A Port Arthur feed store owner said she is upset with a USPS mail carrier after her chicks were left in the back of an unair-conditioned mail car for 4-5 hours.
PORT ARTHUR, Texas —
A Port Arthur feed store owner is frustrated with a USPS Port Arthur mail carrier.
Tina Bean opened Five Star Feed in 2001. Since opening she’s had chicks delivered to the store with no major problems, until last week. She was horrified to discover half of the baby chicks in her order were dead upon delivery.
“When I walked in I barely heard peeping, so I knew we were in trouble,” Bean said.
Bean spent 18 years working at the post office, and 15 as a mail carrier. She said typically, they’d call the customer, and the customer could choose to either have them delivered, or come pick them up. The hatchery ships them priority mail, and are delivered to the store one to two days later, at the most, Bean said.
“We delivered the chicks first thing, because it is a live animal, especially in the summer time because the back of those jeeps get extremely hot,” Bean said.
For years, Bean said the shipments of baby chicks have arrived first thing in the morning. Last Friday, however, they were delivered at 1:30 p.m. The few still living chicks were barely hanging on, according to Bean.
The day the chicks were delivered, it was about 92°, with a heat index of 101°. She said they were left in the back of an unair-conditioned mail car for four or five hours.
“Somebody dropped the ball somewhere, I mean common sense would, should tell you that if you have a live baby animal and it’s 100 plus degrees outside that you don’t leave them in a hot vehicle,” Bean said.
