The Buckeye Thread

[gone2birdzNW]

Has anyone ever crossed a Buckeye Roo with a Leghorn? I'm considering this as an experiment and would love to know if anyone has done it and what kind of layer it creates.

 

[lulubonbon]

I just got my first batch of chicks but what I feel is missing is a Buckeye! Anyone know where I can get one in WA state?

 

[A Nonny Moose]

Green grass??? been so long since I've seen it, 'bout ready to spray paint these snow drifts green. Ah well, won't be long now and we'll be complaining about the heat.

 

[dds3]

I am in search of some high quality Buckeyes. Chicks or eggs in middle TN.

Check Craigslist. I've ordered some from "The Poultry House" in Franklin, TN for pickup on Saturday. I think there were four two week old pullets available after I placed my order this morning. They have pickup on Saturday morning.

 

[autumnhearth]

Good morning all. I'm relatively new to BYC, joined at the beginning of February. My husband, son and I will be raising our first small flock of hens this spring. We've ordered six chicks from Meyer Hatchery, due to hatch April 7th. We are started off with six individual breeds and went with Meyer as we were able to get a variety of breeds on the same day and can drive to pick them up. We are not looking for show quality birds nor raising for meat at this point. We just wanted friendly, cold hearty, decent layers for the backyard, a sort of pets with benefits situation.

The Buckeye was the last breed we chose when placing our order, originally I wanted a Salmon Faverolles but after reading so often that they get picked on and that the hens can be loud, I decided to wait till we could have a few of them and be in place where were not so close to our neighbors. The Buckeye seemed like a great choice, friendly, very cold hearty, American Heritage Breed developed right here in my home state, with a good personality and beautiful coloring. So we added it to our order, very excited about having a Buckeye.

I then read about them doing best on extra protein. No big deal I thought, I can work with that, extra meal worms, high protein pecking treats maybe some crickets and they can forage. Then I saw this blog entry on Better Hens and Gardens on feather picking and got really worried: http://www.betterhensandgardens.com/2010/11/24/feather-picking-chickens/ One of the things that made me feel so positively about this breed was another BYC member saying that their Buckeyes were really non-aggressive and didn't peck each other, just raised their wings and ran stopping short and not touching. I understand the feather picking above is different than aggression, its protein deficiency.

So now I'm wondering if I really can make this work, having an organic feed for the chicks that is somewhat high in protein, but not as high as turkey or game bird and supplementing protein treat for the Buckeye chick, maybe even getting a small bag (if they even come in small bags) of very high protein feed and allowing her to hand feed a few times a day. Could some of the issue with the feather picking in the above article just be that they were started so high and then switched to a non-meat protein? Might I be fine if I started her lower? I'm not raising meat birds but I do want a happy healthy hen that is able to lay a few eggs a week and not be picking at her sisters feathers.

What do you all think, is it feasible? Is it responsible? Or should I wait to raise Buckeyes separately sometime down the road? Just fyi we are getting a Silver Grey Dorking, a Black Copper Maran, a Buff Orpington, a Golden Buff (Gold/Red Sex-link) and an EE for my son. Any advice would be very much appreciated!

 

[poltroon]

I have never had a problem with Buckeyes feather-picking, and we normally have raised them on the same ration as all the other chicken breeds. The high protein feed seems valuable for bringing out their total genetic potential if you want to show, but I don't think it's necessary for their survival or even for them to thrive.

Some people supplement them with cat food. I've never had chickens that would eat cat food.

Ours do like to free range, but we have others that are more confined that also do very well.

 

[autumnhearth]

Thank you very much for your reply and experience poltroon. I've heard about the cat food and it worries me a bit, I'd rather give them bugs.

 

[Sydney Acres]

Good morning all. I'm relatively new to BYC, joined at the beginning of February. My husband, son and I will be raising our first small flock of hens this spring. We've ordered six chicks from Meyer Hatchery, due to hatch April 7th. We are started off with six individual breeds and went with Meyer as we were able to get a variety of breeds on the same day and can drive to pick them up. We are not looking for show quality birds nor raising for meat at this point. We just wanted friendly, cold hearty, decent layers for the backyard, a sort of pets with benefits situation.

The Buckeye was the last breed we chose when placing our order, originally I wanted a Salmon Faverolles but after reading so often that they get picked on and that the hens can be loud, I decided to wait till we could have a few of them and be in place where were not so close to our neighbors. The Buckeye seemed like a great choice, friendly, very cold hearty, American Heritage Breed developed right here in my home state, with a good personality and beautiful coloring. So we added it to our order, very excited about having a Buckeye.

I then read about them doing best on extra protein. No big deal I thought, I can work with that, extra meal worms, high protein pecking treats maybe some crickets and they can forage. Then I saw this blog entry on Better Hens and Gardens on feather picking and got really worried: http://www.betterhensandgardens.com/2010/11/24/feather-picking-chickens/ One of the things that made me feel so positively about this breed was another BYC member saying that their Buckeyes were really non-aggressive and didn't peck each other, just raised their wings and ran stopping short and not touching. I understand the feather picking above is different than aggression, its protein deficiency.

So now I'm wondering if I really can make this work, having an organic feed for the chicks that is somewhat high in protein, but not as high as turkey or game bird and supplementing protein treat for the Buckeye chick, maybe even getting a small bag (if they even come in small bags) of very high protein feed and allowing her to hand feed a few times a day. Could some of the issue with the feather picking in the above article just be that they were started so high and then switched to a non-meat protein? Might I be fine if I started her lower? I'm not raising meat birds but I do want a happy healthy hen that is able to lay a few eggs a week and not be picking at her sisters feathers.

What do you all think, is it feasible? Is it responsible? Or should I wait to raise Buckeyes separately sometime down the road? Just fyi we are getting a Silver Grey Dorking, a Black Copper Maran, a Buff Orpington, a Golden Buff (Gold/Red Sex-link) and an EE for my son. Any advice would be very much appreciated!

Hi AutumnHearth,
Since you only have 6, and they will be pets (with benefits, I love that), and all hens, you can absolutely make this work. I raise Red Dorkings, and found out the hard way just how much protein that breed needs, so two of your six breeds will really benefit from the higher protein, and the others shouldn't be harmed by it. Extra protein (within reason) is only a problem when you have the tall, fast growing breeds that can't handle it, and mostly only for the roosters because the hens don't tend to get as tall in those breeds. Sometimes you also have to be careful with certain breeds that have a tall foundation breed in it's development. For instance, I was brooding Red Dorkings and Barnevelders together one year, had a terrible feather picking problem, and increased the protein level up to what the Dorkings needed to stop that behavior. Unfortunately, I forgot that Croad Langshans (that have tall, stately roosters) were used as a foundation breed to develop the Barnevelders, and 40% of my Barnevelder cockerels had leg problems that year. Now, none of the Barnevelder pullets had any problems, so it is a growth rate issue, occurring at about 8-16 weeks, and showing symptoms at about 20-30 weeks old.

Because you have all hens, you'll be fine. If you ever get roosters, you'll need to be more careful who you give the extra protein to. I would be careful with any breeds that have tall, stately roosters, such as the Croad Langshan, Orloff, Faverolles, and several others, as well as breeds that used tall stately roosters in their development.

I just recently brooded a group of turkey poults together with some Buckeye and Speckled Sussex (an English breed that was likely developed on a diet high in fish scraps, so high protein is ok for them) chicks. When they were 0-8 weeks old I mixed together half chick starter (18% protein) and half game bird starter (30% protein), and sometimes added some meat bird starter (22% protein) for variety (I hate feeding single diet foods). They started free ranging on nice days (over 80 degrees, with supervision) when they were 2 weeks old, and on less nice days weren't allowed out until they were 4-5 weeks old, so the grass diluted down the protein somewhat, and the bugs increased it a little. When they were 3-4 weeks old I started giving them a variety of treats (start slow, you don't want to overwhelm their intestines as infants), and I included a bit of finely shredded fish which significantly increases the protein, as well as finely chopped or grated fruits and vegetables. They're just like kids -- sometimes new food is scary, and they won't eat it the first time they see it, but might the second or third time. Don't give so much that they aren't eating their regular food, but enough that they learn to eat everything. I typically work up to around 10% treats, but a huge variety, all fresh and healthy foods, and nothing processed. When they're 8-18 weeks old I decrease their protein level a little, usually down to around 20%, but at that age anything between 18-22% is probably fine, but I like at least 20% ration because I know it's being diluted out somewhat by all the grass they're eating while free ranging, and my main breeds are Red Dorkings, Speckled Sussex, Buckeyes, and heritage turkeys, all of which thrive on a slightly higher protein than average. Once they reach 18 weeks, I usually switch them to layer pellets, but always keep the fresh treats and free range available. (And typically the higher protein foods don't come in small bags unless your feed store opens one and repackages it, but you'll only need one bag, so it's not a major investment. Just be sure you store it in a way that keeps it very fresh. If I only have a few chicks, I repackage the 50 lb bag into 10 separate 5 lb bags and vacuum seal each one. If I have enough room I store them in the freezer, if not in the cold garage, covered with a towel to prevent light from deactivating some of the vitamins.) You could hand feed each one it's "ideal" protein mix, and it would work, but that gets more complicated than it needs to be for your situation.

As far as the breeds you've chosen, there will be some variety of personalities, so you'll have to watch them to be sure the dominant personalities aren't too aggressive and the submissive personalities aren't being made miserable. Be sure the submissive birds have enough room (perches, hiding areas, etc) to get away from the bullies and everything should be fine -- you don't have any really aggressive breeds. In my experience, the Buff Orpingtons tend to be the most docile (similar to the Faverolles), so watch that one, but the Buckeyes and EE can also be quite submissive, depending on the individuals and the group overall. The Dorkings tend to be kind of middle of the road, along with the sex-linked hybrids, and I don't know anything about the personalities of the Marans. But with so few you can monitor them individually, so it won't be a problem. Since you've never brooded chicks before, be prepared for there to be some bullying -- that's how they establish their pecking order (think kids in grammar school out on the playground). You might notice a little around 2 weeks old, but will really start up around 4-8 weeks of age. Once that's established and everyone knows their place they should all live peacefully together, so don't interfere unless the situation gets truly abusive, which is rare with these breeds.

You're going to do absolutely fine. Sometimes we read so many articles in preparation for our chicks that we end up thinking it's too complicated. But chicks are really tough and do well over a whole range of management styles. Just remember they're tiny infants when you first get them, so handle them enough that they're tame but not so much that they get cold or stressed or don't get enough sleep. Limit handling to just a few minutes at a time at first, then work up from there. Keep them warm and draft free. Start them out at 90-95 degrees, then decrease their temp about 5 degrees every week until you're down to room temperature (so get a brooding thermometer). Keep their brooder dry and clean (both are very important), and ideally remove any moist bedding from water spills as it occurs, but at least twice daily. (The combination of moisture and poop and heat kills chicks if allowed to incubate too long, but dry poop and heat are fine.) Use the feeders and waterers that are designed for chicks so they don't drown, and change their food and water at least every day, or even twice a day, so everything is fresh. And after about 4-5 days old, give them something to do so they don't start pecking at each other. Basic stuff for raising any baby. And lots of experienced people on this and other threads to answer questions.

Enjoy your new chicks. Chickens make great pets. And welcome to BYC.
--April

 

[Sydney Acres]

Thank you very much for your reply and experience poltroon. I've heard about the cat food and it worries me a bit, I'd rather give them bugs.

Dry cat food really does work, and the chickens love it if you crush it up, but I've also had concerns about cat food getting into the human food chain. Bugs are high in protein on a dry matter basis, but are mostly water. So they might work well on a preventative basis, but you'd have to give huge amounts of them to have them work if the feather picking had already started because of a protein deficiency. But cooked fish works great, and quite quickly (around 2-4 days). But honestly, feather picking from a protein deficiency is uncommon, even in the breeds that were developed on high protein diets (many of the English Breeds, Buckeyes, etc). I think it tends to run in just certain lines, as opposed to being a breed trait. I've only experienced it in one group of Dorking chicks, from one specific source.

 

[autumnhearth]

Thank you Sydney Acres for all that great information! I will be sure to share it with my husband as the dorking was his pick We've read two books and lots of articles on raising and brooding chickens and will be taking a class at a local nursery at the end of March, so hopefully we'll be well prepared. I will look into mixing a little of the meat and game starter feeds for hand feeding to the two. And fish would be great, my husband and son are not big fish fans (unless its breaded) but I like it and could use someone to share with