Murray McMurray Hatchery works hard everyday to assure the safe arrival of your birds. The postal system is fluid, it is always changing, flights are canceled or rescheduled, truck routes change, and weather is always a factor. One of the processes we use to insure on time delivery is the Post Office Delivery Confirmation System. Each box of chicks we send out has a Delivery Confirmation Barcode. As the boxes are given to you the postal employee scans the box as delivered. We can then download these scans and produce a report that highlights areas where late deliveries are occurring. These reports are forwarded to the post office routers so that routes can be constantly improved.

After your birds are shipped, the Delivery Confirmation Number is sent to you by email or can be found by logging into your account at www.mcmurrayhatchery.com. This is not a “tracking number”; the delivery confirmation system was set up to only record when a package is delivered. Limited information is available at the USPS website www.usps.com/shipping/trackandconfirm.htm. Your postmaster may be able to retrieve additional information.

Recently, I was invited to give my testimony to the US Postal Regulatory Commission concerning the Post Office request to drop Saturday delivery. I was a little surprised they wanted to hear from us, as we are so small compared to large catalog companies. Most of the Commissioners were in Washington back in 2001 when we were successful in passing legislation to require airlines to carry our birds. They all remember the number of letters that were sent by you, the small flock owners all across the U.S. They were impressed how passionate you are about your birds and retaining the right to ship birds through the mail. I know this is why I was invited to testify. Thank you for you help back then and now.

I attended the Chicago meeting on June 21st, 2010. The commission’s responsibility is to seek out comments from postal customers and the public regarding this change in service. They will use this information to make a recommendation to the US Congress. If you would like to read my statement, you can download a PDF copy, click here.

Murray McMurray Hatchery will continue to work with the post office to see that your birds arrive safely.

Your Friends at Murray McMurray Hatchery.