Bird Courier Services.

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi everyone,

Quite some years ago a very well known comapny by the name of Interlink were the one and only reliable and cost effective courier service used by Birdkeepers from all branches of our hobby to move our Birds from one part of the Country to another.
Way back then (in my time anyway) the going rate for delivering a box containing Birds was only £15, I remember very well being horrified when Interlink decided to raise the price per box to the dizzy heights of £17.50.:roll:
But when Interlink decided that they would no longer carry Cage and Aviary Birds this was a huge blow to many of us, especialy because they continued to carry Pigeons.

Anyway times have changed and many newly created Bird Courier Firms have come and gone, so it was a huge relief when I received an e-mail from a new Bird Courier Service only last week.

The reason for my relief is because I know of a good source of Strawberry Finches that were imported into the UK just before Asia as a whole was closed regarding exports, the only problem is that these Birds are in a very little known High Street Pet Shop.

With the help of Matthew I had already sorted a single pair for a WFS breeder whose Wife was on holiday not far from where I live, so for a small expense of my own I hope I have contributed in making sure at least some of these Birds arrive in the hands of a serious breeder.

Again through Matthew, I was contacted recently by a Lady WFS member living in Cornwall who wished to buy two pairs of the Strawberry Finches, but collecting them presented a problem considering the time and fuel costs, she had been quoted £200 for the collection from Dorset and delivery to Cornwall.:shock:

Now coming back to the e-mail I received from the new Bird Courier Service, these guys were offering the unbeatable price of £50-£60 anywhere in mainland UK.:D

But the problems started when the courier's were supposed to collect from me on Friday at midnight, they didn't arrive until 5am Saturday morning, I accepted the fact that traffic, roadworks etc could be the reason for such a late collection, but I cannot accept that alongside Parrots, Pheasants etc that Waxbills should endure 20 hours over the proposed time to be delivered!:-x

To begin with I was all for plugging this newly formed Bird Courier Service, but after experiencing first hand the poor service offered and no explaination or apologies to the Lady receiving the Strawberry Finches, my only intention is to tell everyone I know not to entertain the service you are offering.

I sincerely hope that you see your initial run as a failure and realise that you cannot improve on the service you have failed to provide so far!

Paul.

[kenny]

hi paul
it would be ok if they were delivering potatoes or fish fingers ,but not travelling all that way with live stock when they cant keep to a time schedule....thats hopeless mate

ken

[Waxbillman]

hello Paul

that is a great shame indeed that the courier service let the lady down.
20hours!! thats a lot of travelling and stress for small birds.

Matthew

[Strawblady2000]

That's a shame...a dependable courier service would be a great asset.

In the states, shipping birds is something that I'm not quite comfortable with. As far as I know, there are no courier services that specifically tailor to birds. It would be GREAT to have. A wonderful business to have would be "moving birds"...such as when people move, but would like help transporting their birds to their new location. I've heard SEVERAL people wish there were companies out there that did this. BUT, alas, the insurance aspect and liabilities that can arise could be seriously problematic.

Here, when breeders "ship" (which is different from a courier, as the shipping methods apply to every kind of package known to mankind, not just animals) so many things can go wrong.

Here, the post service has specially approved shipping containers...and I was wondering if the courier service youre talking about uses the same. These shipping containers are cardboard boxes with handles and have food and water for 3 days. 3 DAYS!!!! What a LONG time for a bird to be without sunlight and fresh air!!!

MAny times, the regular post office only takes 1 or 2 days to deliever...but I worry more about the morons who throw boxes onto the trucks, regardless of if they say "live animals" on the outside in bright red letters. Many, if not all breeders, guarantee live arrival, as the post will not do so. And...the post seems to be accepting birds at its own discretion, lol...sometimes, people lie about having finches in them...saying that they are quail or other game birds...and other post offices accept them with no problems as long as the container is approved for animal transport.

Also, one can ship through airlines...but the cost is nearly the same as a plane ticket for a passenger it seems.

Such a shame about your experience.

[kenny]

hi nikki
i like your new avatar,on the bird transport thing....when i was in my early 20s most people sent birds by train,until a lot of them started getting squashed when the railroads were privatised ,they would be found underneath piles of luggage in the transport part of the train.but pigeons in this country get transported mostly by there own people if there is a race on they are all taken together in a purpose built transporter to france or whereever they are flying from and released all at the same time and they are looked after everystep of the way.but the problem is everyone is not an animal lover and a lot of them are in it just for the money

ken

[Strawblady2000]

Thanks, Kenny.

Yep, I agree.

Our problem here isnt the animal lover aspect...it is the fact that companies want cheap labor, so they hire any Tom Dick and Harry that doesnt have a criminal background, regardless of if they are smart enough to distinguish their a** from their elbows. Many of them are young (no offense to the younger people here) and could care less about the cargo. They just toss them around, etc. and make it to payday to get their "drinking money", lol.

Temperature here rarely cooperates, lol, and I cant imagine transporting birds in the back of a hot postal truck. It was 101 degrees Saturday. Obviously, no shipping here this time of year!

I'd LOVE to start a business relocating or transferring birds, but even then, our society is so sue-happy with lawyers chasing after every ambulance, that my intentions to help birds with their transport and setup would be thwarted my a money-hungry folks looking to make a buck if their bird "mysteriously" died a week after transport. Way too much liability.

Currently, I just have to drive them if I'm selling them. Bird marts are a great way to draw people in and shorten the drive, but I'm not quite up to par on that yet either, lol. So, for people like me who hesitate to ship and wont drive more than 2 hours...it limits my customer base as well.

[kenny]

hi nikki
yeah its a pity that there are to many people ready to sue if they lost a bird or two.there is a definate hole in the market for bird couriers with purpose built vehicles

ken8-)

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Ken, Matthew and Nikki,

Thankfully the Strawberry Finches eventually arrived in Cornwall in good health, but this is despite the poor service of the couriers involved, rather than the service promised.:x

If Annie and I knew that the Birds would have been treated to an all day tour of the South of England, then I'm sure neither of us would have entertained the idea of using the couriers in question.

As I have said before the Birds should have been in the carrying box for only 3 hours, but instead they were in the same box for 23 hours, sure they had food and water provided by myself but the travel time was nearly a full day over the expected period!:roll:
Any new business venture should be excused regarding teething problems, but ignorance and stupidity is far from excusable in this line of business.

I just hope that Alastair and Neil realise they have bitten off far more than they can chew in filling a gap in the market of providing a Bird Courier Service and that they call it a day in trying to do so.

Paul.:-|

[kenny]

hi paul
the people who supplied this so called service must have advertised somewhere so i think the people who supplied you with their phone number should be held responsible especially if it was something like c&a...they should certainly get an e- mail about such poor service if only to warn anyone else who may lose a bird through their actions

ken:wink:

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Ken,

As far as I know the only advertising they have done is through e-mails to various members of all of the Bird related Forums, which is how I got to know about them.:roll:

Paul.

[harry]

Hiya Paul
how ye doing mate,courier's nowaday's are notoriously bad,a couple of week's ago
i had a load of bird's too pick up from Penzance,i phoned a clown(sorry courier) down
there and he told me the bird's would be in transit 3 day's,as some of the bird's were
Swee's i told him politely(with a few choice word's),no thank's,and went down for them myself.It took me 9 hour's to get home after a 2 hour stop at Birmingham(Colin M).Personally anybody who ain't prepared too travel too pick the bird's up they want
should'nt be keeping them,because these so called Courier Service's don't have a clue

Harry

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Harry,

I'm doing OK thanks mate, I hope you can say the same.;) I agree with you regarding Swee Waxbills in transit for three days, I wouldn't even think about it!

While some birds can cope with this travelling time, others would be hard pressed to do so, but most couriers wouldn't know the different levels of tollerable extremes of certain birds during transit.

For this reason I believe that Couriers of birds and other animals should be licensed after sitting a basic exam.

Paul.

[kenny]

hi harry
thats appalling mate,did they honestly believe that the birds would still be alive after 3 days in a van


ken:twisted:

[harry]

Hiya Ken
yeah it is appalling mate,but the idiot down Cornwall seemed to think it was ok.I've
since found out he's in cahout's with Palmer so we should'nt expect nothing else,
and no the bird's were'nt from Palmer:razz:

Harry

[kenny]

hi harry
well thats a bonus in itself mate

ken

[Strawblady2000]

I have a question...and I'm prepared to face the consequences for asking it :lol:


I guess I dont understand something...HOW can it take 3 days??? Even if you had to cross all of the mainland UK?? I'm not sure how long it would take one to drive even coast to coast.

I understand shipping and transit routes are probably alot different. IMO, someone who actually took pride in their precious live cargo would use faster delivery as their mantra...and at least keep their word!!

I guess when there's no competition, one can break their word and not necessarily feel the pinch.

[harry]

Hiya Nikki
it would have took him 3 day's because he had numerous other drop off's on
the way up,or he was coming up on a push bike:razz:

Harry

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi everyone,

Maybe it's time for all of us to set up Feathered Friends Couriers?:lol: But we need to wait until Matthew and Chris get their driving licences,:roll: by then we should have most of the UK (and parts of the US) covered by then.:lol:

Paul.:wink:

[kenny]

hi nikki
its a thing called lazyitis they promise you to look after your birds and deliver them in a resonable time for a reasonable price .then they just do as they like and have a total disregard for what they promised to do in the first place

ken8)

[harry]

Hiya Paul
re-Matthew's driving licence,he now has a full licence(he passed his test a couple of month's ago),but i don't think he's past following little old ladie's round country lane's
stage on a sunday morning:p :p :p 8-)

Harry

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Harry,

Ahh bless him.:lol:

Paul.;)

[kenny]

you rotten lot....at least he can drive and has a licence i cant even have a licence now because of blackouts so he is very lucky to have it...so there!:shock: :lol: :lol: 8-)

ken

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Ken,

I agree mate, it is a shame that you are prevented from being allowed to drive through something that you have absolutely no control over.:(

But through my job in the motor trade I come into contact with many people who shouldn't be allowed to walk the streets on their own, let alone drive a car.:shock:

I always cringe when I see an old guy with no hair or teeth of their own pull into the yard driving a Honda Accord, Legend or even bigger cars than that, take five minutes to park the car and ten minutes to walk to reception.

Then if I, or someone else has to drive them home they come out with the line I have heard far too many times, this is the first accident I have been involved in during 160 years of driving.:mad:

Paul.:roll:

[kenny]

hi paul
i was once in an old guys car who tried to drive the wrong way round a roundabout needless to say i was a bit frightened.i had my licencetaken a long time ago when the kids were still young and there was no way i would have trusted myself driving with them in the car.the wife does all the driving now so i have my own chauffer

ken:lol:

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Ken,

I have had more than my fair share of dodgy drivers through my job, even so a few members here will tell you my driving scares the brown smelly stuff out of them.:lol:

Although I would find it difficult if I didn't have the freedom of driving myself from one place to another, you are lucky in a way to have your Wife drive for you.:wink:

Paul.:smile: