Meyer Hatchery Vent

[acceabex]

I just need to vent a second...

I'm not super active in the chicken part because I spend most of my time over in the duck and goose threads. That said, I'm not new to chickens and I'm certainly not new to brooding (geese, ducks, or chickens). I'm not new to mail order hatcheries either.

Needing a few girlfriends for one of my roos and wanting to start on bantams, I ordered 30 birds. They came in two boxes, one without a heat pack, one with (why with 2 boxes of 15 birds would you only put a heat pack in one).

The box without the heat pack had one dead on arrival. Another died within a day. A third from that box expired a few days later. A final one (so far) expired a bit after that. The last two were waiting until the warranty ran out apparently.

About 10 days after the shipment, I've confirmed that one of the bantams (of course the d'uccle that my daughter fell in love with) has cross beak so bad I don't expect it to last the weekend even with supportive care, mash, etc.

Come on people! I've never had a loss in the brooder and out of their boxes, there's been 4 losses and a condition caused by either genetics or hatching issues?!?

I'm a little more than a little peeved. I agonized over ordering from them, I don't think I'll be trying it again.

In related news, does anyone have any day old bantams coming up? (d'uccles specifically, but we're open)

 

[DobieLover]

I just need to vent a second...

I'm not super active in the chicken part because I spend most of my time over in the duck and goose threads. That said, I'm not new to chickens and I'm certainly not new to brooding (geese, ducks, or chickens). I'm not new to mail order hatcheries either.

Needing a few girlfriends for one of my roos and wanting to start on bantams, I ordered 30 birds. They came in two boxes, one without a heat pack, one with (why with 2 boxes of 15 birds would you only put a heat pack in one).

The box without the heat pack had one dead on arrival. Another died within a day. A third from that box expired a few days later. A final one (so far) expired a bit after that. The last two were waiting until the warranty ran out apparently.

About 10 days after the shipment, I've confirmed that one of the bantams (of course the d'uccle that my daughter fell in love with) has cross beak so bad I don't expect it to last the weekend even with supportive care, mash, etc.

Come on people! I've never had a loss in the brooder and out of their boxes, there's been 4 losses and a condition caused by either genetics or hatching issues?!?

I'm a little more than a little peeved. I agonized over ordering from them, I don't think I'll be trying it again.

In related news, does anyone have any day old bantams coming up? (d'uccles specifically, but we're open)

I too had an issue with Meyer. One of my pullets, my favorite of course, recently had to be euthanized because she had cancer (vet diagnosis). She started to show symptoms at 19 weeks old! I will likely never to mail order from any hatchery again.

 

[acceabex]

I too had an issue with Meyer. One of my pullets, my favorite of course, recently had to be euthanized because she had cancer (vet diagnosis). She started to show symptoms at 19 weeks old! I will likely never to mail order from any hatchery again.

It's always the favorite!!! Thank you for posting, helps to know I'm not alone.

 

[MotherHen1234]

We have only gotten one batch of 5 girls and we drove 2 hours to pick them up just because we didn’t want them going through the mail.

 

[Folly's place]

We've ordered chicks by mail many times; MurrayMcMurray and Cackle both have been great more than once!
We have had one order from Meyer's, and had 10% deaths within ten days. Our worst experience ever with shipped chicks!
We do order April to June, never late in the year, because of weather. And our Cackle order came with heat packs in chilly April weather, with everyone fine. One chick out of fifty was a 'failure to thrive' baby who died three or four weeks later, that was all.
Don't give up! There are more cute little guys out there, especially in spring.
Mary

 

[Alexandra33]

I'm so sorry for your loss, @acceabex . Isn't it awful when these things happen?

I find it rather odd there wasn't a heat pack within the shipment box. My orders from Meyer (in December, for instance, when I haven't picked up straight from the facility) have included one during chillier months. So sad.

As for crossbeak and genetic issues, it happens. If you breed chicks at all, there's always a possibility of such deformities. I've bought chooks off Meyer many times now, and only ended up with one crossbeaked girl. Also, no health-related casualties to speak of, even in babyhood (other than Marek's, which is something my flock carries and completely unrelated). I've always thought their birds were wonderfully healthy. My very first Meyer hens, as well as the official start of our addiction, from December 2014 are still going strong.

~Alex