Shipping policy

Shipping Policy

At The Robertson Rottie Ranch, LLC, we carefully prepare and package every order for shipment from our Blue Ridge Mountain homestead.

Many of our products are live, perishable, fragile, seasonal, or temperature-sensitive. Product availability and shipping schedules are managed to reduce avoidable transit risks.

Please review this policy and the applicable product listing before placing an order.

Processing Time

Most orders are processed within 2-8 business days while the applicable product is actively available for shipping.

Business days are Monday through Friday, excluding federal holidays and days when carriers are not operating normally.

Orders are generally processed in the order received.

Processing time is the time required to prepare an order before it is transferred to the carrier. It is separate from the carrier’s estimated transit time.

Whenever possible, live plants and hatching eggs ship Monday through Wednesday to reduce the likelihood of perishable packages remaining in carrier facilities over a weekend.

Tracking information will be provided when an order ships.

Product Availability

Products may be purchased only when we are actively accepting and fulfilling orders for them.

Availability may be affected by:

Seasonal temperatures
Severe weather
Plant growth or dormancy
Flock production
Inventory limitations
Agricultural restrictions
Carrier availability
Other fulfillment or safety considerations

When a product cannot be shipped within its normal fulfillment window, it will be marked unavailable for purchase.

Seasonal Shipping Blackouts

To protect temperature-sensitive agricultural and botanical products, we do not accept orders for live plant cuttings or hatching eggs during the following planned shipping blackouts:

Summer blackout: July 1 through August 31
Winter blackout: December 1 through the last day of February

Affected products will be marked unavailable during these periods. Customers will not be charged for unavailable products or asked to place orders that will be held for several weeks or months.

Product availability will resume after the applicable blackout only when inventory, flock production, plant growth, temperatures, and expected shipping conditions are reasonably suitable.

The end of a scheduled blackout does not guarantee that every seasonal product will immediately become available.

Weather-Related Shipping Holds

Extreme heat, freezing temperatures, severe storms, carrier disruptions, and other unexpected conditions may occasionally make shipping unsafe after an order has been placed.

When this occurs, we may briefly delay shipment to reduce the risk of damage to live plants, eggs, or other temperature-sensitive products.

If a weather-related hold is expected to extend beyond the normal processing window, we will contact the customer and provide the option to:

Continue waiting for an appropriate shipping window, or
Cancel the affected unshipped items for a full refund

We will not require a customer to accept an indefinite or materially extended shipping delay.

Hatching-Egg Orders

Hatching eggs are collected, inspected, individually protected, and packaged using materials intended to reduce physical damage during transit.

Hatching-egg orders generally ship Monday through Wednesday through USPS Priority Mail. The carrier service displayed and selected at checkout will control if another service is offered.

Tracking information will be provided when the order ships.

Fertility within our breeding flocks is monitored regularly. However, we cannot guarantee:

The fertility of each individual egg
A specific fertility percentage
Hatch rates
Chick viability during or after hatching
Incubation outcomes

Shipping conditions, carrier handling, temperature, humidity, incubation practices, incubator calibration, and conditions after delivery can affect results.

Please review the applicable product listing and our Return & Refund Policy before purchasing hatching eggs.

Hatching-Egg Cancellations

Hatching-egg orders may be canceled before collection, reservation, packaging, or fulfillment work begins.

Because flock production may be allocated specifically to an order, cancellation might not be possible after eggs have been collected or reserved for that customer.

Please contact us as soon as possible if you need to request a cancellation. We will confirm whether the order remains eligible.

If The Robertson Rottie Ranch, LLC cannot fulfill a hatching-egg order, the customer will receive a full refund for the unfulfilled portion.

Live Plant Cuttings

Unless expressly stated otherwise, our live plant listings are for fresh, unrooted cuttings rather than established plants.

Cuttings are harvested shortly before shipment and wrapped with moisture-protective materials appropriate for the plant type.

Live plant orders generally ship Monday through Wednesday while the applicable products are actively available.

Customers should:

Monitor tracking information
Retrieve the package promptly after delivery
Unpack cuttings immediately
Follow the arrival instructions in the product listing
Place leafy cuttings in clean, room-temperature water for at least 48 hours
Follow separate product-specific instructions for succulent cuttings

Temporary wilting, softness, or minor leaf loss can occur during shipment and does not necessarily indicate that a cutting is dead or materially damaged.

Botanical and Other Products

Dried herbs, botanical materials, and other non-live products will be packaged according to the nature of the item.

Processing times and available shipping services may differ from those used for live plants and hatching eggs. Any product-specific shipping information will be displayed in the applicable listing.

Shipping Services

Available shipping services may include:

USPS Priority Mail
USPS Flat Rate services
FedEx services
Expedited services when available

Available carriers, services, rates, and estimated delivery times vary according to the destination, package, product type, and carrier availability.

The shipping method displayed and selected at checkout will apply to the order.

Expedited Shipping

An expedited shipping service affects carrier transit time after the package has shipped.

Expedited shipping does not eliminate:

Order-processing time
Product-availability requirements
Weather-related safety decisions
Carrier interruptions
Agricultural or destination restrictions

We do not accept orders for seasonally unavailable live products merely because an expedited carrier service is available.

Shipping Charges and Delivery Estimates

Shipping charges and available services will be displayed during checkout before the customer completes the purchase.

Delivery dates and transit times provided by a carrier are estimates rather than guarantees.

Delivery may be affected by:

Weather
Holidays
Transportation delays
Carrier-service interruptions
Destination access
Other circumstances outside the carrier’s or seller’s direct control

A carrier delay does not automatically mean that a package has been lost or that the contents have been damaged.

Shipping Address Accuracy

Customers are responsible for providing a complete and accurate shipping address at checkout.

Please contact us immediately if you discover an address error. We can update an address only if the order has not entered fulfillment or been transferred to the carrier.

We are not responsible for delivery failure caused by an incorrect or incomplete address supplied by the customer.

Live plants, hatching eggs, and other perishable products returned or lost because of an incorrect customer-provided address might not be eligible for a refund or replacement.

Additional details are provided in our Return & Refund Policy.

Tracking and Delivery

Tracking information will be provided after the carrier accepts the package.

Customers are responsible for:

Monitoring tracking updates
Making reasonable arrangements to receive the package
Retrieving temperature-sensitive products promptly
Checking the delivery location and household members if a package is marked delivered
Contacting us promptly when tracking shows a potential problem

A delivered scan does not automatically determine the outcome of a claim. Reports involving missing packages will be reviewed using the available tracking and delivery evidence.

Damaged Orders

Please inspect your order promptly after delivery.

If an item arrives physically damaged, contact us as soon as possible—preferably within 48 hours—and provide:

Your order number
Clear photographs of the item
Photographs of the exterior and interior packaging
Photographs of any visible shipping damage
The tracking information
A description of the condition in which the order arrived

Please retain the item and all original packaging while the claim is reviewed.

Approved damage claims will be resolved with an appropriate replacement or refund in accordance with our Return & Refund Policy.

Lost Packages

A delayed package is not automatically considered lost.

If tracking has stopped updating or indicates an unusual delay, please contact us so we can investigate.

When the carrier confirms that a package has been lost, or when tracking and delivery information reasonably establish that it will not arrive, The Robertson Rottie Ranch, LLC will provide an appropriate replacement or refund.

Replacement availability may depend on current inventory, flock production, seasonal temperatures, and safe shipping conditions.

Customers will not be required to resolve an approved seller claim solely with the carrier.

Shipping Restrictions

Customers are responsible for confirming that plants, eggs, and other agricultural or botanical products can legally be shipped to and possessed at the destination.

We may decline or cancel an order when fulfillment could violate an agricultural restriction, carrier rule, or applicable law.

If we cancel an item that cannot legally or safely be shipped, the customer will receive a refund for that item.