Meyer Hatchery

[Buckeye Amy]

I order from Meyer when I want chicks. Since I’m in Ohio the shipping is overnight for me. They hatch on Monday & they arrive early on Tuesdays. I’ve never had a bad experience with them.

 

[Velociraptors]

Really glad to hear everyone has had positive experiences with Meyer. Looks like next year’s order will be through them!

 

[bigsurfwaves]

So, my experiences with them have been a little different than that. Overall, they try to help but the packing of your birds may not go as you hope. My recent order had sexed bantams and they decided to substitute full size large birds that they had surplus of instead of what I ordered. Then they hit my inbox all day advertising for sale exactly the breeds that I ordered weeks prior - but were not packed in my order. They claim they had ZERO bantams or splash birds when my box was packed but they appeared again a few minutes. I clearly saw bantams and splash birds available weekend prior and all day on packing day - I discussed bantam substitutions and they told me this would be an automatic substitution without adding notes to the order. They did not follow that directive, nor any logical path to select a substitute. Instead, of a friendly small blue egg layer splash bantam breed I received large, non friendly, flighty, dark brown layer with gold and brown plumage - so they substituted an opposite bird in every way. I immediately called to ask why they did this and they refunded me immediately but blamed me instead of owning their mistake. Because I had noted one possible substitution for a single standard very common breed in my order (not the bantams), they claimed I had granted them FULL authority to swap out breeds however they wanted. Not appreciated. I also placed a Monday over hatch order earlier this year and a lot of the birds were small and the rarest most expensive one was weak and pitiful and it died right outside the guarantee. Also a couple breeds looked like mixes - the Black Copper Marans did not have any leg feathers on their part yellow legs(?), the Welsummers laid light very brown with no speckles, and many of the hens had no tail feathers until they were full grown, which can be due to an egg development issue. They still have weird tails. Overall, I spent a LOT of money on these birds and didn't end up with anything I feel good about breeding. Meyer seems to be more concerned with collecting your money, holding onto it for weeks to 'reserve' something that sounds really awesome but they rush to send you 'something else' out the door quickly before you have a chance to ask questions. They hope you won't notice that the splash and high demand birds remain available for sale on over hatch day to attract new orders. I even called them and pretended to place a new order for the birds they did not send and it was verified they had the availability. When I expressed frustration about their decisions to send substitutions despite advertising availability the same day, they said what I ordered was in 'high demand' and that I should 'try again next time" like it was a carnival game where you pay for a chance at their birds. No thanks. I have actually heard from several people who have had this experience so I think despite the lure of some of their offerings, I will avoid them in the future.

 

[bigsurfwaves]

Really glad to hear everyone has had positive experiences with Meyer. Looks like next year’s order will be through them!

You may want to read my post. Maybe try My Pet Chicken instead. They are more likely to send what you order. Meyer and My Pet Chicken are partners and I admit their sexing is better than most hatcheries. I love Mt Healthy hatchery but they don't offer some of the breeds Meyer does.

 

[bigsurfwaves]

Really glad to hear everyone has had positive experiences with Meyer. Looks like next year’s order will be through them!

I think if you are ordering only 1-2 breeds and tell them DO NOT SUBSTITUTE ANYTHING it might be fine. They told me I should have directed them to put off the shipment instead of asking for a single substitution that didn't apply to the bantams. I had authorized one possible sub - speckled Sussex in place of any wyandotte. They claim that granted them authority to make whatever changes they wanted to. So beware. The 'delay until all are available' might be challenging though because you might never get it and they just hold your money. lol

 

[bigsurfwaves]

So, my experiences with them have been a little different than that. Overall, they try to help but the packing of your birds may not go as you hope. My recent order had sexed bantams and they decided to substitute full size large birds that they had surplus of instead of what I ordered. Then they hit my inbox all day advertising for sale exactly the breeds that I ordered weeks prior - but were not packed in my order. They claim they had ZERO bantams or splash birds when my box was packed but they appeared again a few minutes. I clearly saw bantams and splash birds available weekend prior and all day on packing day - I discussed bantam substitutions and they told me this would be an automatic substitution without adding notes to the order. They did not follow that directive, nor any logical path to select a substitute. Instead, of a friendly small blue egg layer splash bantam breed I received large, non friendly, flighty, dark brown layer with gold and brown plumage - so they substituted an opposite bird in every way. I immediately called to ask why they did this and they refunded me immediately but blamed me instead of owning their mistake. Because I had noted one possible substitution for a single standard very common breed in my order (not the bantams), they claimed I had granted them FULL authority to swap out breeds however they wanted. Not appreciated. I also placed a Monday over hatch order earlier this year and a lot of the birds were small and the rarest most expensive one was weak and pitiful and it died right outside the guarantee. Also a couple breeds looked like mixes - the Black Copper Marans did not have any leg feathers on their part yellow legs(?), the Welsummers laid light very brown with no speckles, and many of the hens had no tail feathers until they were full grown, which can be due to an egg development issue. They still have weird tails. Overall, I spent a LOT of money on these birds and didn't end up with anything I feel good about breeding. Meyer seems to be more concerned with collecting your money, holding onto it for weeks to 'reserve' something that sounds really awesome but they rush to send you 'something else' out the door quickly before you have a chance to ask questions. They hope you won't notice that the splash and high demand birds remain available for sale on over hatch day to attract new orders. I even called them and pretended to place a new order for the birds they did not send and it was verified they had the availability. When I expressed frustration about their decisions to send substitutions despite advertising availability the same day, they said what I ordered was in 'high demand' and that I should 'try again next time" like it was a carnival game where you pay for a chance at their birds. No thanks. I have actually heard from several people who have had this experience so I think despite the lure of some of their offerings, I will avoid them in the future.

So, my experiences with them have been a little different than that. Overall, they try to help but the packing of your birds may not go as you hope. My recent order had sexed bantams and they decided to substitute full size large birds that they had surplus of instead of what I ordered. Then they hit my inbox all day advertising for sale exactly the breeds that I ordered weeks prior - but were not packed in my order. They claim they had ZERO bantams or splash birds when my box was packed but they appeared again a few minutes. I clearly saw bantams and splash birds available weekend prior and all day on packing day - I discussed bantam substitutions and they told me this would be an automatic substitution without adding notes to the order. They did not follow that directive, nor any logical path to select a substitute. Instead, of a friendly small blue egg layer splash bantam breed I received large, non friendly, flighty, dark brown layer with gold and brown plumage - so they substituted an opposite bird in every way. I immediately called to ask why they did this and they refunded me immediately but blamed me instead of owning their mistake. Because I had noted one possible substitution for a single standard very common breed in my order (not the bantams), they claimed I had granted them FULL authority to swap out breeds however they wanted. Not appreciated. I also placed a Monday over hatch order earlier this year and a lot of the birds were small and the rarest most expensive one was weak and pitiful and it died right outside the guarantee. Also a couple breeds looked like mixes - the Black Copper Marans did not have any leg feathers on their part yellow legs(?), the Welsummers laid light very brown with no speckles, and many of the hens had no tail feathers until they were full grown, which can be due to an egg development issue. They still have weird tails. Overall, I spent a LOT of money on these birds and didn't end up with anything I feel good about breeding. Meyer seems to be more concerned with collecting your money, holding onto it for weeks to 'reserve' something that sounds really awesome but they rush to send you 'something else' out the door quickly before you have a chance to ask questions. They hope you won't notice that the splash and high demand birds remain available for sale on over hatch day to attract new orders. I even called them and pretended to place a new order for the birds they did not send and it was verified they had the availability. When I expressed frustration about their decisions to send substitutions despite advertising availability the same day, they said what I ordered was in 'high demand' and that I should 'try again next time" like it was a carnival game where you pay for a chance at their birds. No thanks. I have actually heard from several people who have had this experience so I think despite the lure of some of their offerings, I will avoid them in the future.

I did order Birchen Marans from them and a Swedish flower hen because only one was available. I am supposed to receive them this week. I am only 8 hrs from them near Chattanooga and my past orders - small and large- have arrived overnight no problem. This time they tell me the shipping method has changed and the boxes were packed early Monday. I am watching the tracking and my chicks have traveled an hour north and sat in Cleveland all day long instead of south towards me. The estimated delivery is late on Thursday. I hope this is wrong but I am braced for anything at this point, after Meyer's crazy little substitution yesterday. I will let y'all know what happens. There are bantams, standards and rare breeds in the box. It's an expensive shipment and I'm pretty stressed about the new shipping changes.

 

[bigsurfwaves]

Really glad to hear everyone has had positive experiences with Meyer. Looks like next year’s order will be through them!

I think you can still have success with them. They actually talked to me for a while about my situation. Just make sure you include thorough notes and don't be afraid to ask for a copy of the instructions so you can make sure they'll sub accordingly. Don't leave ANYTHING up to them. They can't get inside your mind.

 

[bigsurfwaves]

Meyer is my preferred hatchery to use. I will give my orpingtons for example. My orpingtons I purchased from tractor (Hoovers) are small, not fluffy and somewhat gangly looking. The orpington from My Pet Chicken is okay very standard hatchery quality. My Meyer Orpingtons are nice and bowling ball body shaped along with the having the Orpington fluffy butt. Now they still don’t compare to my English Orpingtons from a breeder, but as far as hatchery quality goes my Meyer Orpingtons are great. I have ordered 38 chicks from Meyer total (multiple orders) and I only had two chicks DOA from them. My last order of 20 chicks they were in an average sized box not too small, but not big either.

Edit: My one My Pet Chicken order I was absolutely furious. I ordered 4 chicks and they packed it so full of bedding mixture that the chicks were stacked shoulder to shoulder ON TOP of each other. There was only enough room for two chicks in what small space remained of the box it was so full. I have never seen anything like it.

My Pet Chicken is a partner with Meyer. The birds they sell come from Meyer

 

[Velociraptors]

My Pet Chicken is a partner with Meyer. The birds they sell come from Meyer

Just curious, where did you read or hear about this from? I wasn’t able to find anything on their partners, except a few and My Pet Chicken wasn’t listed.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

My Pet Chicken is a partner with Meyer. The birds they sell come from Meyer

Yes some of the birds they ship do come from Meyer, but not all. My pet chicken is the middle man and my biggest gripe with them was with how my chicks have been packed. It’s also a very common business practice when you sub-contract out a product to keep the better quality being sold under your own name and passing off the okay or not quite up to standard to sub-contract companies.