment is insured.
* The shipment is sent by Priority Mail (2-3 day delivery).
* You pay from the Column (A, B, C or D) from the Zone Code Chart according to the state which your delivery is being shipped to.
* There is no USPS tracking service with Priority Mail.
* We only call (or e-mail) you the day that your order is
shipped out.
Express Service: (See Chart Below)
* The shipment is insured.
* The shipment is sent by Express Mail (guaranteed to be
delivered by 3:00 PM of the 2nd day after shipping.)
* You pay from the Express Mail column in the postage
chart for your postage.
* Tracking service is available throught the USPS or on their website for Express Mail Service.
* We only call (or e-mail) you the day that your order is
shipped out.
Zone Code Chart
Zone A: IL, IA, MN, MO, WI
Zone B: IN, KS, MI, NE, SD
Zone C: AL, AR, CO, KY, LA, MS, NM, ND, OH, OK, TN, TX, WV
Zone D: AZ, CA, CT, DE, DC, FL, GA, ID, MA, ME, MD, MT, NV, NH, NJ, NY, NC, OR, PA, RI, SC, UT, VT, VA, WA, WY
States of: AK, HI, PR Must use Express Mail only for all shipments.
Postage Chart (Chicks and Guineas)
| Qty. | A | B | C | D | Express |
| 25 | 8.00 | 9.00 | 12.00 | 14.00 | 25.00 |
| 50 | 10.50 | 11.50 | 16.50 | 18.50 | 32.50 |
| 75 | 13.00 | 14.00 | 21.00 | 26.50 | 40.00 |
| 100 | 15.50 | 16.50 | 25.50 | 34.50 | 47.50 |
Postage Chart (Ducks and Geese)
| Qty. | A | B | C | D | Express |
| 15/6 | 8.00 | 9.00 | 12.00 | 14.00 | 25.00 |
| 30/12 | 10.50 | 11.50 | 16.50 | 18.50 | 32.50 |
| 45/18 | 13.00 | 14.00 | 21.00 | 26.50 | 40.00 |
| 60/24 | 15.50 | 16.50 | 25.50 | 34.50 | 47.50 |
Postage Chart (Turkeys)
| Qty. | A (Priority) | A,B,C,D (Express Mail) |
| 15 | 8.00 | 25.00 |
| 30 | 10.50 | 32.50 |
| 45 | 13.00 | 40.00 |
| 60 | 15.50 | 47.50 |
NOTE: If we are shipping your turkeys anywhere besides Zone "A" on the Zone Code Chart, you MUST request and pay for Express Mail Service. Turkeys are just too fragile to take a chance on them taking three days for delivery.
Canadian Orders
Export charge: Customs paperwork is expensive. Shipments to a U.S. border Post Office will be available on any of our hatch dates. The cost will be $70.00 extra per shipment for the paperwork involved.
Terms of shipment: We do not ship to Canadian airports. All Canadian orders must be shipped to and picked up at a U.S. Border Post Office. You will then need to hand carry them across the border. The customs papers will be included with the shipment. All shipments going into Canada MUST be shipped by Express Mail to the U.S. Border Post Office.
A Note About Express Mail Shipping For 2008
The way the U.S. Postal Service handles Express Mail shipping of live animals changed drastically on September 25, 2006. We test shipped some birds to both coasts and to the South - - - all in areas where we had experienced problems with timely arrival of Express Mail shipments earlier this year. All of these shipments were complete successes and received their birds well within the two-day delivery guarantee (some were even delivered the next day after shipping). If shipping continues the way it was going last year, we would definitely recommend that Express Mail Service is back to being a good thing again.
Poultry ordering reminders
- All orders must be received in our office by regular mail with payment enclosed to be considered for booking. An order is not considered booked if you talk to us about it on the telephone, or send an e-mail telling us what you want. It will not be booked until we get it in writing with the payment. No exceptions!
- We do not accept orders by telephone or Internet. We do not accept credit card, paypal, or any other electronic payment for your order.
- We do not guarantee specific hatch dates, "show quality" birds, or male/female ratio.
- You have ten (10) days from the date on your confirmation letter from us confirming your order to cancel or change your order. After that time, there is a 25% cancellation fee on any poultry order.
- All day-old poultry is shipped insured. Replacement birds will NOT be shipped until an insurance claim form signed by you and your postal worker is in our possession. (Insurance will not be filed for anything less than a 10% loss of what was sent in that shipment. A credit slip will be issued by us for any loss that is less than 10%.)
- Hatching dates are listed at the front of chickens, bantams, ducks, geese, turkeys and guineas sections of the catalog. This is the first day of the hatch week. We ship on Monday or Tuesday (occasionally Wednesday). The dates listed in the catalog are the approximate shipping dates not the dates they arrive at your home.