Pun an order with Meyer Hatchery...seeing ALOT of negative feed back

[Malibu99]

Isn't Mt Healthy the hatchery that had the salmonella last year?

Yes, it was. They've had multiple outbreaks... Almost every year. We ordered our birds from them around the same time as the outbreak, but we had ours tested and they're fine. I still wouldn't order from them again, though.


ETA- I also have some birds from Murray McMurray hatchery that I adore. They're very sweet.

 

[TheCrazyChick]

I ordered from Meyer last month and have 7 happy healthy chicks at the moment. (No SS though.) One (the BA) looked a bit under the weather at first, but I did what they told me and gave them GroGel and put the VitaPak in their water and within 48 hours she was fine and now tries to rule the show. They will all be 4 weeks this Monday. I will confess that I live 2 hours from Meyer, so decided to take a nice relaxing day trip and picked them up in person. (Ordered BLWR, BB, BO, BA, BR, EE, and WJG.)

All in all I am really happy with Meyer so far. They were super nice at the store and patient with my questions. In my opinion the birds are all beautiful, more so than expected actually, and I'm a no nonsense kinda gal, so that's saying something. Also, I ordered all hens and so far I have no red combs coming in, but the verdict is still out until I don't hear any crowing!

I have an order in for April for a Welsummer and a White Sultan from Meyer. Will also pick those up and probably add another once I get there.

With that being said, I did order 7 more from My Pet Chicken for a June order, simply because I wanted certain bantam breeds that Meyer does not have and wanted them sexed, too. I am a bit nervous about shipping bantams, but not too many other choices.

Hope your order goes well, no matter where you order from. They are great stress relief.

 

[Herducks]

I ordered ducks from meyer and all are healthy and happy! I had no problems with them at all.

 

[gg706]

These aren't the best pix, but hopefully they give you an idea.

Oh....She is SO cute!!! Gorgeous bird! Thank You for the pics!

 

[gg706]

Yes, it was. They've had multiple outbreaks... Almost every year. We ordered our birds from them around the same time as the outbreak, but we had ours tested and they're fine. I still wouldn't order from them again, though.


ETA- I also have some birds from Murray McMurray hatchery that I adore. They're very sweet.

Can they still ship out chicks if they still have salmonella in the hatchery? All I found was the outbreak that happened last year if i remember correctly? So you have heard of multiple outbreaks from Mt. Healthy?

 

[gg706]

Thank You all for your experiences and input...hopefully I can get some decisions made. Thanks!

 

[Malibu99]

Can they still ship out chicks if they still have salmonella in the hatchery? All I found was the outbreak that happened last year if i remember correctly? So you have heard of multiple outbreaks from Mt. Healthy?

I have heard of TONS of outbreaks... I don't believe they ship chicks during an outbreak, but they don't discover the outbreak until a few people report that they have salmonella from the chicks they shipped.

 

[kdwag]

I got my four pullets from Meyer back in September. I did drive there to pick up my babies as I live an hour and a half away and they were hatched the morning I picked them up. All healthy and now doing well at 17 weeks old. I'm planning on getting a few more this spring, but I would be really leary of getting babies from any nursery through mail order although I know most people go that route due to geographical location. The facility is pretty amazing. Good luck to you.

 

[Eggcessive]

I have had 2 shipments of chicks in April 2011 and March 2012, and both shipments had healthy chicks who all survived. I believe that March and April are the best months to get them since it is not so cold. I think it can be risky getting them in too cold or too hot weather, or from too far away if they are going to spend too long in transit. I would always order from the closest hatchery possible, and Meyers will let you pick them up also if you live close enough to drive there. You can get small orders shipped, but I would get enough chicks to keep warm even though they will use a heat pack on small orders.

 

[gg706]

Thank you all for the info. I am going to stay with my order from Meyer and hope it works out great! Seems some have good and some have bad experiences....hopefully me and my chicks will have a good experience. I actually liked the way Mt.Healthy's birds looked better, but I am not willing to take that big of a chance as I have small children at home.
I appreciate all the advice and input, it did help me weigh the factors and make a decision. I have my order set up for this spring so I will report back on my experience. Thanks!