Alternatives to Buckeyes?

[ohogue]

I've been spending embarrassingly vast amounts of time researching chicken breeds and think I've found everything I want in the Buckeye... However, the Buckeyes themselves seem to be hard to find. I'd love some advice on alternatives that have all the qualities I'm looking for, especially from people who can compare to buckeyes (good and bad!)

Attributes I'm looking for:
Excellent foragers/free rangers
Will go broody and be good mothers
Good for meat, at least decent for eggs
Friendly, or at least docile (and roosters that won't be buttheads)
Both cold-hardy and heat-tolerant
Prefer heavier birds since they'll be for eating, but wouldn't mind smaller ones that dress well

Thanks for the help!

 

[N F C]

Hi,

Just throwing out some suggestions here...what about Orpingtons, Australorps or Speckled Sussex? They're all a nice size dual purpose type bird that are friendly, lay well in colder weather, good for meat and eggs.

In case you haven't already found this, here's a link to an excellent chart of breed characteristics:
http://www.sagehenfarmlodi.com/chooks/chooks.html

Hope that helps! Good luck to you.

 

[Michael OShay]

Black Australorps would be a great alternative to Buckeyes as they meet all your criteria. They do as well as any other dual purpose breed as foragers and free rangers and their black feathering is not as easily seen by predators as the light feathered breeds. They do go broody on occasion and make excellent brooders and mothers when they do. They are the best layers of the brown egg laying breeds (a BA holds the brown egg laying record with 364 eggs in 365 days) and are of a good enough size to make a decent meat bird. They are very calm and gentle (my children and granddaughter made lap pets of them), and even the roosters are generally quite gentle (of course there can always be exceptions with any breed). And they are extremely hardy in both heat and cold. I've raised them where summer temperatures frequently reached 117-118 F (sometimes more), and while my other dual purpose breeds were listless, panting, and holding their wings out from their sides, my Australorps were going about their usual business like troopers. I've also raised them where winter temperatures dropped to -30 F, and with a draft free, dry, and well ventilated coop they did just fine. And, unlike Buckeyes, Australorps are readily available at hatcheries and feed stors. BYC has a current thread focusing on Australorps at https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/988347/chicken-breed-focus-australorp if you would like to read the opinions of other BYC members on them. Whatever breed you decide to get, good luck with your flock.

 

[ohogue]

Thanks! My husband wants speckled Sussex, so those are for sure on the list, and I have a friend recommending australorps so I may try those as well. Can anyone compare Brahmas? I'm not seeing a whole lot about their foraging abilities in my research, but everything else looks good.

 

[MI Buckeye]

I just got 19 buckeyes from Crackle Hatchery at the end of April and so far so good. I am new to chickens though so I can't really comment too much.

 

[N F C]

Thanks! My husband wants speckled Sussex, so those are for sure on the list, and I have a friend recommending australorps so I may try those as well. Can anyone compare Brahmas? I'm not seeing a whole lot about their foraging abilities in my research, but everything else looks good.

I love the SS, they are the sweetest ones in our mixed flock.

The Brahmas are listed on the breed comparison chart I gave you a link to...it says they are adaptable to confinement or free range. There are a lot of posts about Brahmas here, if you want to ask owners about them, just put Brahma in the search box at the top left corner of your screen (under the logo).

 

[Michael OShay]

Thanks! My husband wants speckled Sussex, so those are for sure on the list, and I have a friend recommending australorps so I may try those as well. Can anyone compare Brahmas? I'm not seeing a whole lot about their foraging abilities in my research, but everything else looks good.

I've had Speckled Sussex in the past and have seriously considered getting some more of them as they are excellent birds. They're not as heat hardy as the Australorps and not quite as prolific as layers (although they are good layers) as the Australorps, but they are every bit as cold hardy and have the same calm and gentle temperament as the Australorps (my children made lap pets out of our SS as well). For foraging, their speckled pattern helps them blend in to their background so they do not readily catch the eyes of predators. The first breed I ever had were Brahmas (about 50 years ago) and they are gentle giants and (outside of Silkies) probably the quietest breed I ever had. They are good layers (about the same as Buckeyes and Sussex) although their eggs tend to run a bit smaller. In my experience they are not quite the foragers that Australorps, Buckeyes, and Speckled Sussex. If you do get some Brahmas and free range them, I would suggest going with Dark Brahmas rather than Light or Buff Brahmas as the light coloring of the latter two varieties really stands out and will readily catch the eyes of predators.