Meyer Hatchery Chicken pics anyone??

[NanaLynn]

I spent a little time today hanging some more bird netting and cleaning out the garden to get ready for Fall planting. Of course, I had to take pics of the crazy chicks too. They are really getting big. They still have their separate areas they can run to to get away from the big girls, but I anticipate taking down the fencing in the next 2 to 3 weeks since they will be too big by then to fit through the fence holes.

Here is Splash, the Andulasion or Orpington. The girls go all over the coop now until they get chased back. The big hens roost on the blue roosts behind her, she is on their ladder.


You can see the divided area here. The little chicks roost on those to roosts you can see and their separate higher protein feed is in this area so the big hens can't eat it. They also roost in the rafters as well.


Here is Ginger the Golden Buff enjoying time on the big girl side.


More of the group of chicks.


Here is Daisy, she is always near the little ones, ready to chase when needed. She is getting huge.


Here is Ellie, my single combed EE after they all took over the run. They preferred to drink out of the big girls water dish.

Buffy, the Buff Laced Polish with Mini, Welsummer


Lacie, Golden Laced Wyandotte


Cuckoo and Zany, the twin Cuckoo Marans. Stealing some of the big girls food. I switched the food to regular chick start and grow since the big girls were eating layer feed and the chicks did not need the calcium.


Rocky, Partridge Rock, she is finally catching up a little in growth.


Dottie, Columbian Wyandotte

Blackie, Black Australorp. You can see her feathers shine blue now in the sunlight, so pretty.


Here is a close up of Daisy and her comb and wattles. The wattles have grown a lot in the past couple of weeks.


Ginger, Golden Buff, she is such a sweet and friendly chick. She finally does not look so scraggly anymore.


Campi, Golden Campine, lookin' pretty

 

[kbh82310]

I spent a little time today hanging some more bird netting and cleaning out the garden to get ready for Fall planting. Of course, I had to take pics of the crazy chicks too. They are really getting big. They still have their separate areas they can run to to get away from the big girls, but I anticipate taking down the fencing in the next 2 to 3 weeks since they will be too big by then to fit through the fence holes. Here is Splash, the Andulasion or Orpington. The girls go all over the coop now until they get chased back. The big hens roost on the blue roosts behind her, she is on their ladder. You can see the divided area here. The little chicks roost on those to roosts you can see and their separate higher protein feed is in this area so the big hens can't eat it. They also roost in the rafters as well. Here is Ginger the Golden Buff enjoying time on the big girl side. More of the group of chicks. Here is Daisy, she is always near the little ones, ready to chase when needed. She is getting huge. Here is Ellie, my single combed EE after they all took over the run. They preferred to drink out of the big girls water dish. Buffy, the Golden Laced Polish with Mini, Welsummer Lacie, Golden Laced Wyandotte Cuckoo and Zany, the twin Cuckoo Marans. Stealing some of the big girls food. I switched the food to regular chick start and grow since the big girls were eating layer feed and the chicks did not need the calcium. Rocky, Partridge Rock, she is finally catching up a little in growth. Dottie, Columbian Wyandotte Blackie, Black Australorp. You can see her feathers shine blue now in the sunlight, so pretty. Here is a close up of Daisy and her comb and wattles. The wattles have grown a lot in the past couple of weeks. Ginger, Golden Buff, she is such a sweet and friendly chick. She finally does not look so scraggly anymore. Campi, Golden Campine, lookin' pretty

They are getting so big!

I'm expecting an order of 4 chicks from Meyer around Sept 18th. Looking forward to it. Two French copper Marans, one Spitzhauben and a Dominique. This will add to my year old layer flock of 1 buff orp, 2 black austrolorps (sp? LOL) 1 gold laced Wyandot, an EE, 1 blue hamburg, a sultan and a wee olandsk dwarf.

I would love to see a pic of your sultan! I had one on my last order but it didnt hatch. Did yours come from Meyer?

 

[NotableNancy]

They have a kiddie pool now but this year for Xmas they are getting one of those pond liners they have at Home Depot. That already has the pond shape molded in.

That's what I call "Lucky Ducks"!!

Wow, she is a big chicken! She looks as big as my big girl Big Mama, the Orpington. I hope that my EE's lay anything other then brown, I'd take any other color, but if they lay brown that's fine too, but I'll still be a little disappointed and probably confused for awhile trying to figure out who laid what.

So how was that egg? Double yolker?

My chicks will be 6 weeks on Monday. They are so fun to watch. As soon as the big ones leave the coop, they take over, when I let the big one's out to free range, they take over the run. It is like a chick invasion. The big ones chase them, but no individual chick gets picked on since there are so many. I am still trying to figure out a good way to count them since they move so fast. I'd like to be able to count them and determine who is missing when I lock them up for the night. Yesterday I kept counting 15 chicks, then after getting worried I looked up and there was the 16th one in the rafters. The other girls never got up that high. Crazy chicks, but they are so much fun!

They also seem to have grown so much just from last week, I took some pics and will post them soon.

I hear ya about the brown EE eggs, I am still hoping I get one more green/blue egg layer from my last EE. And yes, I have so many brown eggs I only can recognize a few eggs when I get them. LOVE your pics!! I love the pics of them stealing the big girls food and water- determined little buggers aren't they.
You have such a great set up that you can have all those ages and mix them easily. I don't know how I'll do it when it's time.
(didn't eat the jumbo egg yet... I'll post when i do)

I should be getting an egg from my other Leghorn, Annie today. Yesterday she was going in and out of all of the nest boxes, and she was being very noisy most of the day. Alice was back in the nest box for about two minutes yesterday, so I'm thinking tomorrow might be a two egg day.

Sunni's comb has been getting a tiny bit bigger every day, but she hasn't squatted at all. So I'm wonding when I'll be expecting from her.

None of my other girls are showing any signs that they are going to start laying. Ellie and Lucy (EE and Golden Campine) have squatted once or twice, but that's about it. It's still kind of early for the other girls though. Annie and Alice are only 17 and a half weeks.

You'll be getting lost of eggs before you know it! My EE Izzy laid at just over 18 weeks so you just never know with them.

I REALLY hope that's a hen, she is to pretty to get rid of! I wish Meyer sold those cause I really want one. She is beautiful!

She is def a hen because I had 2 of these and the one ended up being a cockerel and I could tell for sure by about 9 weeks. This one is 25 weeks old and squats!! From the pic it could really look like a possible roo because of the dark coming in on the sides but I think that's just her coloring. Curious to see if she changes when she molts. She is from Meyers and
you can get one- yours just won't look like mine. hehe
I wonder if Meyer would have any idea what she is a mix of. Maybe if people think she's so pretty they can make a new breed?? Call it a Nancy Brahma

 

[MsChickenMomma]

that is early. Did you get to white eggs yet from them?

Maybe Sunni needs to nutrients to heal anyway, so it might be good if she delays laying for awhile.

Nope, just one egg today. It was from Alice again. Annie is still going in and out of the nest boxes. Maybe tomorrow? Alice's egg today was 1.4 ounces. Just a tiny bit bigger than her first!

Im really hoping that Sunni holds of laying for a little while yet. The tiny bit that is left of her tongue seems fairly healed, but she still needs to build her strength back up, and hopefully learn to at least drink on her own.

 

[MsChickenMomma]

I spent a little time today hanging some more bird netting and cleaning out the garden to get ready for Fall planting. Of course, I had to take pics of the crazy chicks too. They are really getting big. They still have their separate areas they can run to to get away from the big girls, but I anticipate taking down the fencing in the next 2 to 3 weeks since they will be too big by then to fit through the fence holes. Here is Splash, the Andulasion or Orpington. The girls go all over the coop now until they get chased back. The big hens roost on the blue roosts behind her, she is on their ladder. You can see the divided area here. The little chicks roost on those to roosts you can see and their separate higher protein feed is in this area so the big hens can't eat it. They also roost in the rafters as well. Here is Ginger the Golden Buff enjoying time on the big girl side. More of the group of chicks. Here is Daisy, she is always near the little ones, ready to chase when needed. She is getting huge. Here is Ellie, my single combed EE after they all took over the run. They preferred to drink out of the big girls water dish. Buffy, the Golden Laced Polish with Mini, Welsummer Lacie, Golden Laced Wyandotte Cuckoo and Zany, the twin Cuckoo Marans. Stealing some of the big girls food. I switched the food to regular chick start and grow since the big girls were eating layer feed and the chicks did not need the calcium. Rocky, Partridge Rock, she is finally catching up a little in growth. Dottie, Columbian Wyandotte Blackie, Black Australorp. You can see her feathers shine blue now in the sunlight, so pretty. Here is a close up of Daisy and her comb and wattles. The wattles have grown a lot in the past couple of weeks. Ginger, Golden Buff, she is such a sweet and friendly chick. She finally does not look so scraggly anymore. Campi, Golden Campine, lookin' pretty

Beautiful girls!! They have gotten so big! Buffy is absolutely adorable. Such a sweet little face.

 

[Poohb10454]

Single combed Wyandottes are not uncommon in hatchery stock. Rose combs are dominant, so the parent stock could be carrying the single comb gene but look like they have 'normal', hatchery quality rose combs.

NNancy, mixed color or not, your Brahma is gorgeous!

Thank you for the information!

My only thought would be 'hatchery quality' meaning there could be some 'oops' in the breeds like my BB that is really not a BB but half LB and half BB as you can see here (I took this 2 days ago):



or is one a cockerel?

She is beautiful and unique, I love how she looks.

Nope, just one egg today. It was from Alice again. Annie is still going in and out of the nest boxes. Maybe tomorrow? Alice's egg today was 1.4 ounces. Just a tiny bit bigger than her first!

Im really hoping that Sunni holds of laying for a little while yet. The tiny bit that is left of her tongue seems fairly healed, but she still needs to build her strength back up, and hopefully learn to at least drink on her own.

I am so happy to hear that Sunni is starting to do better now that you figured out what happened. I am hoping she can learn to eat and drink on her own one day. I did a search around and in my coop and brooder after reading your thread. So glad that she has such a good mom.

Thats so funny because I am expecting 4 chicks the same day!!!! except: 1 barred rock, 1 golden buff, 1 white cochin, and 1 light brahma.

I got some light brahma chicks in my 1st Meyer order 5 weeks ago and liked them so much I added 1 to me last order that arrived 2 weeks ago. I love them. They are so pretty and HUGE, with great personalities. I also got a BR in my last shipment and she is turning out very pretty too. Have fun with your new chicks


How do you all transition your new babies in with your other chickens? My almost 5 week old babies are just about feathered and ready to go out. I only have one other chicken, my silkie rooster and he is with 2 guineas that are about 3 weeks older than the chicks. He does great with the guineas but I don't want him to hurt my chicks. Just wondering what the best way to go about all of this will be.

 

[MsChickenMomma]

Annie laid her first egg! It weighs 1.2 ounces just like Alice's first. I was sitting right there the whole time, and she was very quite. She just stood up, squeezed out the egg, and then sat there for a few minutes. When she hopped out of the nest box she made up for her quietness. Her egg song was LOUD! It set off my rooster and 3 other hens, which made it unbelievable loud in the coop. I'm sure all of the neighbors were wondering what all of the racket was about.

 

[MsChickenMomma]

I am so happy to hear that Sunni is starting to do better now that you figured out what happened. I am hoping she can learn to eat and drink on her own one day. I did a search around and in my coop and brooder after reading your thread. So glad that she has such a good mom.  

I got some light brahma chicks in my 1st Meyer order 5 weeks ago and liked them so much I added 1 to me last order that arrived 2 weeks ago. I love them. They are so pretty and HUGE, with great personalities. I also got a BR in my last shipment and she is turning out very pretty too. Have fun with your new chicks  


How do you all transition your new babies in with your other chickens? My almost 5 week old babies are just about feathered and ready to go out. I only have one other chicken, my silkie rooster and he is with 2 guineas that are about 3 weeks older than the chicks. He does great with the guineas but I don't want him to hurt my chicks. Just wondering what the best way to go about all of this will be. 

Thank you. I'm hoping she can learn how to eat on her own too. If not, I'll just keep doing what I'm doing for her.

When I intergrated my 9 Meyer pullets into my adult flock of 14, I put the little girls into an area in the coop that I temporarily seperated with chicken wire from the big girls (and boy). I kept them seperated until the girls were 16 weeks (you can do much sooner than that), and then I opened up the divided area and kept all of the chickens inside for a few days. It went well, and the little girls had hiding places that they used if they needed to. A few times a day I would sit with them so they could eat and drink in peace for a few minutes. After about four days I let everyone out to free range together, and it has been fine since. They all leave eachother alone. Occasionally one of the adults chases one of the girls around, but it hasn't ever been any worse than that.

I know a lot of people have different ways of intergrating new girls into the flock, but that's the way I have always done it.

 

[NanaLynn]

How do you all transition your new babies in with your other chickens? My almost 5 week old babies are just about feathered and ready to go out. I only have one other chicken, my silkie rooster and he is with 2 guineas that are about 3 weeks older than the chicks. He does great with the guineas but I don't want him to hurt my chicks. Just wondering what the best way to go about all of this will be.

I moved mine out to an area in the coop that I separated with fencing so the big and little chickens could see but not get to each other. After a week or so I used rabbit fencing on the bottom of the separation area so the holes in the fence were big enough for the little ones to go in and out, but the big ones could not get in. This is the 2nd time I have done this and so far so good. In 2 to 3 weeks the little ones will be too big to fit in the 4 inch by 4 inch fence holes and I will remove the fence.

The separation area has a feeder with the chicks higher protein starter in it and their own waterer. The big chickens can not get to the chicks food. Since I opened up the area for the little chickens to get to the big chickens area I replaced the layer food with regular chick grower so the chicks do not eat the extra calcium. Calcium is bad for little chicks. Once the little ones are 16 weeks, I'll switch back to layer food.

The little chicks go in and out of their area more and more and mingle with the big ones. The big ones chase them into their area a lot, but no damage is done to the little ones. Once the big ones peck them one time, they learn their lesson to stay clear. It's normal pecking order stuff and I try not to interfere with what they have to do to establish their new flock. If one large hen does get too mean, I will interfere by removing her for awhile but my flock of 6 large hens and 16 almost 6 week old chicks are doing fine right now. All 22 chickens free range together now too. I hung up a lot more bird netting since the chicks are very good hawk bait. I noticed though that if the big chickens see a threat they chase the little ones inside the coop. These 16 little chicks are scared of leaves falling and butterflies, so they do have a good instinct to stay aware of predators.

Probably much more then you wanted to know, but hope this helps.

Annie laid her first egg! It weighs 1.2 ounces just like Alice's first. I was sitting right there the whole time, and she was very quite. She just stood up, squeezed out the egg, and then sat there for a few minutes. When she hopped out of the nest box she made up for her quietness. Her egg song was LOUD! It set off my rooster and 3 other hens, which made it unbelievable loud in the coop. I'm sure all of the neighbors were wondering what all of the racket was about.

Yay for Annie!!! I never realized that hens had egg songs and made such a fuss when they laid eggs until reading on BYC and of course I know first hand now since all of mine do the same thing now. I like the fact that they sing or cluck when they lay an egg, they should be proud! Hopefully the neighbors don't mind though.

 

[MsChickenMomma]

Lynn: I love their egg songs too. Thankfully my current neighbors don't seem to mind. We are going to be moving some time between Novemeber and March (once we find a house) and I'm really hoping that our new neighbors won't have any problem with our chickens.