Thousands of chicks found abandoned in USPS truck have been adopted

Camden, Del. — Thousands of chicks found abandoned inside a postal service truck for three days have gone to new homes, according to the Delaware shelter that had cared for them, with the last batch picked up on Thursday morning.

All the surviving chickens – estimated as more than 5,000 – it was too hard to get a specific count – and some others like turkeys and quails were adopted mainly by local families, rescues and farms, according to First State Animal Center and SPCA.

The chicks were part of a 12,000-bird shipment left unattended in a truck at a Delaware mail distribution center. Trapped in high temperatures without food or hydration, thousands died, according to the state Department of Agriculture. The U.S. Postal Service has said it is investigating the “process breakdown” that occurred.

Chicks mill around a stall at First State Animal Center and SPCA in Camden, Delaware, May 16, 2025.

Mingson Lau / AP

For more than two weeks, the surviving birds had been cared for at an overwhelmed First State Animal Center and SPCA, said John Parana, executive director. As a no-kill operation, the shelter wouldn’t accept adopters planning to use the birds for meat, Parana said. Some of the adopters took hundreds at a time, hoping for egg-laying hens, while others took them as pets.

In a statement posted on Facebook, the shelter hailed the adoptions as “GREAT NEWS !!” saying, “ALL of these thousands of babies will live out their natural lives. WE THANK EVERYONE for your kindness, donations and care for animals. Our staff has worked relentlessly to make this happen, between the care, the adoption screening, and long hours. … We are still asking for donations to help recoup the revenue loss from other shelter operations, materials, feed and overtime paid out for the past 3 weeks. Dear Friends, we could not do this without you. We “Thank You” so, so much!”

Stephanie Bruzdzinski adopted a handful of chicks after her daughter learned about their situation.

“She was very upset and wanted to help out,” said Bruzdzinski, who was similarly shocked when she heard the news. “She doesn’t like when things aren’t getting taken care of.”

The birds originated from Pennsylvania-based Freedom Ranger Hatchery’s weekly bird shipment to clients around the country and the hatchery couldn’t take the chicks back due to biosecurity concerns, a company spokesperson said.