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At this point in development, the combs are a pretty good indicator. Sometimes the pullets can have green tail feathers, so color of the feathers is not a reliable indicator. The shape of the feathers on the other hand is. The picture with just one chick is clearly a cockerel. The picture...

I agree, it's certainly not typical. But there are always exceptions to generalizations, so I won't say it's impossible. My first rooster was a snot, and while he never did any damage to me or my husband, he would occasionally charge us and he drew blood on my 4 (then 3) year old. In fact, he...

We have biddies! Not Buckeyes, but my 2 Buckeye broodies have successfully hatched at least 5, maybe 6, cuckoo marans.

Broodiness is a very individual thing. I think it's certainly more likely to happen in the spring (depending on where you live of course), but it can happen any time of the year. Some hens will only go broody once in their life, others will make an annual thing of it, and some will go broody...

Turk, I know exactly where you're coming from! I should be asleep now too, as the alarm will be going off in 4 1/2 hours. But I'm too sore and amped up right now to sleep. We're working on renovating a house that had severe water damage, hoping to move in next weekend (though I have no idea...

Hooray! I have a broody buckeye! Since Wednesday she's been giving us the stinkiest of stink eye and her fiercest dragon growl. So I've been in contact with a breeder who will hopefully be shipping me a box full of cuckoo marans eggs on Monday to stick under her. Now I just have to figure...

It sure is. And as soon as the weather stays nice for a few days and we're not busy with the kids or household repairs, we've got to do some housecleaning on the "love shack." Then we can reevaluate our Buckeyes and select which rooster and which hens/pullets we want to separate out into a...

My limited experience with the plastic numbered bands is that they don't stay on as well as the zip ties. I think I have one of 6 hens that still has hers, and one of 3 roosters who hasn't managed to loose it. However, have not seen any problems with the bands impeding circulation like I have...

Nah, we're stuck here in IL. But good luck! Don't worry about whether your birds are "as good as you think they are." The point of poultry shows isn't (or shouldn't) be just winning. The most important part of a show, IMO, is being able to get an objective opinion on your birds that will...

It says "Darkside Cometh" With the warmer temps my eggs are finally not in danger of freezing. And egg production is ramping up, past few days I've found several eggs on the floor of the coop (and even on the shavings on the ground just outside the coop) so I'm thinking the pullets from last...

Oh no! That's terrible about Bob. We got our start in Buckeyes from him. We'll definitely be keeping him in our thoughts and prayers here.

Not quite. In the nomenclature of chicken shows you have Variety, Breed, and Class. "Best of Variety" (this one doesn't so much apply to Buckeyes as there is only one variety, but is applicable to many breeds...for example Wyandottes have gold laced, silver laced, black, white, etc and Old...

Only if you take all the ice under the snow with it The chickens seem less bothered by the ice than the snow. At least as far as coming out of the coop anyway.

I didn't think wing bands were a disqualification or otherwise a problem in showing? Has anyone tried locking leg bands? I'm glad to see that my buckeyes aren't the only ones who have a bad habit of taking off their bands. Of the 5 pullets we put bands on last fall, only one still has hers...

Challenging is a good way to put it. I was painfully reminded Wed. when I went to take care of the chickens that snow covered ice is still very slippery! Went from 6 eggs to 4 after that little experiment. But I have to say I am very pleased with how well the chickens have been handling it...

I agree, the cold temps have been brutal here too! I think I only have one buckeye laying, but just this weekend we went from only 3 hens laying to at least 5. This afternoon we got one light brown egg, one green egg, one white egg, and one dark brown egg. I'm so happy to have eggs again! My...

No. It's unreasonable to expect any chicken to produce eggs in the winter without adequate food intake, and in New York in winter there's no way you have enough forage for your chickens to find enough food on their own. Egg laying is a reproductive function, and birds will only reproduce when...

No eggs from my buckeyes the past two days (although one of my leghorn pullets started laying on Sunday and gave us another egg today, or maybe it was yesterday late seeing as the egg was frozen solid and split when we collected it just now). The snow accumulation isn't so bad, it's the snow...

Cold and snowy here today too (I don't think -35 wind chill cold though!). None of my birds are interested in venturing outside in the snow. And they are actively avoiding the areas of the coop where the snow has blown in. Still, I have to say this winter I am very pleased with my open-air...

I agree. When I first became interested in keeping chickens I really had no interest in solid red birds (or solid birds in general really). It seemed like such a boring color. But the first time I saw Buckeyes, I was really drawn to them, in spite of their "boring" plumage. I've since come...