Meyer Hatchery Chicken pics anyone??

[Melabella]

Beautiful! Just wondering how far ahead your ordered to get the Austra White? Every time I looked it had the message "none available at this time" like it has now.

I ordered these three chicks on April 10, 2014, out of fear that my very first attempt at hatching in my new incubator wouldn't hatch. I set 6 Black/Lav split Ameraucana eggs and one egg from my Barred Rock girl with the Black Amer roo. I was convinced only one would hatch and the little one would be all alone. When I looked what they had available, there was only one female Austra listed for the 4/28 shipment. I scooped it up as I always wanted a white egg layer. Then I read that some lay brown eggs... urrrggg...But she is some character, and watches over her two "sisters" almost like a roo. The description says some lay as early as 12 weeks. I think mine takes more after the Black Australorp than the leghorn, as her legs are solid black... and she is at 17 weeks and still no egg.. Once I liked her personality, I tried to order some more.. by the end of May.. and I saw.. "check back soon", and it has stayed like that. I wonder if they are out until next spring?

Oh... I wanted to tell you, I put myself on the waitlist for the California Blacks...or at least that is what Cackle calls them. THanks for pointing them out, I love to have barred layers.. as when I cross them with my Amer roo for EE's, they are sex linked, and the white eggs! I look forward to those next spring. Everywhere I tried to find them, they were sold out until 2015. Maybe Meyer will carry them? (anyone there listening????)

MB

 

[Brookshire11]

I'm getting so bummed.... Izzy (my green laying EE that's my Avatar) is soooo mean to my 4 1/2 month olds.  Izzy is pretty much at the bottom of the pecking order of her group so I know she's doing it to protect her spot but she is making them a little crazy.  My younger ones are still sleeping in their own coop (I will be moving them all in together to the bigger coop in a week or 2) but they are together from sun up to sun down in the run and free ranging for an hour or 2/day.  So when my DH opens up the little ones coop door, the big girls are already out bec. they have a door on a timer, Izzy waits for them to come out and terrorizes them and pecks them hard when they try to get past her. Sometimes she's on their ramp pecking their door trying to get into the coop and once she ran into it and just starting chasing them around as they tried to get out. Then all day she chases them around. Never drawing blood but just bullying off and on all day.  

I can try caging her for a few days and see what happens. Should I cage her and leave her in the run or put her out of sight?  Maybe this chasing will change when they move into the same coop? Or maybe get worse?  Anyone have any other ideas?  Do I just let it go and they will work it out?  It just seems like after being together for 3 months it would be getting better. 


Pipsqueak my CW is going to a new home tomorrow.  A guy contacted me and said his kids favorite hen died and he would love to buy Pips for them. He even texted me a pic of his 2 little kids with the chickens when they were just a few days old ... so cute. He free ranges most of the day and has a rooster for protection so I think after she gets acclimated she will be happy there!  

I cant offer much advice but thats how my top hen was with my Silkie. They were only 1 month apart but she would go out of her way to pick on her.
Even after 5 months together

 

[trsturself]

I got 5 eggs today. It's funny that feels like a lot after a week of 3/day and less before that. I haven't gotten an egg from our polish in a long time. I haven't really noticed if she's molting or anything. In fact she hasn't really been noticeable at all now that I think about it. Usually she is right at my feet. I'll have to keep an eye out for her tomorrow and make sure she's ok.

I am waiting to hear back from the guy we're buying the horse from. He couldn't find his original paperwork for the horse so had to order a copy before the brand inspector could come. He said it would take a couple days. *sigh*

Our little ones are growing so fast. They need to be moved to a bigger brooder or put outside. If it would stop raining I'd put them in the grow out pen outside. Maybe this weekend we'll get some warmer days for them to spend some time out there.

 

[chickadee5002]

WOW.. SoLovely!  Had you just washed that, or is that her bloom that shiney?  NEAT!  I have 2, three week old Meyer OEers growing out.  I surely can not wait to get those. Of course, I am sure there will be a range of olive, but that is exactly what I would be hoping for.  Congrats.. gorgeous.  Of the 2 OE's that I received, (that's all they had left), one is a black chick, and the other is blueish like yours.  I just can't wait.  Thanks for posting!

MB

I just washed it so a little damp not so shiny but pretty much exact color. My black girl has a straight comb and lays a brown egg :/ one of my blue girls laid this olive egg

 

[chickadee5002]

I have been getting an average of 13 eggs a day from 28 girls. Not all are laying just yet. I'm getting so many but I stocked up everyone I know and have a fridge full of eggs I never thought that I would have that problem! Lol after saying I need more egg layers now I wish maybe I hadn't gotten so many! Lol I guess I'm just fickle

 

[christine9]

My delaware is the only one laying everyday. Of course, I still have one broody and my buff brahma lays about 4 a week.

 

[christine9]

My delaware is the only one laying everyday. Of course, I still have one broody and my buff brahma lays about 4 a week.

The funny parts is somehow the brahma's eggs end up under the broody, but never any dellie's. Lol!

 

[rnchick74]

Well, the chicks are spending their 1st full day in their coop despite the heat (90+). They have plenty of water & I put some amino acids /electrolytes in there just in case. They have plenty of cross breeze & I just took out a frozen cucumber treat for them. They look hot, but they have to get used to it sometime!

 

[christine9]

Well, the chicks are spending their 1st full day in their coop despite the heat (90+). They have plenty of water & I put some amino acids /electrolytes in there just in case. They have plenty of cross breeze & I just took out a frozen cucumber treat for them. They look hot,  but they have to get used to it sometime!

They'll adjust. How exciting though!

 

[COChix]

Hey gang, sorry been swamped. Just wanted to update on two fronts. Left Eye our blind out of one eye, was tried at flock integration with issues. I put Isis and Gretchen two sweet petite EE in the enclosed run with her and they did great! If anything Left Eye was more territorial about her run, coop and food. I picked the right girls for the job. They didn't fight her just ran and avoided her. I put them up in the small coop at night and they did fine. Then Thursday, I decided to open up the run and let them out as Left Eye was now scratching for food with the girls and roosting up in the run. So she was eager to join the gang and her eye is no longer swollen or red so I figured the less time away the better. So I stayed and watched, well almost immediately leaving the run she was attacked by the youngest RIR Roo and he was pretty rough with her, she ran to he free range area after that and was attempting to eat and she was attacked by one of her Delaware sisters. She then rested under a tree and was again attacked by Rojo the big RIR Roo. Rocco broke that up but she basically ran back into the run and into the smaller coop and into a nest box. So I closed her up and gave her some time. Then opened the coop again and left for awhile. Later she was out in the run on a roost. I left and returned after the heavy thunderstorm to find the entire flock huddled in the large coop. I thought great, this is gonna work out ok. Well came out 15 minutes later and found Rocco and Rojo ganging up on her in the run. Enough that she had her head buried behind a board and she wasn't moving. Well that upset me and I went and picked up Rocco by the feet and then carried him around in my arms while I chased down Rojo. Seems sort of silly now but I guess my mama chicken came out in me. I then put her back into the enclosed run with Isis and a Little One (another EE).

Also yesterday I observed the little red RIR chase and holding onto one of the Buff Oprh roosters, so things have been escalating between all the roosters. Plus observed some hens getting mated by Rocco and then immediately Rojo. Now all four roosters were all trying to mate. The girls have been nervous and a lot had been flying to the top of the 6 foot fence rails and roosting all day. The EE seemed especially flustered and a few had tried roosting in the tree's the last couple of nights, as they didn't seem to want to be in the coop. Bruno one if the Buff Oprh's was losing weight, being starved out of the food, mostly by Rojo. He spent a lot of time in the coop. So all of those things combined, we decided that the two RIR roo's were becoming thugs and seemed to upset the girls the most, so it was decided we would cull and process both of them today.

So we locked them in the enclosed run over night with most the flock in the big coop and Left Eye and the two EE in the small coop. Then is am after letting the main coop our for free range we moved them in there after an hour or so everyone seemed to already be allot calmer, the dynamic shift was already apparent. So we gave thanks and reverence to both rooster and then got to work. This was my first processing and to be honest I was a bit nervous, but after the initial head chopping it got easier. We processed both boys and cleaned them up. They both are in the fridge right now, We will eat one on Sunday. My BF was tremendous in teaching me the ropes and I obviously couldn't have done it without him. So just wanted to state two things, I learned many lessons from those roosters in my short chicken raising time. I also felt it was important to be involved in all of it, as that was the reason we got them. To be connected to our food source, to know they had a good life, were raised and treated well. So now the circle has come full circle for me and all I can say is thqt I feel very blessed to have had this chance to be involved in my food source, as many people will never have that connection.

So it has been a long week, given the injured bird. She was able to successfully integrate with the flock today and I am glad to report she roosted up with everyone in the main coop tonight. So for that I feel great about our decision on the RIR roosters. Also today the flock seemed pretty content, the flock engergy was more mellow and I saw one girl up on the fence and that was only briefly. I observed no fighting between the two BO Roo's. So I would say this affirms our thoughts about the other two, RIP Rojo and Little Red.