Meyer Hatchery Chicken pics anyone??

[NotableNancy]

So far, none of them have the bright red combs and wattles. They will be 5 weeks tomorrow. We have a few that could be roos, but then there are other things about them that say hen. So the ones that could be are one of the Barred Rocks's, the Columbian Wyandotte, the Silver Laced Wyandotte, maybe the lighter colored Easter Egger and one of the Rhode Island Red's.

We're getting a BA in our next order, it's good to hear how friendly they are (we were supposed to have one in this last order, but somehow it was not in there). Our most friendly ones are the BR's, the BO, the Dominique and the WL. Our Blue Cochin can be friendly too at times. The EE's, RIR's, CW and SLW's do not like to be touched or held, they act like were trying to kill them when we do touch them.

I'll try to get some more pics of them at 5 weeks, maybe all of you can help me guess the gender. If you'd like?

Yes! I love to see if I can guess gender. I think it's typically obvious if a BR is a roo or not. The roos seem to get their comb really early compared to the hens. And hopefully none are roos but that would be really bad odds of all of the ones you mentioned are but I'll keep my fingers crossed!

I think I have a lot of them trained already to my calling them. When I put my hand in brooder with food I call 'chick chick chick' and they come running. The BA's are always first out of the ecoglow! But most of them come running after a few calls. I need to start picking them up more to get used to it. I hope my EE's are friendly cause they are just so cute.
Is your Columbian Wyandotte small? She was my sickly one and was the smallest upon arrival and still so small compared to the rest; except for the Partridge Rock. She's small too. But feisty!
Maybe the CW was sort of a runt?

I just took out the paper towels and they are loving scratching in the shavings. They are flying everywhere. Looks like I have to start changing the water more often.

And a huge THANKS

to everyone who has helped contribute to all these posts,its been fun having other people to talk about chickens with and pass the time,from this big wait

Agreed... It's been fun!!

 

[NanaLynn]

Here they are, pics at 5 weeks (well almost) So far, they all look like hens to me, the BR's have combs, but very small and they all have barely any signs of wattles. One of the EE's is lighter in coloring and she could possibly be a he, but I don't think so. I wonder about the CW and SLW just because they developed feathers so slowly. Plus the SLW is pinkish where her comb is going to come in.


Blue Cochin - she is feathering in slowly too, but she is supposed to mature slower anyway.


RIR - all my RIR's have the black down the front of the legs, that suggest female



Columbian Wyandotte - slow feather growth, so not sure male or female



Dominque - think hen


2 BR's and RIR


White Leghorn - think hen


3 BR's and Dominique and RIR- no wattles or red combs, think hens (hope so)


2 BR's


Easter Egger - think the darker color and pattern of feathers means hen, plus she covers the others with her wings when roosting sometimes


Silver Laced Wyandotte - not much of a comb, but it is a little pink where it is coming in, but her feather coloring looks female to me.


BR's - The top one has more black so think hen, the lower one does have more white, but with no wattles or red comb, think hen too.


BR- hen?


Easter Egger - light colored, questionable one


Nancy: my CW was one of the runts and we thought we might lose her in the beginning too, but she has been doing great the last 2 weeks and is feisty too. I trained mine to come too when I call "hear chicky, chicky, chicky." The neighbors must really wonder about me.

 

[GreenEggsNSpam]

And a huge THANKS

to everyone who has helped contribute to all these posts,its been fun having other people to talk about chickens with and pass the time,from this big wait

Yes! I agree! I love coming to this thread and hearing all the chick stories and seeing all the pictures of the chicks growing up.
I'm getting my 8 chicks from Meyer's, due to ship out the week of July 16th. So I still have a LONG wait ahead of me. I would of ordered them for the end of April/beginning of May, but my family is going on TWO vacations this year, one in May and one in June. I just don't want to miss all that time with my chicks (they grow up so fast)!

I think I'm going to have a great Summer, though!

 

[dartfreak75]

I got 6 Barred rocks 6 light brahma pullets 2 light brahma males and 1 partridge cochin pullet should be here April 2-4 I can't wait

 

[farmguy2007]

Notable Nancy or LynnEBC when you got your email for shipment from meyer was it early in the morning or does it take a while for them to get to that???

I know I sound like im over thinking this but I am sooooooooo ready for the chicks to arrive...Im very anxious I even have been doing some test runs with the brooder to get the temp spot on 95-97F!!

Im glad everyone tuned in is enjoying it!! GreenEggsNSpam you do have a wait but it will fly by..I started this post because I was having a hard time dealing with passing time waiting and now here we are two days away(hopefully) havent got that shipment email yet....

 

[NotableNancy]

Notable Nancy or LynnEBC when you got your email for shipment from meyer was it early in the morning or does it take a while for them to get to that???   I know I sound like im over thinking this but I am sooooooooo ready for the chicks to arrive...Im very anxious I even have been doing some test runs with the brooder to get the temp spot on 95-97F!!   Im glad everyone tuned in is enjoying it!! GreenEggsNSpam you do have a wait but it will fly by..I started this post because I was having a hard time dealing with passing time waiting and now here we are two days away(hopefully) havent got that shipment email yet....

Ok, I'm so neurotic I requested a text, email and phone call! The email came earliest I think about 10 a.m then the text a few hours later then a call much later. But I went on the Meyer website and checked my order status about 7:30 a.m and it stated it had shipped already.
Just don't get worried when they don't update the tracking info. I use USPS about 20 times a week and rarely is anything updated. They just don't take the time to scan at each stop like ups does.

I'm sooooo excited for you both!!!
Keep us posted every step of the way.

 

[NotableNancy]

I got 6 Barred rocks 6 light brahma pullets 2 light brahma males and 1 partridge cochin pullet should be here April 2-4 I can't wait

Yup, it will just fly by. Are these your first chicks? (Sorry, maybe you said but I'm on my iPad and I can't see all the info like I can on my computer).

 

[NotableNancy]

Lynn- I can't believe that's what my tiny little chicks will look like in just 4 weeks! That's crazy how fast they grow. They are so pretty!! Love your Cochin. I only got 1 and think I should have gotten 2. They are so adorable.
Odd how your BR's are diff colors. Is it the brighter colored ones sometimes are male? But that doesn't mean yours is male- I thought they'd have a nice sized red comb growing by now if male. But what the heck do I know.
Does lighter EE mean male? I hope she's not a he cause she's so cute.
One of my fav EEs has some thick legs so I will be watching that one

Just a question- do EEs have to have green legs? One of mine doesn't Does that mean anything. Otherwise she is very chipmunk looking and slightly puffy cheeks so seems like an EE.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Lynn- I can't believe that's what my tiny little chicks will look like in just 4 weeks! That's crazy how fast they grow. They are so pretty!! Love your Cochin. I only got 1 and think I should have gotten 2. They are so adorable.
Odd how your BR's are diff colors. Is it the brighter colored ones sometimes are male? But that doesn't mean yours is male- I thought they'd have a nice sized red comb growing by now if male. But what the heck do I know.
Does lighter EE mean male? I hope she's not a he cause she's so cute.
One of my fav EEs has some thick legs so I will be watching that one

Just a question- do EEs have to have green legs? One of mine doesn't Does that mean anything. Otherwise she is very chipmunk looking and slightly puffy cheeks so seems like an EE.

There can be some variation on female barred Rock coloration. None of Lynn's look light enough to be male. A general rule that works for most barred Rocks is if it has more black than white, it's female; more white than black means male. You're right about having more comb by now if they were male.

Lighter coloration on Easter-egger has little to do with male vs. female. After all, I've seen many white Easter-egger hens and have two of my own. What you look for is overall evenness of their feather pattern. Males typically get patches of color or patterning on their shoulders, while females typically have an evenly spread pattern throughout their feathers. Both of Lynn's Easter-eggers look girly to me; if anything, the darker one is the one to keep an eye on. You can sometimes tell by their comb if it's a pea comb, though from my experience this isn't always as accurate. Supposedly, though, if at a young age, the bird's comb has three 'peas' in width (as in, three distinct rows of bumps), it's male. Just one row or no visible rows means female.

Easter-eggers can have green legs, but they can also have slate legs or even yellow legs. It seems like most of mine started out with either slate or orange legs, but they mostly have green legs now.



LynnEBC, based on your pictures, they are all pullets except MAYBE the Columbian Wyandotte. She's quite leggy, though she does not have much comb growth, so I am not completely sure on that one. (I'm not good with Wyandottes; didn't pay enough attention to mine as they grew.)

Also, your Cochin looks like she is splash, not blue.

 

[NotableNancy]

Thanks!! All great info... so much to learn but I love it!


Farmgirl/guy - any change on the website yet? shipped?