Meyer Hatchery Chicken pics anyone??

[trsturself]

I went out to feed the chickens this morning and looked in the nest boxes... our ceramic egg was still there but the one in my friend's box was missing! Obviously something is getting in there (I'm thinking snake). On the back side of the coop it looks like fresh dig marks but we dug down and the previous owners had buried chicken wire there so whatever was digging looks like it hit that and stopped. We can see light from inside the coop in a corner that goes into the run. We have some patching to do and I'm going to look up a snake proof nest box. We'll see if any designs exist.

 

[jtn42248]

I went out to feed the chickens this morning and looked in the nest boxes... our ceramic egg was still there but the one in my friend's box was missing! Obviously something is getting in there (I'm thinking snake). On the back side of the coop it looks like fresh dig marks but we dug down and the previous owners had buried chicken wire there so whatever was digging looks like it hit that and stopped. We can see light from inside the coop in a corner that goes into the run. We have some patching to do and I'm going to look up a snake proof nest box. We'll see if any designs exist.

There is really very little you can do the keep out a determined snake. Rat snakes/Black snakes/chicken snakes will find a way to get inside pretty much no matter what you do. At best you can use some sort of snake repellent to discourage them. There are a number on the market and many of them use sulphur as the primary ingredient...DO NOT USE THEM...sulphur is not something that you want to just spread around your property. We use Ortho Snake B Gone which contains no sulphur and seems to work for us in keeping snakes at bay. Basically it is Cinnamon Oil, Geraniol, Castor Oil, Peppermint Oil and Clove oil soaked into inert stuff like sawdust. Snakes rely heavily on their sense of smell to locate things. These combinations of smells work by confusing the snake and it just gives up and goes away. We had a problem with Rat snakes (so called chicken snakes around here) that were not only going after chicken eggs but were actually climbing up poles to get to our Marten nest and eating the babies. We even had an incident with a young rattle snake that proved fatal for the snake and no one else got hurt. One of our dogs got bit by a copperhead and spent a pretty miserable time with treatment surviving that.

After checking around with the farmers here in our area we decided to try the Snake B Gone. It was not that expensive and if nothing else it smelled good. I don't know if it works or not but we have not had a single snake since we started using it.

If you try any repellent make sure you use it outside the perimeter of the pen, yard or area you want to protect. If the snake gets in and the repellent keeps it from getting out you could have a problem.

Good luck.

 

[christine9]

@trsturself glad you're figuring out where the eggs are going! I got two eggs today. This is twice as many as I've gotten in 12 weeks! Pretty exciting. 2 of 3 laying isn't too bad.

My issue at this point has to do with Apricot my buff Brahma. She is Peppy's favorite and doesn't seem to be taking it well. First of all, he doesn't do anything except climb on her and pull out her new feathers that finally came in. Second, once he is done, she stays huddled down and the alpha hen comes over and pecks at her comb. She's starting to look awful. I figured I would make her a saddle, but am nervous about the pecking. Maybe she'll get used to him? Or as the young ones come of age it will settle down? Can she handle this for two more months? Although the alpha hen still rules. Maybe when Peppy takes the top spot the alpha will settle? Oh goodness! I guess for now I'll just keep a very close eye on her. I can't imagine separating her will help the situation, but if it comes down to it, I guess I'll have to.

 

[christine9]

I had to log back in to share my Velcro no-crow colar experience. Poor Peppy! He was well behaved; no pecking. I put the Velcro on him pretty loosely. As soon as he was back on the ground, he kept trying to backup out of the colar. Again and again. Kinda hilarious to watch. I wish I would have videoed it. So the plan is to let him get used to it and then maybe Tuesday tighten it a little. Then I'll keep tightening it a little at a time until it's fitted properly.

 

[daniellea2912]

Have you tried just a tiny bit of plain yogurt? The probiotics in it might help and my chicks really like it a lot. It also helps if you have pasty butt and can't seem to get rid of it.

I offered her some yogurt while she was inside earlier last week but she didn't seem to be into it so much. Gave her some yesterday and she ate a tablespoon or so. I did have an egg yesterday that had a small crack so I scrambled it up and gave it to her with some probiotics mixed in this morning... she loved it and ate about half of it. Its just frustrating bc she seems better one day then stands around and doesn't have a good appetite the next. Yesterday she seemed to nap most of the day (however it was pretty chilly and all my molt-ees spent most of the day fluffed up and grumpy). I am hoping since its supposed to be almost 60 today and stay above 50 thru Thursday she will perk up a bit and put on some weight.

 

[autumnhearth]

I went out to feed the chickens this morning and looked in the nest boxes... our ceramic egg was still there but the one in my friend's box was missing! Obviously something is getting in there (I'm thinking snake). On the back side of the coop it looks like fresh dig marks but we dug down and the previous owners had buried chicken wire there so whatever was digging looks like it hit that and stopped. We can see light from inside the coop in a corner that goes into the run. We have some patching to do and I'm going to look up a snake proof nest box. We'll see if any designs exist.

Yikes! Still that may be better than having hens eating their eggs an at least the snake is not after the chickens. Good luck with the predator proofing!

My issue at this point has to do with Apricot my buff Brahma. She is Peppy's favorite and doesn't seem to be taking it well. First of all, he doesn't do anything except climb on her and pull out her new feathers that finally came in. Second, once he is done, she stays huddled down and the alpha hen comes over and pecks at her comb. She's starting to look awful. I figured I would make her a saddle, but am nervous about the pecking. Maybe she'll get used to him? Or as the young ones come of age it will settle down? Can she handle this for two more months? Although the alpha hen still rules. Maybe when Peppy takes the top spot the alpha will settle? Oh goodness! I guess for now I'll just keep a very close eye on her. I can't imagine separating her will help the situation, but if it comes down to it, I guess I'll have to.

Aww poor Apricot! I hope Peppy turns his attentions to some of the other girls and perhaps the head hen. But perhaps separate her for awhile to allow her to heal and for him to work thinks out with the others. Really separating any of the three might help at least temporarily.

I offered her some yogurt while she was inside earlier last week but she didn't seem to be into it so much. Gave her some yesterday and she ate a tablespoon or so. I did have an egg yesterday that had a small crack so I scrambled it up and gave it to her with some probiotics mixed in this morning... she loved it and ate about half of it. Its just frustrating bc she seems better one day then stands around and doesn't have a good appetite the next. Yesterday she seemed to nap most of the day (however it was pretty chilly and all my molt-ees spent most of the day fluffed up and grumpy). I am hoping since its supposed to be almost 60 today and stay above 50 thru Thursday she will perk up a bit and put on some weight.

Aww poor dear Fingers crossed for her!


Does anyone have pics of their Wyandottes from Meyer? Husband has said he wants to get chicks in the early spring, not started pullets. I'm thinking Welsummer, Speckled Sussex, either a SLW or BLRW and perhaps another EE for the boy or a Blue Orp... but the husband will want to choose one too... you can see the chicken math starting already, lol.

In our small flock news everyone's doing well, the girls are 30 weeks old and we are just waiting on Victoria to lay. Baby has been sitting on each egg she lays. I have to check on her periodically when she's in the nest box, she takes awhile to lay anyway but doesn't move once she does. So I have to lift her up, take her egg and then scoop her out and place her on the ground. It usually takes her a few secs, Morgaine sometimes comes over and pecks her and then she eats and carries on with the day. I'm just glad she doesn't go back into the coop, yet...

 

[christine9]

Yay! 12 week update.
Olive-light brahma-she a calm, laid back bird

Eggplant-black ameraucana-looking cranky. I think it's the oatmeal in her fluff. She is a bold little thing. She's not afraid to go under the big ones to get to her treats.

Sasperilla-cuckoo marans- the biggest one of the little ones. I'm hoping her eggs will be close to the BCM eggs we've seen here lately.

Limabean-splash ameraucana-doing a lot of chest bumping today. I think she's the top of the little ones. She used to be one of the lowest.

Pumpkin-welsummer-such a cutie

Strawberry-speckled sussex-a very sweet girl

The older girls (a year old sept)
Kiwi-Dellie (alpha)

Persimmon-RIR-My meal maker who is finally laying again!

Apricot-buff brahma-Peppy's favorite and getting picked on a little. Still monitoring the situation before I do anything. You can see some comb damage here, but she was taking refuge in the coop.

Peppy-black ameraucana-7 months old. He has the colar on in this pic although you can't tell. Couldn't tell this morning with all the crowing either!

 

[konachicks]

Aloha! I just got the shipping notice my chicks have left Ohio (Meyer's)
I got one Blue Ameraucana, 2 assorted brown layer and on meal maker. All pullets was wondering if anyone got the assorted, what breeds they got? All links I could find were quite old

 

[NotableNancy]

I went out to feed the chickens this morning and looked in the nest boxes... our ceramic egg was still there but the one in my friend's box was missing! Obviously something is getting in there (I'm thinking snake). On the back side of the coop it looks like fresh dig marks but we dug down and the previous owners had buried chicken wire there so whatever was digging looks like it hit that and stopped. We can see light from inside the coop in a corner that goes into the run. We have some patching to do and I'm going to look up a snake proof nest box. We'll see if any designs exist.

Oh my.... snakes! Sheesh. I have no idea what to do. That means it's coming out during the day and stealing the eggs? You'd think the girls would have something to say about that. Could it be anything else? I hope that stinking thing ate the ceramic egg and he's choking on it. Was that mean?

@trsturself glad you're figuring out where the eggs are going! I got two eggs today. This is twice as many as I've gotten in 12 weeks! Pretty exciting. 2 of 3 laying isn't too bad.

My issue at this point has to do with Apricot my buff Brahma. She is Peppy's favorite and doesn't seem to be taking it well. First of all, he doesn't do anything except climb on her and pull out her new feathers that finally came in. Second, once he is done, she stays huddled down and the alpha hen comes over and pecks at her comb. She's starting to look awful. I figured I would make her a saddle, but am nervous about the pecking. Maybe she'll get used to him? Or as the young ones come of age it will settle down? Can she handle this for two more months? Although the alpha hen still rules. Maybe when Peppy takes the top spot the alpha will settle? Oh goodness! I guess for now I'll just keep a very close eye on her. I can't imagine separating her will help the situation, but if it comes down to it, I guess I'll have to.

2 eggs from 3 girls is great! Awww, I have a soft spot for BB's. So dainty and pretty. I heard they can get picked on because they're so sweet but mine didn't. She was very 'aloof' though. Didn't seem to have a friend. Always felt bad for her. I hope Peppy starts getting a bit randy with a few other girls and leaves her alone.

I had to log back in to share my Velcro no-crow colar experience. Poor Peppy! He was well behaved; no pecking. I put the Velcro on him pretty loosely. As soon as he was back on the ground, he kept trying to backup out of the colar. Again and again. Kinda hilarious to watch. I wish I would have videoed it. So the plan is to let him get used to it and then maybe Tuesday tighten it a little. Then I'll keep tightening it a little at a time until it's fitted properly.

Poor Peppy... he sure is handsome though!!

Does anyone have pics of their Wyandottes from Meyer? Husband has said he wants to get chicks in the early spring, not started pullets. I'm thinking Welsummer, Speckled Sussex, either a SLW or BLRW and perhaps another EE for the boy or a Blue Orp... but the husband will want to choose one too... you can see the chicken math starting already, lol.

In our small flock news everyone's doing well, the girls are 30 weeks old and we are just waiting on Victoria to lay. Baby has been sitting on each egg she lays. I have to check on her periodically when she's in the nest box, she takes awhile to lay anyway but doesn't move once she does. So I have to lift her up, take her egg and then scoop her out and place her on the ground. It usually takes her a few secs, Morgaine sometimes comes over and pecks her and then she eats and carries on with the day. I'm just glad she doesn't go back into the coop, yet...

The only Wyandotte I had was a Columbian Wyandotte...
here is a pic of her... I'm loving your DH... let him pick one or two or three...

Yay! 12 week update.
Olive-light brahma-she a calm, laid back bird


Eggplant-black ameraucana-looking cranky. I think it's the oatmeal in her fluff. She is a bold little thing. She's not afraid to go under the big ones to get to her treats.


Sasperilla-cuckoo marans- the biggest one of the little ones. I'm hoping her eggs will be close to the BCM eggs we've seen here lately.


Limabean-splash ameraucana-doing a lot of chest bumping today. I think she's the top of the little ones. She used to be one of the lowest.


Pumpkin-welsummer-such a cutie


Strawberry-speckled sussex-a very sweet girl


The older girls (a year old sept)
Kiwi-Dellie (alpha)


Persimmon-RIR-My meal maker who is finally laying again!


Apricot-buff brahma-Peppy's favorite and getting picked on a little. Still monitoring the situation before I do anything. You can see some comb damage here, but she was taking refuge in the coop.


Peppy-black ameraucana-7 months old. He has the colar on in this pic although you can't tell. Couldn't tell this morning with all the crowing either!

Pretty girls... and Peppy too! I love Apricot!!

My Cuckoo Marans egg wasn't that dark but it was the absolutely prettiest egg ever... sadly we had to put her down so I don't get her eggs anymore. They were brown but the bloom made them a shade of purple and each end was darker than the center... I could never capture it in a photo no matter what light I used. Silly me, I never thought to blow one out to save it.
It's the dark one on the far right but you can't tell from the pic how it was purplish. The other dark egg on the left is from my RIR.
Oh.... I just found this pic of the purple egg but still not great...

 

[NotableNancy]

Aloha! I just got the shipping notice my chicks have left Ohio (Meyer's)
I got one Blue Ameraucana, 2 assorted brown layer and on meal maker. All pullets

was wondering if anyone got the assorted, what breeds they got? All links I could find were quite old

Hi there!! I would think someone here has gotten the assortment...
Good luck on their safe arrival... it's so hard to wait!! Have you ordered from them before? Are these your first chickens or just the first time ordering an unknown assortment?