4,800 Chicks Headed to NH And ME Farmers Arrive Dead

Maine farmers who were expected a delivery of live chicks were in for a surprise.

The chicks had unfortunately died during shipping through the US Postal Service.

Politico is reporting that the postal service is under fire for what some consider chaos due to recent cuts.

According to Portland Press Herald, Maine Democrat Chellie Pingree sent a letter to both the Postmaster General and the  U.S. Department of Agriculture Commissioner saying that her office has received numerous complaints from farmers.

CBS News reports that Pauline Henderson, who owns Pine Tree Poultry in New Sharon, Maine, said she was supposed to receive 800 chicks and they all arrived dead.

She tells The Portland Press Herald that normally the chicks arrive "like clockwork every three weeks, and maybe one or two die."

Henderson said the chicks are usually processed through Shrewsbury and then delivered to Maine and New Hampshire farms.

Steve Doherty, a spokesperson for the USPS, tells Politico that the agency “can’t locate a claim being filed for this loss.”

That's not a good enough answer for Pingree, who tells Portland Press Herald:

"It’s one more of the consequences of this disorganization, this sort of chaos they’ve created at the post office and nobody thought through when they were thinking of slowing down the mail."

According to Politico, the "Postal Service is the only entity that ships live chicks and other small animals and has done so since 1918, according to the service’s website."

Hopefully they get this figured out and no more animals have to suffer.