meyers hatchery

[nickrex98]

has any one ordered from meyer hatchery, and how did you like the out come

 

[eaemnc]

On June 25th I ordered 5 chicks and when I picked them up on June 30th they had many over hatch chicks to chose from so I left with 12. We got: 2 Blue Copper Maran's (BEAUTIFUL and WONDERFUL chicks)!! 2 Golden Buff also known as Red Star (GREAT egg layers) We have a 6 year old Red Star who just laid eggs the other day AMAZING!! 3 Gold Lace Wyandotte, 2 Silver Lace Wyandotte, 2 Blue Andalusian, and 1 Easter Egger!! All BEAUTIFUL and ALL doing GREAT!! From Meyer Hatchery in Polk, OH.
At about a week to a week and a half we started putting the chicks outside in an enclosed pen supervised during the summer sunny day with their waterers one with vitamin electrolytes and one plain water. Also their feeder with chick starter. The Blue Copper Maran I named Copper is so sweet and calm. As is her sister we named Saphire! They eat ants that are big!! I couldn't believe when Copper jumped about 4 feet into the air up to the tree and grabbed an ant and jumped back down.. What a good girl!! I don't care much for bugs.. and the ants are bad for the tree.. I wondered if that was safe for a week - 2 week old chick to be eating ants and small bugs and small pieces of grass at that age? So far they are growing and thriving.
I thought the same as others that in the wild chicks with their hen mom's would be doing the same thing. The pen is rather large. It's good for them to know that they have a 2 acre yard to live in on a smaller scale it's like 1 - 100th of that but still nicer than being over crowded in the brooder.. It's a large tub 4' X 2 1/2' but for the 12 of them it's starting to get small. There is a chick roost I made inside and this morning I heard a chick crying out.. I went to look and in the room where the brooder is up on the counter the chick flew down from the lip of the brooder box and was in the bathroom behind the toilet.. hiding.. and crying.. Her name is Happy Feet as she is always dancing around so I call her happy girl she's black and white looks penguin like.. LOL Happy Feet was perfect!!
All are doing well. We put them in under the lamp at night as they start to huddle together when the sun goes down..
When there is rain or the temp is low they don't go out but right now due to crowding and them growing by leaps and bounds they do GREAT outside and we have not lost a single chick. When we got chicks 6 years ago from Meyer we lost 2 in the first couple days.
Advice from Tractor supply is that they put Tetramaycin / Tetracycline.. sp? Ask them at TSC.. They put a pinch in with the Electrolyte and vitamin drink. I will give this until they are in the coop 24 - 7. 6 weeks at least. As for the antibiotic I think that stops sooner.. But I think it helps the chicks when they are just a day old and up to a couple weeks or so..
I hope I am doing this all correct as this is only our 2nd batch of chicks in 6 years. (shrug) Let me know if you are a pro. and think this is as good for the chicks as I think it is.
Day time temps range right now from 80 - 85 degrees. I'll wait another week or 2 to put the chicks in the coop separated from the 2, 6 year old chickens and 6 ducks.

Great posts and thank you for posting yours!! I came on here to see if it was ok to put baby chicks outside durning the day supervised in a chick run?? You answered my question and so far so good with mine at this age as well.. I hope eating big ants is ok as well...

 

[Tripp16]

I absolutely LOVE Meyers Hatchery!!

 

[kera!]

love themmm.

 

[Kassaundra]

I ordered from them last year they were great, very friendly. The chicks I got were healthy, and continue to be to this day. They were exactly what I ordered and a great variety. No beak or leg issues at all, I would order from them again w/o hesitation.

 

[DelcoChix]

I've gotten chicks from them for the last two years--they are really good people to work with and haven't lost a chick yet. Like their variety and the numerous chicks you can order as pullets--great for those of us who prefer not to have roosters and keep the neighborhood quiet I have not had them shipped, more fun to do a roadtrip since they are just over an hour away. Good luck.
PS: I also really liked the catalog they had mailed out--love the photos and the descriptions for everything from egg productions, mature weight, purpose (egg/meat/dual) and the temperament...this year I tried twice but seems like they've gone to a cyber-mag....bummer as I liked it for a reference guide/wishbook...

 

[Chemguy]

I ordered from Meyer recently. Everything went exactly as they said it would (shipping dates), and the chicks arrived in excellent condition. I'll order from them again.

 

[nickrex98]

if any of you have pics of your baby chicks that will be great

 

[Fred's Hens]

Last fall from Meyer. 100%

 

[Wildflower_VA]

I just got an order of 33 chicks from Meyer last week. I can't say enough good about the whole process. They were cheaper, had a better selection this late in the year, and they send an e-mail when the chicks ship, so you know for sure that they are on the way. I did have one dead in the box, but they gave me a credit. They were in a mail truck for two days in a heatwave, so I was glad that there weren't more dead in the box. They are all healthy and growing like weeds.

Here are some pictures:

In the shipping box

In the brooder: