Hello, my name if Jeff, owner of Crains Run Ranch in Southwest Ohio and a Buckeye Breeder since 2002. At the moment we have over 200 Buckeye Large Fowl in our breeding program on three different farms in Montgomery county, Ohio and we participate in the NPIP and AI program thru the OPA (Ohio Poultry Association). We provide hatching eggs, day old chicks and adult birds from March thru June and our goals are simple; meet or exceed the APA "standard" with respect to our breeding program and improve the egg laying quality of our Buckeye "strain"! To learn more about our Buckeyes or Crains Run Ranch please visit http://www.crainsrunranch.com
Red Feathers have always been of interest to me and when I saw my first Buckeye in the summer of 2000 I knew what was going to be walking in my yards! Back then it took almost 2 years to get my hands on hatching eggs, day old chicks or even an adult "cull" or two from a variety of Ohio based Buckeye breeders. After a few years of working with the Buckeye and selling ALL the other poultry I had been raising....mostly RIR's, Barred Rocks and some high yielding egg laying crosses....a ground swell of interest in the breed began to surface. Much of this interest was generated by the good folks at the American Livestock Breed Conservancy (ALBC) as they began an active Buckeye Breeding program in 2005 and really began promoting the Buckeye and other "Heritage" Breeds to the public. Unfortunately, many of the "old-time" Buckeye Breeders got lost in the surge of new interest in this breed. Poutrymen like John Brown of Ohio, Duane Urch of Minnesota, Robert Rhodes of Massechusetts and Dennis Pearce who were essentially keeping this unique American breed from extinction were being lost to technology and the internet "experts" who started popping up like flies! Dozens of "newbie" Buckeye experts began cropping up all over the internet forums with websites and even their own self developed "fan" clubs. Some pretending to have been breeding Buckeyes for decades or even generations, some for monetary gain and others in search of their own "poultry legacy"! To date the ALBC has done outstanding work at promoting the Buckeye breed and over the years have had several key folks involved with the Buckeye breed program, they continue to be a valuable resource to anyone interested in Heritage breeds and the Buckeye. I encourage folks to visit the ALBC website and become a member because they are doing outstanding work for a variety of livestock not just poultry!
In early 2008, several Ohio based Buckeye breeders held an informal meeting and discussed what they saw happening and in May of that same year started laying the ground work for a Buckeye Breeder Directory. This would be an internet based Breeder Directory and help provide new comers to the breed with useful information on the various "strains" or "bloodlines" as well as connect breeders with potential buyers. The name of the organization and website was selected in May 2008 as well and "The American Buckeye Club" website was officially launched in Jauary 2009, marking the 100th anniversary of the original "American Buckeye Club"! We prefer to call it a "re-established" group of Buckeye enthusiasts who are dedicated in the Preservation of the Buckeye Breed. While many of our members are into exhibition of their Buckeyes many members are not and our goal is to encourage membership at ALL levels from hobbiest breeders to 4H'ers to those hard core poultry show exhibitors. Membership to The American Buckeye Club (http://www.americanbuckeyeclub.org) is FREE and we encourage everyone interested in Buckeye's or other Heritage breeds to join and become active participants. If you are a Buckeye Breeder the ABC is a great way to reach new buyers, our website gets several hundred hits each day from ALL over the world! As far as other Buckeye poultry clubs are concerned we feel there is room for anyone dedicated to the promotion and preservation of the Buckeye breed so we encourage everyone to be an active participant in ANY and ALL Breed clubs that are operating today.
About Crains Run Ranch, in addition to Buckeye's we are working to preserve an Extremely Rare poultry breed, the Delaware Blue Hens! This breed has origins that date back to the Revolutionary War and is in danger of extinction because it isn't a breed recognized by the APA. We also maintain a small closed herd of Myotonic or Tennessee Fainting Goats and are members of the Myotonic Goat Registry. At one time we had the largest herd of Tennessee Fainting Goats in Southern Ohio but as demand has dramatically decreased in the past 2 years we have cut back on our herd size, focusing on our poultry breeding programs. Crains Run Ranch participates in the USDA "Scrappie" program and has had a closed herd since 2007. To learn more about Crains Run Ranch please visit http://www.crainsrunranch.com or PM me anytime!
Red Feathers have always been of interest to me and when I saw my first Buckeye in the summer of 2000 I knew what was going to be walking in my yards! Back then it took almost 2 years to get my hands on hatching eggs, day old chicks or even an adult "cull" or two from a variety of Ohio based Buckeye breeders. After a few years of working with the Buckeye and selling ALL the other poultry I had been raising....mostly RIR's, Barred Rocks and some high yielding egg laying crosses....a ground swell of interest in the breed began to surface. Much of this interest was generated by the good folks at the American Livestock Breed Conservancy (ALBC) as they began an active Buckeye Breeding program in 2005 and really began promoting the Buckeye and other "Heritage" Breeds to the public. Unfortunately, many of the "old-time" Buckeye Breeders got lost in the surge of new interest in this breed. Poutrymen like John Brown of Ohio, Duane Urch of Minnesota, Robert Rhodes of Massechusetts and Dennis Pearce who were essentially keeping this unique American breed from extinction were being lost to technology and the internet "experts" who started popping up like flies! Dozens of "newbie" Buckeye experts began cropping up all over the internet forums with websites and even their own self developed "fan" clubs. Some pretending to have been breeding Buckeyes for decades or even generations, some for monetary gain and others in search of their own "poultry legacy"! To date the ALBC has done outstanding work at promoting the Buckeye breed and over the years have had several key folks involved with the Buckeye breed program, they continue to be a valuable resource to anyone interested in Heritage breeds and the Buckeye. I encourage folks to visit the ALBC website and become a member because they are doing outstanding work for a variety of livestock not just poultry!
In early 2008, several Ohio based Buckeye breeders held an informal meeting and discussed what they saw happening and in May of that same year started laying the ground work for a Buckeye Breeder Directory. This would be an internet based Breeder Directory and help provide new comers to the breed with useful information on the various "strains" or "bloodlines" as well as connect breeders with potential buyers. The name of the organization and website was selected in May 2008 as well and "The American Buckeye Club" website was officially launched in Jauary 2009, marking the 100th anniversary of the original "American Buckeye Club"! We prefer to call it a "re-established" group of Buckeye enthusiasts who are dedicated in the Preservation of the Buckeye Breed. While many of our members are into exhibition of their Buckeyes many members are not and our goal is to encourage membership at ALL levels from hobbiest breeders to 4H'ers to those hard core poultry show exhibitors. Membership to The American Buckeye Club (http://www.americanbuckeyeclub.org) is FREE and we encourage everyone interested in Buckeye's or other Heritage breeds to join and become active participants. If you are a Buckeye Breeder the ABC is a great way to reach new buyers, our website gets several hundred hits each day from ALL over the world! As far as other Buckeye poultry clubs are concerned we feel there is room for anyone dedicated to the promotion and preservation of the Buckeye breed so we encourage everyone to be an active participant in ANY and ALL Breed clubs that are operating today.
About Crains Run Ranch, in addition to Buckeye's we are working to preserve an Extremely Rare poultry breed, the Delaware Blue Hens! This breed has origins that date back to the Revolutionary War and is in danger of extinction because it isn't a breed recognized by the APA. We also maintain a small closed herd of Myotonic or Tennessee Fainting Goats and are members of the Myotonic Goat Registry. At one time we had the largest herd of Tennessee Fainting Goats in Southern Ohio but as demand has dramatically decreased in the past 2 years we have cut back on our herd size, focusing on our poultry breeding programs. Crains Run Ranch participates in the USDA "Scrappie" program and has had a closed herd since 2007. To learn more about Crains Run Ranch please visit http://www.crainsrunranch.com or PM me anytime!