USPS shipping policies
We strongly recommend that all customer read over all of our policies, before ordering birds. Exceptions to our policies will not be made because customer did not read the policies before placing an order.
For information on airline shipping please refer to our airline cargo shipping page.
Here at Mallard Lane Farms all USPS shipping is done Oct-April.
We do not ship outside the continental US.
All of USPS shipping is done via " priority express mail" through the USPS. This is the USPS's fastest service. Using this service birds will arrive either next day or second day, depending on the connections the airlines have that transport the mail.
As an example birds shipped on Mondays will normally arrive on Tuesdays or Wednesdays. Most of the time we ship in the afternoon or even late in the evening please note us taking your birds to the post office earlier in the day, will not allow them to get to you sooner, they would only sit at the post office for a longer amount of time waiting on the mail trucks that go to the airport which only run in the evening.
We will not ship birds unless temperatures are safe at both ends of the transaction. For safe shipping the high temperature for the day should be no greater than 80 on both ends of the transaction.
We only ship at the beginning of the week normally on Monday, sometimes Tuesday. This is to avoid any hang ups close to the weekend. We also may not ship on weeks containing holidays in which the postal services will be closed. Depending on the day of the week that Christmas falls on we may or may not ship the week before Christmas.
We reserve the right to delay shipping due to unsafe temperatures, holidays, or any other reason that we feel may cause unsafe shipping conditions for your birds. Usually delays are 1 week or less.
Shipping fees are charged at a flat rate, this rate is the rate that we will be charging to ship your order , it will not match the postage sticker on your box.
We ship only in USPS approved shipping containers, at this time Horizon and FeatherEx are the only manufacturers of these that I am aware of. The price of the properly sized Horizon shipping or FeatherEx container is included in our flat rate shipping fee. For more information on Horizon boxes please visit. horizon boxes http://www.hm-e.net/
If you have used paypal to pay for your order, birds will ship to the address on your paypal account. Please make sure this info is correct.
*We will contact the buyer before shipping their birds, normally through e-mail. If contact is not made, shipping will be delayed, until we are sure that someone will be available to receive the birds when they arrive at their destination. * Orders that are placed thru our web store will be informed of shipping date a checkout we will not contact customers again prior to shipping unless we need to adjust the that date. At this time all order placed through our web store (except swans) will be shipped USPS.
Tracking # will be e-mailed after the birds are sent, these e-mails are normally sent out in the evening usually after 8pm. Please do not emailed us before 8pm to ask for tracking info. Since we ship in the afternoon or evening info in many cases your birds will not have even been shipped yet and/or we have not returned from the post office. These emails usually only sent to the email address provided to us by paypal. If you would like an additional email sent to another address please put this address in the note to seller section during checkout.
We recommend that you contact your post office to let them know that you are expecting a shipment of live birds, normally if you request it, they will contact you as soon as the birds arrive, and often let you pick them up before the post office even opens.
Please make sure you provide us with a phone # that the post office can reach you at once your birds arrive. For orders made thru our web store this information should go in the note to seller box. If a phone # is provided it will be placed on your box. If phone # is not provided we will still ship your order, however you will need to give the post office your phone # when you contact them prior to receiving your birds.
We feel that the post office provides us with a very valuable service, in transporting our birds, we do not ask the post office to refund postage for deliveries that arrive later than scheduled.
Please be patient in waiting for conditions to be safe for your birds to be shipped. Here in TN summer is long and we commonly still have 80's and even 90's thru Sept and into Oct. The mail trucks that take the birds to and from the airports are not air conditioned, it is likely to be hotter in the truck than the temperature is outside, and even hotter still, inside the birds box. The birds most likely will not be kept in a temperature controlled environment at the airport while awaiting their plane. In short, the overall stress from shipping combined with heat can easily be deadly to your birds.
It also should be noted that these birds have a much higher tolerance to cold temperatures than hot ones, thus shipping to northern states in the winter is not a problem.
Pinioned birds will require time to heal before shipping this can be 1-4 weeks. If you have ordered pinioned birds you will receive an email with your shipping date within 72 hrs of placing your order. Please note orders for pinioned birds can not be changed and are nonrefundable.
Orders for non pinioned birds can be changed or cancelled by the customers, however there will be a 25% cost of the birds cancellation fee applied to the refund.
Orders for pinioned birds can not be changed, no refunds will be given should customer choose to back out of the sale.
USPS shipment pricing
Approximate shipping prices per pairs of average sized ducks.
The following prices are approximate and may be more or less depending on your particular order.
1 pair $75.00
2 pair $85.00
3 pair $100.00
4 pair $130.00
5 pair $145.00
6 pair $165.00
6 pairs of average sized ducks is the maximum amount of birds that can be shipped in one box.
Live Arrival Guarantee
We guarantee live delivery to your post office.
**If any bird arrives at your post office DOA we will refund you the price of that bird.
The following conditions and exclusions apply:
Birds must be picked up from the post office no later than 3 hrs after they are available for pick up.
Birds must be checked before you leave the post office.
If you have any losses you will need to file PS form 1000 (7530-02-000-9931) with your post office. This will need to be done at the time you are picking up the birds, two copies of this form need to be turned in to the post office, you will keep one copy.
Please then e-mail a copy of the form along with photo of the bird to us within 12 hrs of the time you received the birds.
We will not issue refunds in the following circumstances:
Birds were not picked up from the post office within 3 hrs of being available for pick up.
If we are notified of losses more than 12 hrs after the birds are received.
IF PS 1000 (7530-02-000-9931) was not filed correctly as outlined above
or if photo and/or copy of form from post office is not provided
If customer insisted against our recommendations in any procedures which we felt caused shipping to be unsafe for the birds. This includes but is not limited to:
Putting more birds into a box than recommend
Shipping when temperatures are above 80 on either end of the transaction
Shipping on days other than Monday or Tuesday.
Shipping on a week containing or too close to a holiday.
** In some cases we may choose to replace the bird instead of refunding for the bird. We reserve the right to choose between replacing the birds or refunding the cost of the birds.
All shipping charges, health papers, or other fees are non refundable.
We do not offer any additional guarantee for after the birds are picked up from the post office ,our farm or other place that you may receive your birds. We recommend that customers read over our frequently ask questions page for information on how to care for your birds. A certificate of health from our vet is available at customer expense. Cost of health certificate is $85.00 for 1-50 birds, $185 for 50-150.
In the event that a bird arrives alive but there is an obvious problem customer must notify us with 1 hr of receiving the bird. Pictures may be required. Any situation of this nature will be handled on a case by case basis. Birds being very scared or nervous should not be reported to us as a problem as this is normal behavior for these birds.
Customers are solely responsible for knowing and complying with all of their states regulations for importing birds. For more information please visit our "Permits and Regulations" page.
Please make sure that you understand our shipping policies and the conditions of our "Live Delivery Guarantee" before placing your order. If you have questions please e-mail us at Mallardlanefarms.@gmail.com.
Air Cargo Shipping policies
If you pan to have birds shipped air cargo please read over all of our polices pertaining to this before you place your order.
This can be found on our airline cargo shipping page.
