7th year having chickens, my 8th brood of chicks, and the 4th I've gotten through the mail. In the past, I've ordered from Cackle, and always had every chick make it through the mail, all sexed correctly, with extras of each breed and never lost a single one to health issues. My cackle birds have not been the most hardy long-term, so I decided to try another hatchery to see if they'd be more long-lived.
I ordered 4 australorp hens, 4 speckled sussex hens, and 2 jersey giants, one hen and one rooster. I got 10 chicks (in a box smaller than the one cackle had shipped 4 chicks in). 4 australorps, 1 jersey giant, 1 barred rock, 4 speckled sussex. The barred rock died in 72 hours, and at 3 weeks, I'm confident in determining that 3/9 hens I ordered were roosters (2 australorps, 1 speckled sussex, 1 jersey giant). That leaves me with 4 roosters and 5 hens. One of the hens is sickly, too, she can't defecate without prolapsing, no matter how many laxatives and probiotics I give her, and I am planning on culling her if she doesn't improve in the next 72 hours.
Maybe this was a fluke and not indicative of their normal quality, but after getting chicks from Cackle and from Meyer, I am supremely disappointed in Meyer and will certainly never be buying from them again. I'd rather have hens that die at 5 years than roosters that die at 72 hours.
Posting this because I want others to know this is a possibility if ordering from Meyer.
Edit: to clarify--I am far more disappointed in the 33% sexing error and a hen of the incorrect breed than I am the losses. I understand that losing chicks is not an uncommon occurrence, regardless of hatchery, simply due to the fact that shipping chicks is stressful and has in inherent risk to it.
In good news--the sickly chick seems to be turning a corner and in the last 12 hours has improved significantly, and I am tentatively hopeful that she will pull through.
I ordered 4 australorp hens, 4 speckled sussex hens, and 2 jersey giants, one hen and one rooster. I got 10 chicks (in a box smaller than the one cackle had shipped 4 chicks in). 4 australorps, 1 jersey giant, 1 barred rock, 4 speckled sussex. The barred rock died in 72 hours, and at 3 weeks, I'm confident in determining that 3/9 hens I ordered were roosters (2 australorps, 1 speckled sussex, 1 jersey giant). That leaves me with 4 roosters and 5 hens. One of the hens is sickly, too, she can't defecate without prolapsing, no matter how many laxatives and probiotics I give her, and I am planning on culling her if she doesn't improve in the next 72 hours.
Maybe this was a fluke and not indicative of their normal quality, but after getting chicks from Cackle and from Meyer, I am supremely disappointed in Meyer and will certainly never be buying from them again. I'd rather have hens that die at 5 years than roosters that die at 72 hours.
Posting this because I want others to know this is a possibility if ordering from Meyer.
Edit: to clarify--I am far more disappointed in the 33% sexing error and a hen of the incorrect breed than I am the losses. I understand that losing chicks is not an uncommon occurrence, regardless of hatchery, simply due to the fact that shipping chicks is stressful and has in inherent risk to it.
In good news--the sickly chick seems to be turning a corner and in the last 12 hours has improved significantly, and I am tentatively hopeful that she will pull through.
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