Buckeye Breed Thread

[lynnae1]

I'm a newbie to these forums, and new to the Buckeye breed. I've been following buckeye info for several months, since around January, looking to find some chicks to buy. Many people offered hatching eggs, but I have no incubator. Or people shipping chicks need to send more than I wanted at one time. Several weeks ago, I did find some one to get some chicks from in my state, Oklahoma, but they wouldn't be available for quite some time. Then I saw a conversation about chicks between two members of this forum. One person was about hour or so drive from my place. I e-mailed and he graciously offered to sell me a few chicks he was waiting on. He hatches all with hens, so its a slow process and he is just building up his flock. I was able to get 6 Buckeye Chicks from George in Tahalequah OK. They are doing fine, and I'm so glad to have them. Most of all I am grateful for the thoughtfulness of George, who is building his flock, to have allowed me to get started in Buckeyes. I hope I will be able to do the same for some one else some day.

To George, thank you very much.

Lynnae

 

[vmdanielsen]

I have several breeds....in the end ...I think I will end up with only BUCKEYES!! They are really the best!!!

 

[brandislee]

I've been reading on this thread for a while and thought I would chime in and say hi. I got my first chickens last year (mostly hatchery birds, standard stuff like barred rock and EE's). Then over this past winter I decided I want to focus on one or two breeds of chickens. After much research I settled on Buckeyes as one of these breeds. I was able to find a breeder nearby and I got my first 10 Buckeye chicks at the end of april.

And I immediately saw what everyone means when they say Buckeyes are "different." They are the friendliest chicks I have ever seen. They always run to me when I go in the run, and when they were little and I stuck my hands in the brooder they would always mob me. Now they're 10 and 11 (three were a week old when I got them) weeks old, the cockerels are starting to crow, and they're starting to make a lot of noises other than "cheep cheep." It wasn't until after I got the chicks and was doing more research that I learned that Buckeyes have a wider range of vocalizations than most other chickens. I think that's super cool

Anyway, I have a question. Is it a mistake for me to make a choice on the cock I keep this early? Or more specifically, is it a mistake to eliminate one this early? I have a friend who got chickens for the first time this year and she really wants to keep a rooster just for the benefit of having one (to watch out for her hens, and because she really enjoys my adult roosters). Since I know I'll be culling all but one or two of the roosters (and I believe I have 4, although I know I can't be sure yet), so I offered to sell her one of of mine. Well, her girls are getting big enough and we both figure the sooner we get them all together the better. But now I have to choose, and that's hard, especially for a newbie. I've been going over the Buckeye SOP, but it's not easy to decode for someone who is new to the breed. One of the (many) things I'm not clear on is the "beak- yellow shaded with red horn." I would appreciate a picture if anyone happens to have one to show what this looks like. All of my cocks have beaks that are mostly dark on the tops, and yellow around the mouth.

This isn't the best picture (I need to take some more) and I'm pretty sure this one is a hen, but most of their beaks are colored like this:

 

[brandislee]

Nevermind, I found a good explanation of the Buckeye SOP on the ABC website...

 

[Blueface]

Nevermind, I found a good explanation of the Buckeye SOP on the ABC website...

It's a great site, very well put together. Links to the facebook and yahoo sites. More pictures will be added, so everyone visit often. The facebook group is really booming, I beleive there is well over 100 members. Good place to bounce ideas off of people and share all types of poultry focusing on the buckeye breed, but not limited to it.

 

[cgmccary]

Quote:
IMHO, it is a mistake to be selecting your first years in Buckeyes based upon color of beak, solid yellow coloring in legs, plumage color, shape of comb, etc. Instead, select for overall size and body type (shape of the body underneath the feathers) first. It is easy for a beginner to see only color or comb shape, etc. and only takes a 2-3 generations to fix color and such, but you may never recover good body shape. It has happened to a lot of other breeds.

The best information for selecting for body shape is on the ALBC's website (American Livestock Breeds Conservancy). They have some free downloads on making the selections based upon body shape. These ALBC handouts are based upon Walter Hogan's "Call of the Hen," 1919 (which I think is available online for all to read through google books). Most important in selecting Buckeyes for conformation are width of skull, pelvic spread, width of back, front of the bird, pelvic/keel spread, width between the legs and heart girth. I am still in my first years of breeding, and I select for these things. Like you, I bred other breeds of chickens until I got a pair of Buckeyes in 2005 and hatched some eggs in 2006, decided I liked the breed so I added additional stock in 2007 and begin breeding them. I eventually got rid of my other breeds through the years (except for a few game hens I keep for additional free range broodies). I hatch out small numbers each year (less than 50) due to my demanding day job (I lack the time), so selection, for me, becomes all that more critical. We eat our culls.

I encourage keeping your cockerels a little while longer than normal so you can witness yourself how they flesh out and mature (always being observant to what you are seeing).
http://books.google.com/books?id=JS...DgQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Call of the hen&f=false
Good Luck to You!

 

[brandislee]

Thanks, that's really good advice. I've been wondering about that, because obviously I'm not going to have anything near the ideal in a first group, even though they are from a responsible breeder who got them from Duane Urch himself (I didn't realize he was a Minnesotan until I talked to her when I picked up my birds). I'm actually not that worried about accidentally giving my friend the best rooster- she lives a mile away, and when I hand it over I'm going to add a little disclaimer similar to what purebred dog breeders do, that I reserve the right to breed the rooster back to my hens at my discretion, with the only issue being re-introducing a rooster. But I am pretty sure I'm going to bring in a new rooster next year anyway just to increase genetic diversity, so it may not even be an issue.

I need to start going to some poultry shows just to get more of an idea as to what is the physical ideal. It's so hard to envision just from descriptions or even from photos. What is the etiquette at shows? I know most chicken people are probably jazzed to show off their birds, but is it inappropriate to ask to feel the birds? It's hard to tell body type just by looking.

 

[JoshU]

I am picking up some 9 week old buckeyes tonite. Can anyone tell me anything that i should look out for to reject any of the birds? I am intending to use these for breeding. They are second generation. Im just wondering if there are any traits that are going to show up this early that are allready cull worthy. The guy i am getting them from hatched a large group for the fair and has plenty of them and extras. I am getting a fair price but want to make sure i am not getting a bunch of culls.

 

[cgmccary]

Quote:
It is difficult to get what I would call bad Buckeyes so you should be in good shape. In the 37 chicks I am currently raising, I see one I know is going to be what I call a '"dwarf" (or midget). There will always be one or two in a sizeable batch that are just plain undersize -- like half-the-size of their same age clutchmates. It just happens. The "dwarf" will never get the size it should be. If the dwarf is a pullet & severely undersized, then she will almost always die by the time she is one year old or so. Other than a "dwarf" chick, if your 9 week olds appear alert & healthy, I think you are good to go.

 

[JoshU]

It is difficult to get what I would call bad Buckeyes so you should be in good shape. In the 37 chicks I am currently raising, I see one I know is going to be what I call a '"dwarf" (or midget). There will always be one or two in a sizeable batch that are just plain undersize -- like half-the-size of their same age clutchmates. It just happens. The "dwarf" will never get the size it should be. If the dwarf is a pullet & severely undersized, then she will almost always die by the time she is one year old or so. Other than a "dwarf" chick, if your 9 week olds appear alert & healthy, I think you are good to go.

Thanks. That is what i was thinking but just wanted to make sure. The seller seems legit but ya never know nowadays. He wasnt planning on selling juvies but wont have chicks for another 2 weeks so i asked if he had any older. He said actually his fair hatch is doing great and was willing to sell them. Wish me luck.