Posted on 05/19/2025 2:17:24 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
CAMDEN, Delaware (AP) — A Delaware animal shelter is trying to care for and rehome thousands of chicks that survived being left in a postal service truck for three days. Trapped in a warm enclosure, without food and water, thousands died before they were discovered.
Involved parties are still awaiting answers as to how 12,000 chicks were abandoned within the truck at a Delaware mail distribution center. The United States Postal Service said in an email that it was aware of a process breakdown and was actively investigating what occurred.
Pennsylvania-based Freedom Ranger Hatchery raised the chicks for their weekly distribution to clients across the country, said a spokesperson for the company. Due to biosecurity concerns, the hatchery cannot take the chicks back.
The spokesperson said it would have been best if USPS, after discovering the chicks, had completed delivery as the recipients would have been adequately equipped to handle the birds — even malnourished ones.
For more than two weeks, the surviving chicks have been nursed and cared for at First State Animal Center and SPCA, said John Parana, executive director.
Last Tuesday, the shelter began offering the birds for adoption, but only a few hundred out of thousands have been picked up. There is no complete count of the chicks, as the shelter has no feasible way to do so, but Parana estimates there to be more than two thousand available.
Some have inquired about buying the birds for meat, but, as a no-kill shelter and SPCA, those were refused.
The strain has turned the animal care center into a 24/7 operation and necessitated a staffing increase, Parana said. Money remains the biggest concern for the donation-reliant nonprofit. Some employees have begun spending their money to support the operations, he added.
Among the birds were young turkeys, geese...
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...
When I was a kid 50 some years ago, we had a family event at my cousin’s cousins house. They must have owned a large hatchery or something I don’t recall, but they employed two Japanese gentlemen who lived with the family and their job was to sex and separate the chicks.
> Chickens, I must admit, are the only ones I eat. <
Same here. Plus the occasional lean turkey.
I’m not arguing for vegetarianism in my post #7. Instead, I’m asking for humane behavior whenever possible. And yes, chickens can be slaughtered quickly and humanely. I saw my grandmother do that many times.
As was mentioned elsewhere on this thread, the behavior of that USPS driver can be considered animal cruelty, a criminal offense.
I had a friend who worked night shift at a large city USPS collection center. What happened to these poor chicks doesn’t surprise me. The dark majority employees had no respect for anything or anyone. They took great delight in throwing packages marked “fragile” as hard as they could, among other things. The stories he would tell.......
Are you a Wizard?
No.
I might be a bit of a witch, though.
In fact, I have no doubts that every Urban USPS employee does have a criminal history of some sort.
USPS employees in areas isolated and far removed from THEM are alright. It's the difference between night and day. I've tracked packages cross country and they usually move through the system OK. But once they reach an Urban distribution center, I've had the packages disappear into a black hole for a couple weeks, sometimes never to be seen again.
And he should rot in jail.
I’ll bet the driver doesn’t speak English!
Ping!.......
🤪.............
I’ve ordered chicks through the USPS on several occasions. The Postman always delivers them to my front door.
It’s just, ‘a process breakdown.’ Nothing to see here!
What a shame. I’m sure NEWMAN is at fault for this! ;)
I used to raise chickens in a BIG way; 50+ at a time for egg sales. I ordered new chicks when I needed them from Murray McMurray Hatchery out of Iowa (highly recommended if you can’t get chicks locally) and we went to the main Post Office next town over to pick them up. The kids LOVED the ‘process’ and they always threw in a few extra chicks with your order as - things happen. It taught them about, ‘The Circle of Life.’
Nothing sweeter than a box of peeping baby chicks. Except, of course, a Speckled Pup! ;)
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