Meyer Hatchery's Meal Maker Program

[VA Raptor]

Good to know! Glad they will probably send you a laying MMM. You could donate eggs from the "extra" layer and meat from any excess roosters she produces.

I also hear the Cornish X make decent layers, but what are the chances of keeping one alive and laying long enough to make a difference?

 

[ThatFarmerChick]

I do not know much about the Cornish x. I have only been around a few. I do not remember a lot of eggs from them, but none of the lived past a year. What I do know is not all good. The short life thing, I have heard. But they are for food. Food has an expiration date. Lol.

 

[Devilsrejects]

So I got a meal maker chick from Meyer hatchery the other day. I think it is a great idea. If you read their website they say, but don't guarantee, that they will try to send a chick that matches what you are ordering already.

So if you are ordering a bunch of laying hens they won't send a boiler or vis versa. And I don't think you have to worry about getting a fancy rare breed. You are much more likely to get a popular bird that they sell a lot of like the golden buff ( goes by a bunch of other names also, but this is the name Meyer uses).

These are cheap, sex linked birds that are good producers of eggs. And sombody else in the thread said that is what they received from Meyer as a free meal maker.

ONLY PROBLEM, and one to think about. I ordered one rooster so I could try myself to hatch some sex linked chicks. One New Hampshire rooster, the only one of this variety I ordered, and got one meal maker. One of the two was DOA, and now I don't know which one.

When I called Meyer, they couldn't, or wouldn't, tell what kind of chick the meal maker was. So now either I risk buy a second rooster that will need to be disposed of later, or having none at all.

The friendly rep at Meyer said she thought the DOA chick sounded like the new Hampshire from my description, but the mystery living chick looks more like the pic Meyer has of New Hampshire chicks on their website than the dead one.

Little frustrating.

 

[ThatFarmerChick]

So I got a meal maker chick from Meyer hatchery the other day. I think it is a great idea. If you read their website they say, but don't guarantee, that they will try to send a chick that matches what you are ordering already.

So if you are ordering a bunch of laying hens they won't send a boiler or vis versa. And I don't think you have to worry about getting a fancy rare breed. You are much more likely to get a popular bird that they sell a lot of like the golden buff ( goes by a bunch of other names also, but this is the name Meyer uses).

These are cheap, sex linked birds that are good producers of eggs. And sombody else in the thread said that is what they received from Meyer as a free meal maker.

ONLY PROBLEM, and one to think about. I ordered one rooster so I could try myself to hatch some sex linked chicks. One New Hampshire rooster, the only one of this variety I ordered, and got one meal maker. One of the two was DOA, and now I don't know which one.

When I called Meyer, they couldn't, or wouldn't, tell what kind of chick the meal maker was. So now either I risk buy a second rooster that will need to be disposed of later, or having none at all.

The friendly rep at Meyer said she thought the DOA chick sounded like the new Hampshire from my description, but the mystery living chick looks more like the pic Meyer has of New Hampshire chicks on their website than the dead one.

Little frustrating.

That sounds extremely frustrating. I wish that they could tell us what they were when they sent them. They have to know which box/crate the chick came from, but maybe this would take too much time from something more important.
My problem is the fact that we were avoiding white birds. We do not offer much feef and out chickens eat off of the land. White chickens are like a target while free ranging.

We are guessing that our chick is a White Leghorn or a White Rock. We are planning on keeping it only because It is our "Meal Maker", and we have plans for the eggs.

 

[VA Raptor]

Quote:
My guess is that they couldn't tell you, rather than wouldn't, but in the end that distinction doesn't matter. It IS frustrating, and I wish they had a chick ID service, even if there was a small cost associated with it.

My MMM was a RSL and clearly different from the RIRs, but have no idea about Meyer's NHRs.

 

[Devilsrejects]

So I may have over reacted a bit...turns out my dead chick was a strangely light colored rir, the meal maker turned out to clear be a barred rock. If this happen to you, I would say call Meyer right away to inform them, but wait on a couple of weeks till the birds start to feather and are more easily identifiable to ask for a replacement. Only real downside of waiting is young and older chick can't always be mixed in the same area. Older chicks can peck younger ones to death. This can mean maintaining two chick brooder. Something I will be doing this year...

 

[Poultrybonkers]

I think my mmm is a leghorn since in the order i ordered 11 meaties and two blrw roos and the extra chick was yellow but isnt growing as fast as the meaties mine is a hen. My other order i couldnt tell what it is or what sex it is as half the order was fry pan bargain and 8 were leanns adopt me bargain

 

[MysteriaSdrassa]

It was explained to me that they try to match the Meal Maker to your order type. If you order all female layers they include a female from a good laying breed. Supposedly you'd get a Cornish or Cornish X with a meat bird order.

It's a neat program, and one of the reasons I ordered from Meyer. Now I just need to do the legwork and find a good place to donate the eggs!

This is what they generally do,, if your order is mostly layers they will send you a layer type,,, if your order is mostly meat birds they will send you a meat type. If your order is fairly split eggs/meat they will send you a good dual purpose breed. These are always going to be the best producers, so you are NOT going to find any surprise rare breed here. Sorry if that disapoints some.

Just a suggestion for those finding it hard to find a place to donate to. There are no specific rules as to where they must be donated. The first few years that I participated in this program I knew some local families who were down on their luck so once a month I'd pop a dozen in their mailbox anonymously throughout the year,, maybe 2 doz on the months that held easter, thanksgiving and christmas. At the end of the third year when the birds were starting to decline in egg production, they got butchered and went to to the family that was recieving the egss and replaced with a new chick and the cycle started over.

 

[Devilsrejects]

Still think this is a great program, but the meal maker barred rock I received is sure looking like a roo at almost eight weeks old ( a big comb that is as red as its little waddles)..a disappointment since I order 15 females and a red roo. Was hoping for a layer...when figuring in the cost of feeding this chicken to adulthood it becomes a relatively expensive chicken dinner for me to give away. I figure it costs close to $15 dollars in feed to raise a slower growing dual purpose bird like this to slaughter weight. Not a great use of my charitable funds.

Hope I'm wrong an it is a hen, but don't have much hope...

 

[LBKS]

Still think this is a great program, but the meal maker barred rock I received is sure looking like a roo at almost eight weeks old ( a big comb that is as red as its little waddles)..a disappointment since I order 15 females and a red roo. Was hoping for a layer...when figuring in the cost of feeding this chicken to adulthood it becomes a relatively expensive chicken dinner for me to give away. I figure it costs close to $15 dollars in feed to raise a slower growing dual purpose bird like this to slaughter weight. Not a great use of my charitable funds.

Hope I'm wrong an it is a hen, but don't have much hope...

How does the color of your suspected barred rock rooster compare to the other barred rock hens? Just as dark or noticably lighter?

The girls are darker (the effect of two copies of the barring gene makes male barred rocks have more white, appearing lighter overall).