Meyer Hatchery Chicken pics anyone??

[trsturself]

A couple of recent pics...

Our CCL roo, Elvis


Our BLRW, Sadie, and our CCL, Eva



One of our silkie roos, Crystof



Our BCM roo, Carter

 

[christine9]

A couple of recent pics... Our CCL roo, Elvis Our BLRW, Sadie, and our CCL, Eva One of our silkie roos, Crystof Our BCM roo, Carter

The males are so gorgeous. I would have more if I thought they'd all get along. I got the new 2015 catalogue in the mail today. Do I even have to tell you that I added an EES to my order just because of the cover photo?! Yikes! May better get here quick or this order will go from four chicks 14 fast!

 

[NotableNancy]

A couple of recent pics...

Our CCL roo, Elvis


Our BLRW, Sadie, and our CCL, Eva



One of our silkie roos, Crystof



Our BCM roo, Carter

Nice looking ... I forget if they are from Meyer? Crystof is quite the looker!!

The males are so gorgeous. I would have more if I thought they'd all get along.

I got the new 2015 catalogue in the mail today. Do I even have to tell you that I added an EES to my order just because of the cover photo?! Yikes! May better get here quick or this order will go from four chicks 14 fast!

I am ABSOLUTELY in LOVE with the cover girl on the catalog!!! Is that an EE? I thought some kind of Ameraucana? I just got my catalog today and I think their prices on feeders/waterers and some other things were really reasonable. My feed stores are much more expensive and not a great selection at all.

I really want a top 'loading' waterer but they are for 4 gallons and I would only need 1 or 2 gallon. Does anyone have one of those? Just wondering how well they work. I think they would be much easier for others to use when we go away and they take care of our girls for us.

 

[christine9]

The cover girl is a bantam EE

 

[trsturself]

The cover girl is a bantam EE

Yep, she looks a lot like our bantam EE from Meyer. I can never get a good pic of her. She's very skittish. Lays the cutest little blue/green egg though.



No, sorry none of the others in my pics were from Meyer. The silkie and BCM we hatched ourselves. The BLRW was from a local feed store. And the CCL were from a local breeder.

The only Meyer chickens I have now are my SLP (in my avatar), our welsummer, and the bantam EE.

 

[konachicks]

Sorry for the red light special but dream was cracking me up! Sleeping on the perch with her head hanging down! Lol I could watch them for hours!!

 

[NotableNancy]

Yep, she looks a lot like our bantam EE from Meyer. I can never get a good pic of her. She's very skittish. Lays the cutest little blue/green egg though.



No, sorry none of the others in my pics were from Meyer. The silkie and BCM we hatched ourselves. The BLRW was from a local feed store. And the CCL were from a local breeder.

The only Meyer chickens I have now are my SLP (in my avatar), our welsummer, and the bantam EE.

I forgot you have a problem with the chicks.... the altitude you were thinking? You will get some great chicks from these lovely boys!!

Sorry for the red light special but dream was cracking me up! Sleeping on the perch with her head hanging down! Lol I could watch them for hours!!

I know... they are so fun to watch. My arms used to go numb cause I'd lean over the brooder so long with my arms in there to get them to be comfortable around me.

 

[rnchick74]

New nest box curtains!

Checking out the new lights! Belle posing

Grumpy CCL girls

Rope lights

More lights

All the girls

Coop Tight

Coop Tight installed inside the door frame - you can install either way.

Sorry it's taken me so long to get this posted! Here is the winter additions - lights, curtains, and Coop Tight!

Question for everyone - my run is getting pretty muddy with the snow/ice. How does everyone manage the mud? I'm almost to the point of putting pavers in!

I had some issues with my Chicken Fountain - I hadn't put the winter kit on & we got a flash freeze...well the nipples froze and one of my chickens cracked a nipple trying to get water out. I contacted them just to figure out what parts I needed to order & he sent me some replacements for free! We also chatted for a bit on some additional strategies to weatherize my fountain given it's location in the run. He had some great ideas that I think will help this winter. Such great service!

I put a thermometer in the coop for a few days to see how the Coop Tight was helping - there was at least a 10 degree increase inside the coop. That makes a big difference when the temp is only 20 degrees!!!

No eggs yet - my oldest girls (CCL - non meyer's) are almost 22 weeks. I put golf balls in the nest boxes last week. Today I saw evidence that someone has been getting the straw/nest just the way they want it & moving the golf balls around! I haven't seen any squatting yet, but I hope we are getting close!!!

Also, Santa is bringing me a Brisnea advanced incubator & ovascope for the Holidays!!! Now I'm going to have to figure out what kind of chickens I want to add!!!

 

[autumnhearth]

A couple of recent pics...

Our BLRW, Sadie, and our CCL, Eva

You've got quite the blue/grey-red/rust theme going on. Interesting how unique everyone's CCL look. Slightly different neck colors and often different crest colors. I like the way she related to your splash BLRW. Very pretty and handsome birds in your flock.

I got the new 2015 catalogue in the mail today. Do I even have to tell you that I added an EES to my order just because of the cover photo?! Yikes! May better get here quick or this order will go from four chicks 14 fast!

Yes she is gorgeous! Was hoping my son would chose another EE as we are only getting three this year and I've already decided on a Welsummer for myself (whenever I see other peoples Wellies I get a longing in my heart) and my husband would never choose an EE because of the the "ridiculous beards". But Rowan seems to have firmly decided on a White Rock for his "snow chicken". I was pretty taken aback at his choice. I had just warmed up to the idea of a Delaware or Light Brahma and a White Marans would have been pretty with Morgaine. I guess I've always thought of the White Rocks as plain, practical great-grandma's American chickens, good for meat and eggs but just boring.

But once I re-read the catalog description about their egg laying ability and personality I realized he couldn't have picked a better white chicken for our little backyard flock. They have great reviews here on BYC and are described as very friendly, inquisitive, elegant, calm, quiet or chatty (but not loud) and often underfoot or hopping on your lap and "a part of the family". Love this little story about Mini: http://www.communitychickens.com/breed-spotlight-plymouth-rock/ They are also early maturing which will help with egg demand from the neighbors. Eggs are light to medium brown, sometimes pinkish and sometimes speckled, hopefully they don't blend in too much with our Buff Orp.

Husband is still deciding on his pick. Best case scenario would be Cream Legbar for egg color or Buckeye for feather color. But I get no say, if I tried to influence him he'd just rebel. Don't think a SS or Wyandotte are in the cards for this year, I would want to get them together anyway. I told him another Dorking would be nice but he doesn't really want duplicates yet. Not until he can have his big flock of Dorkings, Fayoumis and Dutch Bantams

I am ABSOLUTELY in LOVE with the cover girl on the catalog!!!

X2!

 

[autumnhearth]

All the girls

Sorry it's taken me so long to get this posted! Here is the winter additions - lights, curtains, and Coop Tight!

Question for everyone - my run is getting pretty muddy with the snow/ice. How does everyone manage the mud? I'm almost to the point of putting pavers in!

I had some issues with my Chicken Fountain - I hadn't put the winter kit on & we got a flash freeze...well the nipples froze and one of my chickens cracked a nipple trying to get water out. I contacted them just to figure out what parts I needed to order & he sent me some replacements for free! We also chatted for a bit on some additional strategies to weatherize my fountain given it's location in the run. He had some great ideas that I think will help this winter. Such great service!

I put a thermometer in the coop for a few days to see how the Coop Tight was helping - there was at least a 10 degree increase inside the coop. That makes a big difference when the temp is only 20 degrees!!!

No eggs yet - my oldest girls (CCL - non meyer's) are almost 22 weeks. I put golf balls in the nest boxes last week. Today I saw evidence that someone has been getting the straw/nest just the way they want it & moving the golf balls around! I haven't seen any squatting yet, but I hope we are getting close!!!

Also, Santa is bringing me a Brisnea advanced incubator & ovascope for the Holidays!!! Now I'm going to have to figure out what kind of chickens I want to add!!!

Yay update! Nice curtains. I'm thinking I should add thicker ones for winter. So the girls aren't bothered at all by having to walk through the plastic? I think we will make our own version, Clara still insists on laying her eggs in the corner directly across from the chicken door, while everyone else lays in the nest boxes. Pretty lights, just out of curiosity, how long do you leave them on?

Ugh hate the mud/snow/ice in the run! We put down straw initially but kept having to muck it out as it rained so much in September and October here. I raked up a bunch of leaves before the snow came and dumped them in the coop and they havd fun with with those but in the last week its gone back to muddy and icy. I haven't found or executed a perfect solution but my ideas for ideal ground cover are a combination of sand, dirt and pebbles in some areas for good drainage and dust baths, undyed/un-treated mulch in the heavy traffic areas and more leaves and pine needles (but we don't have any pine trees). I almost asked the people at our bus stop a week ago if we could come bag their leaves at the curb because they had lots of pine needles but the snow killed that idea. One of our neighbors still has leaves in brown paper lawn bags so I might ask them. Not sure where to get natural mulch/wood chips. Sand is easy though. Other solution for us would be a roof over the run and seal the walls up with plastic like a greenhouse.

I need to order those copper nipple conduits. We got a floating water de-icer but that does no good when the nipples freeze. But luckily, in this case at least, our girls didn't really take to the nipples, we waited too long so I just keep adding warm water their mason jar waterer. Sigh. New chicks will get the bottle cap nipple in the brooder and we can train the big girls in the spring if they don't catch on this winter.

I'm also not completely happy with how the new local organic layer mash is working out in the freezing temps. Because its so dusty I turn it into a mash with warm water, but that doesn't work in our feeder both because it sticks and doesn't work its way down and if I make more than they can eat in a few hours it freezes! So I've been bringing them out warm feed in a pie plate three times a day, which would probably be the same thing I would have to do if I fermented. So I guess its okay but with the managing of food and water and frequent collecting of eggs its hard to imagine having a job, I know there are solutions, the Chicken Chick had an article on raising nest box temps with a DIY layered warm system but I feel like it would make things cramped.

That's exciting they are getting interested in the nest boxes! Our only girl who was interested was our last layer. The other girls didn't want to go near them until they had do. Meanwhile our Dorking didn't lay for another two months but she was totally curious about anything new in the coop.

That Santa seems to know just what a chicken keeping mama wants!