A Delaware animal shelter is trying to care for and rehome thousands of chicks that survived being left in a postal service truck for three days. Trapped in a warm enclosure, without food and water, thousands died before they were discovered on May 2, CBS affiliate WBOC reported.

The chicks were left abandoned due to a "misdirected" shipment, according to the Delaware Department of Agriculture.

For more than 36 hours, the chicks had no food or water as temperatures rose to the mid-80s, according to First State Animal Center and SPCA, the animal shelter now caring for the