The Buckeye Thread

[A Nonny Moose]

Yep... still messin' with them red birds and holdin' our own.

 

[poltroon]

I always find the feed question to be a challenge. For the record, the Purina that makes dog food belongs to Nestlé now and Purina Mills, which makes the livestock feeds (including poultry) is wholly separate, owned by Land O'Lakes.

I have been using a California feed when I can, King Pro-Am, for adults, with Purina for chicks and as my fallback. Honestly I can't say that I've seen a substantial difference in the feeds that I use in terms of how the birds grow or maintain. It could be that they're just both very good feeds.

We are fortunate to have multiple choices of organic and GMO free feeds also.

The main thing seems to be making sure they have enough food and clean water all the time... which always seems harder than I expect. I'm now setting up every pen with both pans of water and nipple waterers, so they have a choice of big splashy water or very clean water. But the birds like to spill everything, if they can. I have some treadle feeders that help with that quite a bit, so that's my go-to for the adult birds. It's just the juveniles that are still vexing me a bit.

 

[poltroon]

Spent a lot of today just sitting out and enjoying this year's birds, to try to get a sense of what we want to keep and what not, what issues there are and aren't. Even though it was too hot out, it's always fun to hang out with the Buckeyes. They're active, curious, love to forage in the weeds, and usually come right up to me. They also tend to photobomb each other when I try to take pictures, which is both adorable and annoying. But it reminded me why we're investing our energy in this breed - they're just nice, interesting birds that make me happy to see to their needs every day.

Also, because they seem to like me, they really feed my ego.

(I'm sure they mostly like me for my opposable thumbs, though.)

 

[knittychickadee]

Spent a lot of today just sitting out and enjoying this year's birds, to try to get a sense of what we want to keep and what not, what issues there are and aren't. Even though it was too hot out, it's always fun to hang out with the Buckeyes. They're active, curious, love to forage in the weeds, and usually come right up to me. They also tend to photobomb each other when I try to take pictures, which is both adorable and annoying. But it reminded me why we're investing our energy in this breed - they're just nice, interesting birds that make me happy to see to their needs every day. 

Also, because they seem to like me, they really feed my ego.  (I'm sure they mostly like me for my opposable thumbs, though.)

Great post! To me, their quirky personality is the most wonderful thing about Buckeyes.

 

[slfarms]

I always find the feed question to be a challenge. For the record, the Purina that makes dog food belongs to Nestlé now and Purina Mills, which makes the livestock feeds (including poultry) is wholly separate, owned by Land O'Lakes.

I have been using a California feed when I can, King Pro-Am, for adults, with Purina for chicks and as my fallback. Honestly I can't say that I've seen a substantial difference in the feeds that I use in terms of how the birds grow or maintain. It could be that they're just both very good feeds.

 
We are fortunate to have multiple choices of organic and GMO free feeds also.

The main thing seems to be making sure they have enough food and clean water all the time... which always seems harder than I expect. I'm now setting up every pen with both pans of water and nipple waterers, so they have a choice of big splashy water or very clean water. But the birds like to spill everything, if they can. I have some treadle feeders that help with that quite a bit, so that's my go-to for the adult birds. It's just the juveniles that are still vexing me a bit.

Have you tried the hanging feeders for the juveniles? I've found that helpful for the young and the old. Less waste as they can't scratch around.

Watering we are starting to use the water cups glued into 5 gallon buckets with lids on them. On demand water and no way to foul it.

 

[Dreadfulewe]

I have 3 juvenile roos that need re-homing or they become dinners. (I live in Rocky Ripple in Indpls, IN which allows no roosters)

These 3 are Breeder quality Buckeyes - Lay line via Hidden Creek farm here in Indiana. While they will taste fine, I thought I'd offer them here to anyone interested in adding them to there breeding projects. 8^)

Please PM me is you are interested and/or want pix.

 

[Sydney Acres]

I love using two watering options. My birds love having the deep bowls, so I use the tip-proof water bowls marketed for dogs. They're not the cheapest bowls out there, but they're stainless steel and last a lifetime. They come in a variety of sizes, and the largest one holds over a gallon of water. Here's a link for the regular ones: https://www.petedge.com/zpetedgemai...mpleSearchString=water+bowls&wec-locale=en_US

and here's a link for the narrower, taller ones, which are really useful for food treats that you don't want scattered everywhere:
https://www.petedge.com/zpetedgemai...mpleSearchString=water+bowls&wec-locale=en_US

I've had 10 lbs roosters step on the edges of these bowl and they don't tip over, so they save a lot of frustration. My birds prefer drinking water out of a bowl over water they get from the narrow and shallow trough of the double walled galvanized waterers. I think they enjoy washing their face.

But having a different backup watering system that stays clean is a great idea. I'm getting frustrated with cleaning the galvanized waterers.

slfarms, I'm having difficulty envisioning what the water cups glued into the 5 gallon bucket would look like. Is that something that you made yourself, or is it commercially available? Do you have a picture, or a link? It sounds like a great idea, but I just can't visualize the details.

 

[poltroon]

I like the treadle feeders for any birds that are free ranging or have an open yard because otherwise I get a lot of uninvited guests to the buffet. I also see them get the hanging feeders swinging around a lot. I try to put a pedestal under them to reduce that.

 

[slfarms]

I love using two watering options.  My birds love having the deep bowls, so I use the tip-proof water bowls marketed for dogs.  They're not the cheapest bowls out there, but they're stainless steel and last a lifetime.  They come in a variety of sizes, and the largest one holds over a gallon of water.  Here's a link for the regular ones:  https://www.petedge.com/zpetedgemai...mpleSearchString=water+bowls&wec-locale=en_US

and here's a link for the narrower, taller ones, which are really useful for food treats that you don't want scattered everywhere:
https://www.petedge.com/zpetedgemai...mpleSearchString=water+bowls&wec-locale=en_US

I've had 10 lbs roosters step on the edges of these bowl and they don't tip over, so they save a lot of frustration.  My birds prefer drinking water out of a bowl over water they get from the narrow and shallow trough of the double walled galvanized waterers.  I think they enjoy washing their face.

But having a different backup watering system that stays clean is a great idea.  I'm getting frustrated with cleaning the galvanized waterers.

slfarms, I'm having difficulty envisioning what the water cups glued into the 5 gallon bucket would look like.  Is that something that you made yourself, or is it commercially available?  Do you have a picture, or a link?  It sounds like a great idea, but I just can't visualize the details.

Here are two options for builds on the 5gallon waters and the cups. You can buy them at twin city poultry supplies online or I'm sure any poultry website. I've went with the one were the cups come out of the sides.

 

[ChazzanHillel]

Hi everyone. Hope I'm not asking something that has already been answered many times elsewhere, but I'm a noob so bear with me if that's the case.

I purchased what I was told her RIR pullets that were approximately 4 months. Now they are probably a little over 6 months and after looking at pictures on this site, they appear to me to look more like Buckeyes. I figure this is probably a common misidentification, especially as young pullets. What are the main differences? Mine have the darker glossy feathers on the neck and the iridescent longer green tail feathers.

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