Buckeye Breed Thread

[Farmington]

Can some of you with a trained eye for Buckeyes critique my little cockerel. He is going to be 2 weeks old. The first pic. he is a day old. The other pics are from today. Can you tell at all yet if he looks like a decent Buckeye should? Thank you all.

Edited to note that the black speckles you see on his head are from an EE pooping on him! (lol)

 

[Pathfinders]

There is really no way to evaluate a two week old bird. You might wish to wait until he or she is more like 4 or 5 months, not weeks.

 

[buckeyefever]

Farmington ~ He is soooooooooo absolutely adorable...even with specks of EE poop on him

 

[bigzio]

I also have some week old pictures of my peeps to share, just for the fun of it...cause it's always fun for me...that's why I raise and breed chickens....

One more, just for the fun of it....

Updated ones when I get a chance to take pics....nice friendly peeps for sure....

~ bigzio

 

[heritagebirds]

Can you find the Bantam Buckeyes?

 

[buckeyefever]

This has been some great reading! I have spent the past 5 days off of work with some form of strep throat. During this time I have read (in between naps) all 144 pages of this thread. I have gained some serious insight into the standard traits of a Buckeye and have absolutely solidified the fact that I really do want to make them a part of my life.

I will be putting up my new coop next week (8'x8' coop & 40'x40' pen). I already have 8 chicks. Is the 4 sq ft per chicken in the coop rule for those that do not have access to a pen or free-range? If that is the case, I can only get about 7 more chickens (can't do a minimum 12 chick order, at that point)....or expand the coop before I even put it up. I can easily make more room for pens.

Someone please comment on the sq ft per chicken "rule" for me. I've seen various comments from 1 to 4 sq ft per chicken, in other threads, but what is your experience?
Thank you!

Robin

 

[kathyinmo]

If I were you, I would build bigger, or more. Believe me, you will want more. I use the 4 sq ft rule on all my builds. I have breeder pens that are 5' x 8' (40 sq ft), and I have yet to have 10 in those pens, even though each has a run of about 150 sq ft. I think this prevents picking at each other. I think the 4 sq ft rule is a good one. Bantams you could use less footage. On the other hand, Jersey Giants (which I have) require more space.

I have a run 40' x 40' attached to a 12' x 16' (near 200 sq ft) coop. I have never loaded this coop up, and have not had any problem. The most I have had in there is probably 40. More room is better.

Now, if you start reading the Delaware thread ...... I have chicks for you!

 

[jenjscott]

There are lots of opinions out there on space requirements. In my opinion 4 square feet in the coop is a minimum if the birds will have to spend extended time inside, and I have read with an additional 10 square feet per bird in pen space as a minimum for when they do get out. Now obviously you can use less and they will survive, but even with these dimensions the poop will get thick and there won't be any growth in the pen. In the south, where they are outside almost all the time, I could do with less inside space. but a 600 sq ft pen, 20 x 30 ft. (which would be for 60 chickens by above standards) seems barely adequate for approximately 16 birds. But it depends on the space you have and the cleaning you want to do, and the personalities of the birds.

 

[heritagebirds]

Quote:
Nice peeps, bigzio!

 

[BuckeyeDave]

DON'T OVER THINK YOUR SPACING AND LITTER!!!! If you noticed the birds will survive just about anything, I am sure the space provided is better than battery cages and they survive those.

If you deep litter and use DE the manure is dried directly and turned into the litter by the birds. When things look a little crusty I throw some DE and then scratch grains on top, by the time I wake up the next morning the litter has been turned by the birds. In my coop the birds are rarely in the coop during waking hours, they always and I mean always head outside at the first morning light, gotta love those foraging buckeyes!!!!