Buckeye Breed Thread

[cgmccary]

Quote:
I'd start with a couple of trios & breed them.

 

[Marengoite]

Hello everybody curious if you can answer a question for me. I live out hear in northern Utah and have been looking for some buckeye chicks to start a small addition to my flock. I have looked on the buckeye poultry club website under breeders and noticed that there are no breeders close by (Utah or Idaho). Wondering if any body has any idea if there are some out this way that just aren't listed yet. I have found one breeder down in Salt Lake but was looking for another so I could add another strain or line to the flock without inbreeding them. Was hoping to avoid having to order 25 birds and pay shipping when I only want a couple and was hoping maybe a local breeder would be more flexible on this. Thanks for any and all help on this one.

You might try Karen Bratcher. She's in Coer d'Alene, Idaho. Rockin' R Ranch used to have Buckeyes but are confining themselves to Delawares at the moment. You might contact them and see where their Buckeyes went: http://www.rockinr-ranch.com/chickens.html

 

[karenbrat1]

Thanks for the plug, Marengoite, but this year I am working to build up my flock from the Shumaker trio I purchased last fall (now only a pair as one died) and have nothing for sale til next year :-( Also, I'm in way NORTHERN Idaho... a 9+ hour drive from the top of Utah I think swiftra was looking for something closer.

Swiftra, you might want to consider ordering a batch of chicks from Jeff Lay www.crainsrunranch.com, if you can't find any nearby you should be able to sell the extras with little difficulty. Jeff also sells hatching eggs

You might try Karen Bratcher. She's in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Rockin' R Ranch used to have Buckeyes but are confining themselves to Delawares at the moment. You might contact them and see where their Buckeyes went: http://www.rockinr-ranch.com/chickens.html

 

[tandersphoenix]

We've been getting some nice days in this month, they have really been enjoying the sunshine!

 

[swiftra]

Thanks for all the suggestions everybody.

Karen you are right I was looking for something a little closer 9 hours is a little too much to drive. Probably would end up spending almost as much in gas as I would in just shipping

. Maybe keep me in mind when you get your flock built up though.

Ryan

 

[chickiemomy]

I saw something on the net, from the google search for 'feather sexing', that mentioned something called 'finger sexing', where one compares the width of their finger to the width of the pubic bone and determines sex that way. Has anybody heard of or tried it? Does it work? I think I could improve the size of my birds by separating the sexes and culling the smallest chicks of each sex, giving the largest more food and room, and preventing the smaller females from having to physically compete with the larger males.

Apologies if there was an answer to this - I didn't see it -- (am working my way backward on this thread -- after reading 200+ pages going forward --am getting bleary-eyed)

How would the hatcheries sex these chicks? -I bot 2 maybe week old buckeye chicks from a feed store last spring - sold as & were pullets.This is just curiosity - have no immediate need - but see on the thread this is difficult for buckeyes & wondered.

Love the buckeyes - also have black australorps & gold sex-links (would not buy GSL again) -- backyard only - bot for egg & garden manure - the chicks have become entertaining pets with more personality than I ever thought. The australorps are my hawk & eagle alarm system - very loud & very cool. But the Buckeyes are my favorites. Trouble would jump up to me from the brooder & was the only one who figured out how to get out - found her walking around 'mars' calling to her broodmates to join her more than once. When I was able to allow them to free range (coyote, or bobcat took one of the GSL's - midday & near the house - am rethinking fencing & protection) Trouble led the rest exploring all over our 5 acres.

sorry for the digression -- I do love my buckeyes - was just curious about the day-old sexing thing...

thanks to all you very patient & very knowledgeable Buckeye breeders for answering all the questions - sometimes the same questions over & over - with so much - well -- patience & good nature. have learned a lot from you all.

 

[cgmccary]

Apologies if there was an answer to this - I didn't see it -- (am working my way backward on this thread -- after reading 200+ pages going forward --am getting bleary-eyed)

How would the hatcheries sex these chicks? -I bot 2 maybe week old buckeye chicks from a feed store last spring - sold as & were pullets.This is just curiosity - have no immediate need - but see on the thread this is difficult for buckeyes & wondered.

Love the buckeyes - also have black australorps & gold sex-links (would not buy GSL again) -- backyard only - bot for egg & garden manure - the chicks have become entertaining pets with more personality than I ever thought. The australorps are my hawk & eagle alarm system - very loud & very cool. But the Buckeyes are my favorites. Trouble would jump up to me from the brooder & was the only one who figured out how to get out - found her walking around 'mars' calling to her broodmates to join her more than once. When I was able to allow them to free range (coyote, or bobcat took one of the GSL's - midday & near the house - am rethinking fencing & protection) Trouble led the rest exploring all over our 5 acres.

sorry for the digression -- I do love my buckeyes - was just curious about the day-old sexing thing...

thanks to all you very patient & very knowledgeable Buckeye breeders for answering all the questions - sometimes the same questions over & over - with so much - well -- patience & good nature. have learned a lot from you all.

Ivagrove brings up an interesting point. By using a combination of chick width of comb space, wing pin-feathers and a little later chick-growth rate, sometimes I think I am on to something but the truth is I am probably as many times wrong as right. I think I will add to the mix Ivagrove's suggestion of pubic bone width and see if that makes me any more accurate. I agree with the idea of giving them more room to grow and opportunity to eat more when they are younger. Sometimes, I have split off the ones who seem to eat more & growing better and that has provedd successful -- here I am speaking of what I have alluded to before about giving them the best possible environment to become their best.

 

[AinaWGSD]

How would the hatcheries sex these chicks? -I bot 2 maybe week old buckeye chicks from a feed store last spring - sold as & were pullets.This is just curiosity - have no immediate need - but see on the thread this is difficult for buckeyes & wondered.

sorry for the digression -- I do love my buckeyes - was just curious about the day-old sexing thing...

Hatcheries use vent sexing to sex day old chicks. It's a specialized skill that takes a lot of practice to learn and can be stressful for the chicks, which is why most smaller breeders and poultry enthusiasts do not use this method. The rest of us just wait for the secondary sex characteristics to develop, which can be a few weeks for some breeds/individuals or right up until the first crow/egg at a few months for others. I do find it a fun guessing game. I'm on my first Buckeye hatch, so I'm still learning the specifics for this breed. At 4-5 weeks I have two right now that I'm strongly thinking are cockerels, but nothing that really makes me think the other 5 are all pullets. With my Ameraucana/easter egger hatch last spring I felt confident enough at 6 weeks to sell the extra pullets and I was lucky enough to have guessed correctly on all of them.

 

[vmdanielsen]

dirty jobs did an episode on vent sexing......type.... dirty jobs chick sexing..... into your search engine. It doesn't help most of us, but is was interesting.

 

[Pathfinders]

I am looking for some real Heritage Breed Buckeyes. For 4 years I have raised, hatched, reared, hybrids and hatchery birds. I have no idea what the expense is of starting with Heritage birds as I have hatched mine or picked up here and there. I market free ranged eggs, Freedom Ranger meat birds, and Heritage Breed Tamworth hogs.

Looks like it is just as easy to raise an endangered species as it is a regular bird, so I think I would like to start a fresh flock this sporing and finish the change late this summer once these are laying.

I am looking at about 60 hens and about 6 Roosters.

Should I start with 120 eggs and hatch them, or buy a few birds and breed them?

Any recommendations for a good breeder in east central Ohio?

If I am going to do this, I want to do it right.

I have a large incubator as in 300 eggs at a time, and am trying to watch my expenses.

Thanks,
Shawn

I would suggest starting with chicks and working your way from there. If you are in Ohio, there are a number of breeders of Buckeyes in Ohio (and surrounding areas, chicks can be shipped from just about anywhere, fwiw) who could ship you a box or two of chicks to get you started.

See this list of breeders who could help you on your way: http://www.americanbuckeyepoultryclub.com/Breeders.html