I don't know why this is funny, but it is.

[barbarienne]

Was looking up stuff on the USPS website about registered mail, and came across their listing of special types of mailing (regarding confirmation or insurance, that sort of thing). At the bottom of the list was this:
Special Handling / For sending items that need to be handled specially through the mail like live poultry and bees.
I got the image of

Comments

[ruralwriter]

Baby chicks get mailed to people who want to raise chickens. (...an idea that discomfits this animal welfare person...)

I've been on airplanes (in the US) where you could hear roosters crowing in the cargo hold. Kid you not.

[barbarienne]

The idea that the USPS has a special category for the live critters reassures me a little that they handle them with more delicacy, i.e. not leaving them in hot trucks, or turning them on their side.

Still not very pleasant, I'm sure, for the little guys in the box, but if it's done quickly, I hope it's not too traumatic.

[lizziebelle]

I've had friends order bees through the mail. They had to go pick it up, though; the carrier wouldn't deliver the package.

[barbarienne]

The whole image is just funny to me. "Why is this box buzzing?" "Bees." "I'm not delivering that!" "You don't have to."

I know people order ladybugs through the mail, but they're harmless. I wonder what the receiving beekeeper does when they bring the box home? Let it sit for a while until they calm down? Douse it with the smoker? I know I wouldn't want to open it!

[lizziebelle]

That's a good question. I'll have to ask my friend!

[sarah_prineas]

Live...poultry? You can seriously send a chicken through the mail?

[barbarienne]

Apparently so. I hope it's sent overnight priority.

[rosefiend]

Yes, chicks are sent through the mail. In spring at the St. Joseph post office downtown, you can hear a lot of peeping coming from behind the clerks. Apparently the chicks are shipped once they've hatched and dried their feathers off. They aren't fed because they can go for a while on what the egg provided. Once they get home, though, you put them down in the brooder immediately with food, water, and warmth.

Oh! Here's some info on loading packaged bees into a hive. http://www.thefarm.org/charities/i4at/lib2/bees.htm

Scroll down to where it says, "Installing Packaged Bees." Fascinating! I've always wanted to keep bees but alas I live in town. Also, chickens are time-consuming enough as it is.

[rosefiend]

Whoops! This is a better link and explains the whys and wherefores.

http://www.beemaster.com/site/honeybee/install.htm

[barbarienne]

That is fascinating!

I've thought off and on about raising bees someday when I own a house, because I want fruit trees and they need pollinators. I always wondered how one would acquire them. Now I know!

[rosefiend]

I have the Storey's Guide to Beekeeping at home that I like to read through. This kind of stuff fascinates me. Enjoy!
http://amzn.to/bmzUSe

[retrobabble]

The topic and mental imagery was hilarious enough but is now super-shiny with the comments.

Huh. You learn something new every day.