Went ahead and ordered some baby chicks. We've been having a hard time deciding exactly what to get - so many breeds with great characteristics. Since we live in OH and Meyer hatchery offers various assortments, we went with them. Ship time should be short, or we could choose to drive the 2.5 hours each way to pick them up (but not sure we could do that the day they hatch or the next day). Here is what we ordered:
15 of the Rainbow Pullet Assortment described as:
"Day old baby chicks can range from our heavy brown egg layers, white egg layers, tinted egg layers, rare and fancy breeds, or any combination of female chickens that we offer. We will make every effort to include as many different colors and varieties of chickens as possible, but guarantee a minimum of five (5) different varieties. Different colors of the same breed will be counted as separate varieties."
2 of the Rare Marans females. Described as:
"Meyer Hatchery’s Rare Marans Chicken Collection can include at least three (3) different varieties of the following rare Marans: Black Copper Marans, Blue Splash Marans, Golden Cuckoo Marans, Blue Copper Marans and White Marans. While Black Copper Marans may lay a dark chocolate brown egg, the others are typically various lighter shades."
3 Males and 5 Females from the Assorted Rare Breeds Collection. Described as:
"Spice up your flock with Meyer Hatchery’s Assorted Rare Breed Chickens. You will receive at least five (5) different breeds of our rare egg layer day old chicks at a fraction of the cost. Possible breeds include: Ancona, Easter Egger, Andalusian, Wyandotte, Dark Cornish, Delaware, Dominique, Jersey Giant, Brahma, Partridge Rock, Light Brown Leghorn, Hamburg, Sussex, German Spitzhauben Appenzeller, Buckeye, Sumatra, Cochin, Polish, Marans, Campine, Lakenvelder, Faverolles, Buttercup, Welsummer, Exchequer Leghorn, Sultan, Ameraucana, Blue and Lavender Orpington, and others as they are added to our rare breed offerings. Different colors of the same breed will be counted as separate varieties."
1 Meal Maker. This is a free chick described as:
"Meyer Meal Maker is a FREE day old baby chick from Meyer Hatchery. Raise the chick to laying or butchering age and simply donate the eggs or meat produced from that chicken to a local family or charity. Whether you order 3 layers or 300, you can request a Meyer Meal Maker on every chick order you place. Same goes for meat birds! This is just one simple way you and your family can get involved and make a difference in your community."
So, 26 chicks in all and hopefully a big variety. We ordered 3 males since sometimes chicks die, but if all survive, then this is possibly 6-7 females per rooster OR it gives us the opportunity to pick the favorite rooster to keep. We will receive them soon, as we wanted at least some of them to be laying by the time we have some relatives visiting in September. We have no idea what we will receive, so the surprise will be fun. If this proves to be too many, we could re-home some, or take them to the auction. We have enough space for them, but are going to need to work on a coop. We do have an outbuilding with electric, so if coop takes a little longer to build, they will have a safe and draft-free place to live.
15 of the Rainbow Pullet Assortment described as:
"Day old baby chicks can range from our heavy brown egg layers, white egg layers, tinted egg layers, rare and fancy breeds, or any combination of female chickens that we offer. We will make every effort to include as many different colors and varieties of chickens as possible, but guarantee a minimum of five (5) different varieties. Different colors of the same breed will be counted as separate varieties."
2 of the Rare Marans females. Described as:
"Meyer Hatchery’s Rare Marans Chicken Collection can include at least three (3) different varieties of the following rare Marans: Black Copper Marans, Blue Splash Marans, Golden Cuckoo Marans, Blue Copper Marans and White Marans. While Black Copper Marans may lay a dark chocolate brown egg, the others are typically various lighter shades."
3 Males and 5 Females from the Assorted Rare Breeds Collection. Described as:
"Spice up your flock with Meyer Hatchery’s Assorted Rare Breed Chickens. You will receive at least five (5) different breeds of our rare egg layer day old chicks at a fraction of the cost. Possible breeds include: Ancona, Easter Egger, Andalusian, Wyandotte, Dark Cornish, Delaware, Dominique, Jersey Giant, Brahma, Partridge Rock, Light Brown Leghorn, Hamburg, Sussex, German Spitzhauben Appenzeller, Buckeye, Sumatra, Cochin, Polish, Marans, Campine, Lakenvelder, Faverolles, Buttercup, Welsummer, Exchequer Leghorn, Sultan, Ameraucana, Blue and Lavender Orpington, and others as they are added to our rare breed offerings. Different colors of the same breed will be counted as separate varieties."
1 Meal Maker. This is a free chick described as:
"Meyer Meal Maker is a FREE day old baby chick from Meyer Hatchery. Raise the chick to laying or butchering age and simply donate the eggs or meat produced from that chicken to a local family or charity. Whether you order 3 layers or 300, you can request a Meyer Meal Maker on every chick order you place. Same goes for meat birds! This is just one simple way you and your family can get involved and make a difference in your community."
So, 26 chicks in all and hopefully a big variety. We ordered 3 males since sometimes chicks die, but if all survive, then this is possibly 6-7 females per rooster OR it gives us the opportunity to pick the favorite rooster to keep. We will receive them soon, as we wanted at least some of them to be laying by the time we have some relatives visiting in September. We have no idea what we will receive, so the surprise will be fun. If this proves to be too many, we could re-home some, or take them to the auction. We have enough space for them, but are going to need to work on a coop. We do have an outbuilding with electric, so if coop takes a little longer to build, they will have a safe and draft-free place to live.
