Buckeye Breed Thread

[bigzio]

I'm a happy camper here today. Went and picked up my buckeyes today from the breeder. They look great, and are getting use to their new home. I'll post pics when I get a chance.... I just love it when a plan comes together.

~ bigzio

 

[har]

Quote:
I too am having trouble with my buckeye's not roosting. They are in a pen with some giants the same age (13 weeks) the giants are roosting and the buckeyes are not. This is the third person including me that has mentioned this. Any of you Buckeye breeders would like to chim in on this.

Thanks
Scott

 

[Sagibaro]

Quote:
<sheepish grin> I didn't mean to sound greedy or ungracious. It's just that little voice in the back of my brain that, if an egg doesn't hatch, wants it to be because the egg just wasn't meant to be -- not because the post office or I made a mistake. Goodness knows I've made my share

.

The eggs have had a resting period and it looks like I'm going to have to do their initial warm up in the Little Giant while I wait on my fancy new incubator to get delivered and then debugged. While I'm waiting on that I have to haul my first hatch out of the brooder into their grow-out area, pack for my adventure (1000 mile drive with a sibling. It should be quite a story, should I survive

), and once again thank my husband profusely for his willingness to take care of the feathered mob while I'm away. When we started this adventure he expected two or three ducks, six tops. We now have 10 chickens + hatching eggs, 4 geese, and...oh dear. I've lost count of the ducks

.

 

[a2ms4chickens]

Early this morning, 12:44 am, to be exact, after I got up to go to the bathroom, I was laying in bed worried that my new buckeye chicks might be cold. Mind you, I live in Arizona, but at night, the desert can get a little chilly.

Anyway, they are in a covered, wooden brooder box with a light bulb, but they are outside in the chicken pen. I kept telling myself that they were fine, there are 27 of them and I am sure they will be ok. But then my brain kept butting in and asking that what if I am wrong and they are outside shivering. This went on for about 20 minutes, until I decided that I am never going to get back to sleep before I have to get up at 4:00am for work, if I don't make sure that are ok. (I have only had chicks under broody hens, so I didn't have to worry about them getting cold).

So, at 1:15 am, I am outside in the chicken pen, checking on my chicks. They were fine. Most were cuddled together, but there were a couple who were eating and drinking, so they weren't too cold. Tonight, I am going to hang a heat lamp over the brooder box, just to be on the safe side, and so I can get a good night's sleep. The night before, I was excited about getting them but I was worried about how they would do during shipping.

My DS checked them when he got up and all were running around and doing fine.

Where is a broody hen when you need one? LOL.

Angie

 

[jenjscott]

yep, new mom anxiety. It got us all at one time or another.

 

[poltroon]

Since Buckeyes only come in a single variety, my 4H daughter wants to know how she should answer the question, "What variety is your chicken?" Is there an official name for "hue of an Ohio Buckeye's seeds" that she should be knowing?

 

[jenjscott]

Technically I think they are a red or mahogany. Someone else may know better.

 

[BuckeyeDave]

Quote:

Storey's Illustrated Guide to Poultry Breeds :

Beak is a yellow shaded with reddish horn: eyes are a reddish bay; shanks and toes are yellow. Plumage is a rich and lustrous reddish brown or mahogany, though the tail contains some black. Most of the under color is bright red, but with a slate colored bar on down of back

I describe them as "mahogany".​

 

[HallFamilyFarm]

NPIP has a catagory for Buckeye, Red.

I tell my 4H members to list the variety as Buckeye and the breed as Buckeye.

 

[BetterHensandGardens]

Our chickens got Infectious Bronchitis from birds a friend gave me, and they were no longer able to lay - so we've been looking for a new breed of chicken to start with. We are drawn to the Buckeye because it's a heritage bird, we live in Ohio, it was bred to do well here, it's described as a dual breed bird, a woman developed them (gotta be a great chicken), and you all describe them as friendly, hardy, and disease resistant.

DH culled the old flock today

so I'm about to take the plunge and order 25 day old chicks from Dave - he also pointed me to the thread here (Thanks Dave). I've been reading all I can about them, and they really sound like the birds for us. This is a Buckeye thread so you're probably all pretty positive about them, but is there anything special we should know about them? I did pick up 27% protein chick starter feed today thinking they needed higher protein levels? And are they really mousers?????

Our last flock (4 hens and 1 rooster) was our first, but we enjoyed them immensely, and there was no question as to whether we would get chickens again, just the question of which kind. So, I want to make sure we start with ones that we will keep and enjoy for a long, long time.