Meyer Hatchery Chicken pics anyone??

[NanaLynn]

There's some serious squatting going on!! Both RIR's, Izzy the EE and surprisingly Jr. the Cuckoo Marans. She walked right up to me, started chatting away and then squatted down before I even reached down to pet her! They are all so funny. I watched a video of it on YouTube to make sure I knew what to look for and I got a pic of one of my RIR's shaking her whole body after a good back scratch!!
Does this mean eggs could come any day or would I still have a few weeks to wait?


Finally got some pics. 18 weeks old:

Big Red -RIR


this is after she squatted and I gave a nice back scratch - she did the big shake move!!


Henrietta


The next 3 are of Junior the Cuckoo Marans:

Big Red acts and looks just like Ash does, she shakes off after I pet her. I bet Big Red will be anyday now and Henrietta soon too. I read in the next week or so once they start squatting. My other RIR, Red started sooner then Ash and also Google my big BR was laying at about the same age as yours, 18 weeks. Maddie my EE was 19 weeks.

Your chickens are so beautiful and all so unique looking. I can't wait to see Junior's eggs!

 

[trsturself]

Great, congrats!

Your's are around 22 weeks, if I am remembering right?

Yep you are correct. No eggs today. It's our first day without an egg in 13 days! I am anxious for our EE to lay already! Geesh!

Ours do the shake after petting them too. So cute!

All of my emails from Meyer came in the late afternoon to tell me the order shipped. Once I didn't get the email until the next day but the tracking said they went out the day before. I wish our chicks got to our PO that early. Ours always had to go to denver first then get routed to our local PO. I never got the call before 9.

I love all the pics. And am so happy to hear the injured girls are doing so well!!!

 

[NotableNancy]

Yep you are correct. No eggs today. It's our first day without an egg in 13 days!

That's quite a run!!
BTW, since the girls are getting so friendly now maybe I'll try to look at the vent like you suggested. Maybe if my curiosity gets the better of me

 

[GreenEggsNSpam]

Love the pictures of your girls, Nancy! They look like happy feathered ladies. Especially the Easter Eggers. I'm so happy I put two of them on my order!

Unfortunately, I'm starting to think that I won't be receiving my chicks until Wednesday. I checked my tracking and they were in Mansfield, Ohio at 7:18PM, Central Time. Mansfield is not all that far from Polk, Ohio, where the hatchery is! That, and they have a Guaranteed delivery by Wednesday at 3PM.

I just don't see how they're going to get them to Central Illinois by Tuesday morning at this point.

So when did any of you get your chicks delivered? Tuesday or Wednesday? And how far are you from Ohio?

 

[trsturself]

We got all 3 of our different shipments on wed mornings.

That's quite a run!!
BTW, since the girls are getting so friendly now maybe I'll try to look at the vent like you suggested. Maybe if my curiosity gets the better of me

If you don't want to check the vent the other thing to do is measure the pelvic bones. Here is a good write-up on how to do that. Our 3 oldest girls have a 2 finger gap. Our 19 week Cochin has a 1 1/2 finger gap.

To find the pelvic bones, hold your hen tucked under one arm, facing backwards. Use your other hand to feel for the bones on either side of her vent. These are quite prominent bones and are easy to find without getting your hand messy.
A hen that is laying or just about to lay will have a wide gap between her pelvic bones, about 20-30mm 2-3 fingers width). A hen that is on her way to laying but isn't quite there yet will have a gap of about 15-20mm (1-2 fingers). A hen that is not laying will have barely any gap at all, 10-15mm or less.
Note: it is not necessary to insert your fingers into the vent, as some people think! You are just feeling through the skin on either side of the vent for these bones!
The vent itself will also give you clues. A vent that is pink and moist-looking is passing eggs. If it's dry, pale and shrivelled, it's not.

(sorry for the text color, I copied and don't know how to get rid of the background color)

 

[NotableNancy]

If you don't want to check the vent the other thing to do is measure the pelvic bones. Here is a good write-up on how to do that. Our 3 oldest girls have a 2 finger gap. Our 19 week Cochin has a 1 1/2 finger gap.

To find the pelvic bones, hold your hen tucked under one arm, facing backwards. Use your other hand to feel for the bones on either side of her vent. These are quite prominent bones and are easy to find without getting your hand messy.
A hen that is laying or just about to lay will have a wide gap between her pelvic bones, about 20-30mm 2-3 fingers width). A hen that is on her way to laying but isn't quite there yet will have a gap of about 15-20mm (1-2 fingers). A hen that is not laying will have barely any gap at all, 10-15mm or less.
Note: it is not necessary to insert your fingers into the vent, as some people think! You are just feeling through the skin on either side of the vent for these bones!
The vent itself will also give you clues. A vent that is pink and moist-looking is passing eggs. If it's dry, pale and shrivelled, it's not.

OK, thanks for this. 2 options I can try. Or the wait and see option

Love the pictures of your girls, Nancy! They look like happy feathered ladies. Especially the Easter Eggers. I'm so happy I put two of them on my order!

Unfortunately, I'm starting to think that I won't be receiving my chicks until Wednesday. I checked my tracking and they were in Mansfield, Ohio at 7:18PM, Central Time. Mansfield is not all that far from Polk, Ohio, where the hatchery is! That, and they have a Guaranteed delivery by Wednesday at 3PM.

I just don't see how they're going to get them to Central Illinois by Tuesday morning at this point.

So when did any of you get your chicks delivered? Tuesday or Wednesday? And how far are you from Ohio?

Yup, Wed morning. BUT you never know. The PO does NOT update shipping until it arrives at your post office. Not in between so don't worry about it saying it's still in Ohio. But, I'm only 7 hours from them and it still took until Wed to arrive. But, I've seen them arrive in Alaska by Wed also so don't worry. At least it's nice and warm for them and they won't freeze in the box

 

[rj23]

Yesterday i received the email that my chicks have shipped!

 

[RoostersCrow HensDeliver!]

I only live 3 hours from Meyer but it takes 3 days for the chicks to get to me. My last order never got updated from the Mansfield check-in until I called my PO at 7:30 to see if they were here yet. Some people just don't seem to care that there's little babies in there that would benefit from getting into a brooder ASAP **cough cough** my local postal workers :/

 

[GreenEggsNSpam]

You know, I never DID get am email from Meyer's saying my chicks had shipped. However, on the advice of a fellow BYC member, I went to the Meyer's site and checked my order status and saw clearly that they shipped. I got my tracking number there and was disheartened to see that they were in Mansfield, Ohio, just outside of Polk, Ohio, where the hatchery is, at 7:18PM Central Time last night. I simply accepted that they weren't going to get to me in Central Illinois until Wednesday.

This morning, doubtful, but ever hopeful, I checked the tracking again. Just for the heck of it. And...

My chicks are in the post office of a neighboring town from me!!!! They were checked in there at 6:32AM. That post office is only a 25 minute drive from where I live! I live in a small, rural town, just outside of a small city which is where they are. Things almost always go through the city's post office before coming to my little post office. So... my post office might still get them TODAY!!!

Honestly, I'm amazed. I just didn't see how they would travel all that distance in one night! But they did and they're nearly here. If they don't get to my little post office today, I might call the city post office and see if it's possible for me to pick them up there, though I suspect they are already on route to my post office.

Ohhhhh! I'm so excited!!!

 

[NotableNancy]

I only live 3 hours from Meyer but it takes 3 days for the chicks to get to me. My last order never got updated from the Mansfield check-in until I called my PO at 7:30 to see if they were here yet. Some people just don't seem to care that there's little babies in there that would benefit from getting into a brooder ASAP **cough cough** my local postal workers

It seems like it takes longer the closer you are to them. Not a Meyer issue; PO I'm sure.

You know, I never DID get am email from Meyer's saying my chicks had shipped. However, on the advice of a fellow BYC member, I went to the Meyer's site and checked my order status and saw clearly that they shipped. I got my tracking number there and was disheartened to see that they were in Mansfield, Ohio, just outside of Polk, Ohio, where the hatchery is, at 7:18PM Central Time last night. I simply accepted that they weren't going to get to me in Central Illinois until Wednesday.

This morning, doubtful, but ever hopeful, I checked the tracking again. Just for the heck of it. And...

My chicks are in the post office of a neighboring town from me!!!! They were checked in there at 6:32AM. That post office is only a 25 minute drive from where I live! I live in a small, rural town, just outside of a small city which is where they are. Things almost always go through the city's post office before coming to my little post office. So... my post office might still get them TODAY!!!

Honestly, I'm amazed. I just didn't see how they would travel all that distance in one night! But they did and they're nearly here. If they don't get to my little post office today, I might call the city post office and see if it's possible for me to pick them up there, though I suspect they are already on route to my post office.

Ohhhhh! I'm so excited!!!

That's great!! I would give them a call just to see if they know anything. Hopefully they are on their way and they will be in your house later today. Keep checking on them though... you don't want them to be put in the back of the PO and forgotten until tomorrow. Although how can anyone ignore a box of peeping?