Meyer Hatchery and Yolk Sac Infections

[blueyedgurl1]

We received 20 chicks from Meyer Hatchery on May 3rd. They all arrived viable but within two days time, we lost 10. We lost 2 Partridge Cochin, 4 New Hampshire Reds, 4 Welsummers I contacted Meyer and they replaced all of them. We received another order of 20 chicks a week ago today. Within the past two days, we have lost 3. 2 Blue Cochin and 1 Welsummer. It is past the 48 hours, so nothing will be done. We have several more that I'm pretty sure aren't going to make it. At first they were chirping and running around the brooder like all of the other's. Then they stop chirping, stop running around, get lethargic then die. I have another order for the end of June. After reading this thread, I may cancel.

 

[Starboardlabs]

Wow, that is very interesting. Makes me now wonder. I ordered from MPC, which is with Meyer. I had planned 2 orders based on a couple of available breeds. The first 6 hatched 5/15 - Speckled Sussex (who i planned the order around and is looking more and more roo :/ ), Lavender Orpington, Partridge Olive Egger, Easter Egger, Partridge Cochin, Blue Favaucana. All of those are thriving. The second hatched the following week 5/22 - Jubilee Orpington, Blue Ameraucana, Barred Rock, Silver Laced Wyandotte, Buff Orpington, Light Brahma. Of those, the Ameraucana was a little sluggish and very small. It still had a little string of the umbilical attached. It was dried and really looked like a string so I left it until I eventually clipped a little of the end so no one pecked/pulled at it. That little one is doing OK now, but is much smaller than all of the others, but that could just be the breed. But, the Jubilee Orp.... that one came out of the box and was thriving for the first several hours, eating, drinking, pooping. Later that night it was lethargic, when I was cleaning out the brooder it didn't scurry away, wouldn't eat or drink, I tried everything I could think of to perk it up, but by the next morning it was gone. I just figured it was just one of those things. MPC was wonderful in trying to help me out with doctoring the chick, and they refunded me right at the 48 hr mark. I did see that day they had 1 jubilee available for shipment 5/31, so I thought why not. I placed the order and the chicks arrived overnight yesterday morning to my post office, but this time, the Jubilee was DOA. In that order was a white cochin and another blue favaucana. The cochin is fine, but the favaucana seems to be going through the same as the orig jubilee, it was feisty out of the box, more so than the cochin, but then later just wanted to be under the ecoglow and not wanting to eat or drink. It doesn't lay down, just stands in a daze. This morning it was seeming to perk up, but i'm wondering if it will make it.
But, in this last shipment, somewhere during shipping, the box must have fell. I know not at my PO, as there was poop on the inside lid and the nesting was disheveled. I initially thought the shake up was what killed the jubilee - that and my 0-for-2 record with them. But i wonder if it was somehow related to what happen with the one from the week prior. It was bigger than the favaucana and cochin, so you would think it was heartier to ship.
I am way over my allowed chicken limit. I'm not allowed roosters, so the Sussex is going to have to go, but I'm still over. The last order I placed was JUST to get the jubilee, the other 2 I wasn't planning on. But that's a whole other story. If the favaucana doesn't make it, I would definitely suspect that there was something going at the hatchery. JMO.

 

[MrsChickens]

I wanted to report my experience with Meyer Hatchery 2/2018. I ordered 10 Marans and 5 Buff Orpingtons. The chicks were shipped and received within 24 hours picked up at USPS 10:00 a.m. The outside temps were mid 60's no winds to speak of. Opening the box at home I noticed the 2 white Maran females and the 2 Blue Copper Maran females and 2 Blue Copper Maran females were VERY TINY. The Orpingtons seemed small but I had never experienced that breed. Chicks were placed in NEW brooder with 97* readings on heat lamp, puppy pads on brooder floor, Medicated starter and supplements. I ordered GroGel, probiotics/electrolytes/vitamin packs and prepared Grogel immediately presenting to the chicks - prepared water with filtered spring water room temp with feeder filled with medicated crumble. One of the white Marans was listless and would not take Grogel, water or food. That bird died by end of day. The next morning the other white Marans died. I notified Meyer, they refunded the $23 for the birds. I told them my concerns with the frail/listless condition of the 4 Blue Copper Marans. Over the course of the first week, 2 white Marans, 4 Blue Copper Marans and 1 Golden Cucko Marans femal and all five Orpington were dead. Folks that 11 chicks out of 15 dead within the first week. After the first two losses, I mixed up an ACV in second water in the brooder. Those birds failed to thrive while one Black Copper Marans male, one Golden Cuckoo Marans and one meal maker (?) have survived. Clearly Meyer mailed chicks infected with coccidiosis. I cancelled other orders with two other sources because I didn't want to loose those chicks. I wrote to Meyer expressing all this. Their response is they don't refund chicks older than 48 hrs, directed me to a book that covered coccidiosis and basically told me to pound sand. This is clearly the wrong customer service response. I plan to challenge the $197 credit card charge and will post this on all forums. Order from Meyer at your own risk. They completely failed to step up to a problem that rests solely on their hands