POLK— It’s remarkable what an interest in something and the fortitude to go forward with it can do. Karen Meyer is a perfect example of finding a hobby and turning it into a business that would make any businessperson happy.
Meyer’s husband, Dewey, encouraged her to find a hobby in 1985. She took him up on the suggestion and starting raising chickens. Meyer learned how to incubate eggs which involves more than just putting an egg in a heated compartment and waiting for it to hatch. The humidity and temperature has to be controlled in the incubators. Meyer kept improving her hatching skills and soon friends and neighbors started to ask her to hatch eggs for them. The business was started and its growth was evident.
Meyer kept her facility clean and disease free. She still adheres to these ethics even though today during the busy season (spring) Meyer Hatchery produces 60,000 chicks weekly. The trays that hold the newborns and the area where they are handled are sanitized from ceiling to floor weekly. No longer is Meyer doing the work herself, she surrounds herself with people who take a definite interest in caring for the production of chickens.
