Shipment of thousands of chicks found abandoned in USPS truck now
overwhelming an animal shelter
[May 20, 2025]
By MINGSON LAU
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.
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The Bruzdzinski family adopt chicks at First State Animal Center and
SPCA on Friday, May 16, 2025, in Camden, Del. (AP Photo/Mingson Lau)
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 and quail, but the vast
majority were Freedom Ranger chicks. One concern for the shelter,
Parana explained, was the increasing demand for space and feed over
time, as Freedom Rangers take about ten weeks to reach maturity.
The Delaware Department of Agriculture, after a call from USPS,
directed the animals to the shelter, which shares a memorandum of
understanding with the animal center as a state vendor. The
department said it is responsible for assisting the shelter with
funds — for chickens, the rate was $5 each per day.
The department's chief of planning, Jimmy Kroon, said negotiations
were ongoing, but Parana claims that the department communicated
that they had no funds to allocate for the chicks. Both acknowledged
the original rate would be unreasonable in the current
circumstances.
“They said that they’re gonna try to go after the post office to get
recoupment,” Parana said. “That doesn’t help us in the meantime.”
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