Is Meyer Hatchery very good?

[Mac14]

Sorry about your barnevelder, she looks like a cutie. But I am glad that the others are healthy.

 

[Melabella]

I ordered from Meyer, had a July 23rd hatch and paid for overnight shipping as I didn't want to risk anythinng happening in the heat of the summer. They arrived in excellent shape, ate and drank right away, and here I am 12 weeks in, and they are thriving. Only small glitch I had was that of the 10 all female order, turns out 9 were pullets, and one of my Columbian Wyandottes is a Roo. I ordered 5 different breeds, 2 of each. I was upset at first, but also have decided that I will inch along, and see how it goes. I have learned here there are a lot of benefits to having a roo, and I have actually started to like the lil guy. So far he seems very calm, but I also realize that he is very young, who knows how it will go with maturity, and when the hens start laying. I have lots of small little ones around my place, so there will be no room for an unruly Rooster!

Back on topic, I called Meyer when I discovered he was a roo, ( by the way, diagnosed by posting pictures in the Breeds forum, from all the wonderful experienced people in here), they asked me to send pictures, and they reimbursed me my $2.89 that I paid for him even though they clearly state they guarentee a 90% hatch rate. Proffesional, polite, and very helpful.

So, I would order from them again, and I have had a great experience with the one order I placed in July.







What are you thinking of ordering?
Good Luck!
MB

 

[Mac14]

Great pics! Getting a roo seems pretty common with most hatchery's. I hope he will be a good one.
What I am thinking of ordering is on the 1st page but I will retype it anyways. Probably 1 EE, 1 GLW or Barnevelder, and 2 Golden Polish.

 

[Mac14]

Now I'm probably going to change the list a bit, now 1 EE, 1 Golden Buff (as they put it), and maybe 2 Golden Polish.

 

[Wrightsx4]

I have Ee's and a golden buff from Meyer - I posted pics earlier in this thread. The golden buff is very sweet and likes to be held & petted. The ee's...not so much. They're hilarious to watch, frantic little trouble makers. They don't like to be touched and enjoy surprise attacking the other chicks by jumping on them or flying into them. Theyre adorable though!

 

[Mac14]

Ya, I can't get over how cute they are! Can't wait!

 

[RoostersCrow HensDeliver!]

I ordered from Meyer Hatchery in the spring of 2011. I ordered 50 Golden Buffs and 11 EEs. I had 1 extra golden buff chick and no extra EEs. When I retrieved the box from the post office, 1 EE was dead on arrival.

I was terribly unhappy with the EEs temperament
-extremely jumpy when anyone came near them
-tended to jump the fence and disappear
-very aggressive to other breed hens
-1 hen laid xlarge sized eggs (green)
-6 laid medium sized eggs (1 Lt blue, rest green)

The Golden Buff hens were okay temperament wise but I was not overly impressed with their egg laying capabilities.I now go to Townline Hatchery for their ISA Browns which lay SOOO much better and have a better temperament.

I will order from Meyer again, I want to try the Partridge Plymouth Rocks, Delaware, Silver Laced Wyandottes, and Buff Orpingtons.

I will post pictures of chicks and adults when I get home.

Edit: Here's the pics and I actually spent more time with the EEs because I liked them the best at first. I eventually couldn't stand them anymore and sold them to guy who wanted green egg layers.

 

[Mac14]

Oh, I'm sorry. Of all the things you want to see when you open that box is not a dead chick. How much time did you spend with each chick? Could that be part of the temperament issues? I'm not saying you did anything wrong by any means. Hope the next time will be better.

 

[moomoodiddy]

was gonna order a test run from meyer because of the min 3 chicks but turns out there is also a min of 25 dollars...bummer i dont want to spend 25 bucks on chicks, any hear anything of ideal poultry

 

[mkcolls]

We ordered over 60 chicks and 15 poults in three batches last spring & early summer from Meyer. Lost 2 of the Favorelles in the first week. They were a weak strain, and we have culled all but one. They were not good layers either.

We wanted GLW but after ordering twice and getting called to say they didn't have a successful hatch we changed the order to SLW. The roo was the sweetest bird that we ordered all summer, but our BA roo attacked him and he died of internal bleeding. Very sad. The female SLW were mean. Constantly pecking anyone that got near them, the food, the water, the grass, everything, and anything. Several had internal laying issues, none were good layers. They have all been culled.

We love our EE's. They have so much personality, are consistent layers, and love to forage. They are independent, we get our hugs in the evening when they are on roost.

Another favorite are our SS. They are sweet, eating and laying machines. First to run to the door, always outside from dawn to dusk. Don't mind the rain or cold and love to be held and carried around. They always have a job to do. Must catch bugs, must dig in the dirt, must take a dust bath, must eat worms, must follow the mower for grasshoppers.

The BO, Welsummer, BA (except for the roo), JG have all done well. Good layers, and play well with others.

The turkeys have been a blast! They are our best buddies. I have a Royal Palm female that jumps up on my lap and takes a nap. She is so sweet. We have a couple of her offspring. They are beautiful. They know their names and come running when we call them.

Meyer was responsive to our order, and refunded for a couple of birds that died in the first 48 hours. But when I called to report the weakness we saw in the SF and SLW females as a whole they acted like if wasn't information that they needed. We saw the weakness as a breeding issue. They didn't seem to care. We weren't calling for refund, we thought they would want to know the issues we saw. We were wrong.

Good luck with your birds. Spring will be exciting.