It's been about 7 years since we started our flock and we ave plenty of broody hens now, but at that time I was really happy about the results of ordering both hatching eggs and day-old chicks from
McMurray, and they weren't very expensive (the eggs were very fertile and we didn't lose one live chick in transport, thank goodness).
The shipped them overnight in a small box, and I showed up at the post office on my way to work to pick them up. I asked at the window if my box of chicks had arrived, postmaster checked and said he didn't think so. I was surprised and asked if they might be able to double check, I'd been told that a box of live chicks were confirmed there. The postmaster started to check again and asked where they were from. I told him it was a company down in Texas, perhaps if we were quiet he could hear them. He looked at my as though I were crazy, then found a box and started to shake it to see if he could hear the checks rattling around -- I held up my hands and begged him not to, said they were delicate. He was baffled, but it was the box I'd been waiting for. I opened them a bit to show him, inside were 12 fluffy little black chicks all chirping away! He was shocked, thought that seeing me in my suit I must be saying "live checks" not live chicks all the while.