A Lancaster County hatchery said it lost 17,000 chicks in a pair of shipping mishaps by the U.S. Postal Service in early May, and the hatchery is still waiting for an answer.
Freedom Ranger Hatchery in Reinholds, Pennsylvania, had shipped an estimated 12,000 chicks that were discovered May 2 in a tractor trailer outside a Postal Service distribution center in Delaware. About 4,000 chicks died in the incident, and the rest were sent to First State Animal Center and SPCA in Camden, Delaware.
A hatchery representative referred to a second incident of chicks not being delivered, though on a smaller scale. WGAL appeared to refer to this in a report alleging 5,000 chicks were left in a truck at the Lancaster post office on Harrisburg Pike.
The Postal Service did confirm the Lancaster incident, and the agency issued a statement that such occurrences are rare. Postal Service guidelines require shipments of chicks be delivered within 72 hours of hatching. The agency said it’s working with hatcheries, carriers, and processing and delivery experts to prevent future mishaps.
