Meyer Hatchery - 4 of 15 chicks dead

[mattsinger]

there is only so much a hatchery can do with a day old chick. If they are alive, they are good to go. I think 99% of the issues with DOA falls on the shipping service and or weather. Preventative measures taken or not, shipping birds during the winter carries a risk.

 

[KBHatchery]

The weather takes a big toll on the little chicks and also the way they are handled through their shipping.
The yolk that is left in the egg with them while they form is stored inside their bellies, quite like a seed
in the ground. The endosperm is its food while stuck in the seed/shell, like the yolk of an egg. This can
keep the chicks fed/watered for up to two days. if shipping will last longer than two days the hatchery may
add a medicated feed into the chick boxes so that they can get nutrients after the yolk has been digested.
Birth defects can also appear as some defects can be recessive and not be shown in the parent but show in its offspring.
Crooked neck and crossbeak can cause fatalities in chicks because of the physical disadvantages. wounded chicks
will also cause a problem because the other chicks will be attracted to the red color and continuously peck at the wound.
Causing death of the wounded or at least increase the probability of the chicks death. No one should blame the
hatcheries, they do their job of supplying , medicating the chicks, and seeing their shipping goes well FROM
the hatchery. Shipping too your home or business is on the service of the shipping company and weather.
Buying your chicks in April often decreases the deaths in chicks, and you wont have to purchase as many chicks
at one time like in the winter months.

 

[jbs]

Wow, I didn't realize this thread was still going strong. I'm the thread starter and to update my situation, we lost 7 of our Meyer order of 15 chicks. 6 were DOA or died within a day or two of shipping and one developed a severe cross beak, and we decided to put her down when we determined that she wasn't eating.

I bought 10 additional chicks from the feed store and overall they seem much more robust than my Meyer chicks. One started staggering and acting drunk after maybe a week, couldn't stand, but we were able to nurse her back to health. I think she had vitamin E deficiency, she responded immediately to vit E with selenium.

Anyway, our feed store has a great selection of chicks and overall it was a much more positive experience than mail order chicks, the only problem is that I like to have my chicks vaccinated for Mareks and none of the feed store chicks were vaccinated. The feed store gets their chicks from a hatchery in Ohio (not Meyer and I don't think it was Mt Healthy either, but maybe), but they receive shipments of several hundred at a time and I don't think they have to worry so much about chicks dying from the cold. After doing tons of research on BYC about the Mareks vaccine, I decided to vaccinate my feed store chicks myself at one week of age. Not ideal, but many think it will offer them some protection.

I haven't decided what to do in the future. I don't live close enough to a hatchery to pick up chicks in person, and overnight shipping wasn't an option at Meyer, but I will look into that with other hatcheries. I will personally never order chicks again in winter, and if possible I will order at least 25, or try to find someone else to combine orders with so there are enough chicks to stay warm during shipping.

I'm sorry for everyone else who's had shipping issues and is dealing with dead or sick chicks. It's an awful thing to open that box of dead chicks, or spend days trying to nurse a sick chick back only to have ot die anyway.

 

[Tikkijane]

Sounds like a USPS problem, not a Meyer problem. There's a reason USPS is going broke. In my opinion. Still sorry to hear of your loss. I'm lucky that I can drive to Meyer to pick them up. I had one out of seven that was weak upon pick up. The GroGel seemed to perk her up within a day.

Some of this, I wonder, is that they are closing processing/sorting facilities left and right. It's no wonder things are taking an unnatural and convoluted route to get to where they are going.

I absolutely would not ship USPS during the winter or colder months- I would spend the extra $$ and go UPS if it was an option, or pay for overnighting.

I have ordered my guineas through Meyer, but they are coming in June. I have another order through TSC to Privett's and they are coming in May. I figured 40 should make it ok, especially at that time of year, but this is the first time I've done mail order, and I'm worried.....

 

[Tikkijane]

I'm new (sort of) to chicken raising. I live in southern New Mexico, so I guess compared to some of you, the weather here is mild. Our nights can get down to the teens, and I posted in another topic about thinking I'm ready to raise some chicks now. Our local Tractor Supply has chicks now, but have been considering ordering some instead. If I order chicks, is it best to wait another month or two until the weather warms a bit?

Your chicks are {most likely} coming from Privett's in Portales. I, personally, wouldn't worry about it too much, but if you do, you can always drive up there and get them. We just moved from Roswell, and the ones I ordered here from TSC are coming from Privett's. Love it!

 

[Tikkijane]

I get what you mean

That's not why I don't like ordering chicks though. I personally dont like it because ordering small amounts of chicks can be dangerous for the chicks. I can't order more than 15, and even that's a little low. TSC orders lots of chicks all at once, which ensures that they will all stay warm and they aren't rocking around the box as much. Other than that, I don't mind ordering them. I just worry that my chicks will get cold and injured because I could only order ten... We used to order chicks every year when I was young. We used to order 25-30 chicks at a time then, so it was much safer. If I could order that many again this time, I would feel much safer about ordering them online.

The last batch of bantams my TSC got was an order of 25. They were shipped by themselves, and not with any additional LF. Fwiw.

 

[Debs55]

I personally think that some of mine were sick to begin with. I had no "inbetweens" in mine. They were either weak and dying or running around doing fine. And even ones I doctored and that seemed to be doing fine died within 2 days.

 

[rissamdc]

I ordered about 40 chicks from Welp Hatchery during the beginning of February this year. Some were dead upon arrival. Only twelve chicks survived. Luckily, we got a refund

 

[rissamdc]

All the white japaneze bantams and seld blue old english died. I have one black japanese bantam, two white crested black polish, four golden laced wyandottes, and five giant blue cochins. They are slowly getting used to me touching them. I recommend buying from Murray Mcmurray. I ordered my first and third batch from them. Im still recovering. It is hard when every hour there is one to three more that are dead, and you have tried everything to stop it. And i am not new at raising chicks.

 

[kynewbchickie]

After doing tons of research on BYC about the Mareks vaccine, I decided to vaccinate my feed store chicks myself at one week of age. Not ideal, but many think it will offer them some protection.

I've asked at all of our area feed/farm stores, TSC included - we haven't been able to find the vaccine for Marek's. My vet said he could come out and administer vx on all the chicks, but all my Aussies were vaccinated when I ordered them...obviously that is going to be a small fortune just for the service call. I can't take them to his office. Where were you able to find vx for your chicks, if you don't mind me asking? Mine will be 2 weeks old tomorrow and something is better than nothing imho...