Buckeye Breed Thread

[buffalogal]

I prefer to keep birds that were either hatched very early in the year, or very late. Yes, you have to brood them longer, and yes, comparatively speaking they may take longer to mature. But once they start to work they tend to molt fast and will be laying into the winter when eggs are most welcome.

Even the Sparrow lays eggs in the spring.

 

[jenjscott]

According to the chicken calculator, the buckeye roo x delaware hen should be sex linked. That's all I know about it!

 

[punky rooster]

Quote:
Did you use the red columbian (RIR) option? I will try with that thing.........

 

[JoAnn_WI_4-H_Mom]

There was a question on why I was disappointed with the Buckeyes I have and where I got them. No one from BYC is guilty of giving me inferior birds!

Our roo is from purchased and shipped hatching eggs. He is a beautiful deep color and we have loved watching him fill out. However, he is rough with the girls, not particularly protective of them, and human aggressive. He also high-steps, like he is not certain the ground is not closer to his body, or that it will not drop out from underneath him (it just might if he flogs me again).
His pullet hatch mate died of internal laying.

Our hens are from Sand Hill, and I suspect but do not know that their original stock is from Duane Urch. However, their color is faded looking and their body size is small and not quite to type. They do not seem to have the "Buckeye" personality we observed in the ones we hatched from eggs.

We hatched some chicks anyway in Feb. One of them just never grew, very strange. It stayed tiny and downy while its hatchmates towered over it and feathered out. Eventually it died at 4 weeks. The rest of the hatch are thriving.

So I am just a little nervous about propagating from our current birds. It seems there are many of much better stock out there, so over the course of this summer we will probably make some changes.

Love the Buckeye breed and want to have some better ones!

 

[BuckeyeDave]

Quote:
Propagating for show birds you probably wont be successful but propagating for great barnyard egg layers you will have great success. I don't think anyone can guarantee a show winner from their flock (if they do don't believe them). Adhering to the SOP for propagation of the buckeye breed is important if you are selling the chicks as buckeyes but for hen fruit for the fridge does it really matter if they are show winners? I think not.

Don't be so hung up on the perfect specimen if you aren't showing or selling. When you want to add some chicks pickup some from a small breeder.

 

[HallFamilyFarm]

Quote:
You can start where you are at with what you have. Read http://www.albc-usa.org/EducationalResources/downloads.html the entire page and all links. This is how the ALBC restored the Buckeye to what it was supposed to be. As for your mean male. We had a mean male. I taught my 9 year old son how to tame him. Buck went on to win at several shows. He is still the gentlest bird we have. Jahdan picks him up anywhere he wants. Jen had him in a breeding pen and seldom handled him. He was well cared for, just not a show bird. It took Jahdan about two weeks to eat out of his hand. Buck hatched from some of Buckeyedave's eggs.

Now we are starting with another cockerel. Jahdan bought him with his own money from....Jen. She is a softy when it comes to the 4H members. "Abe" is a Pathfinder's hatched cockerel. Abe was running with several other cockerels and headed to a possible guest invitation for Sunday dinner. You just can't keep them all! Jen picked this one out just for Jahdan. After a week, Abe is eating out of Jahdan's hands!

Mean males are easy to tame and train. We place them in a standard outdoor rabbit hutch. Not much room for them to wonder around. Then only feed them from a cup we are holding. When they get hungry enough, they will eat. After a few days, just feed in the palm of the hand. Then carry the male under your arm while you do your other chores. After a few days they start likeing the extra attention. especially the special meals. We have about 100# of stale pecans still in the shells. Jahdan is cracking them and hand feeding the pecans to Abe. Yesterday Abe "escaped". Jahdan reached down and picked him up and placed him back in his hutch. Abe is more gentle than Buck.

I may start renting Jahdan out for rooster training!

 

[Pathfinders]

Jim is certainly more tolerant than I am of mean males. My rule is, mean males make good soup. I generally have enough "extra" males that I can cull pretty hard with the males.

And I'm with Dave, I have some older hens I've kept just because. One of our oldest birds is 8 this year, she still lays the odd egg every now and then, we know it's her as she's the only Easter Egger we have left, and her eggs are green. Dear Griselda, I'd never think of culling her. She's earned her place just through stamina I think!

 

[HallFamilyFarm]

I was about 12 years old. My niece was given two Easter chicks at a WalMart. When they out grew the box in the house, they became mine. Two white leghorn hybrid roosters. Mean as snot! They were best friends. Hung out together. Did everything together. About six months later one of them jumped me as I was leaving the coop. Without thinking, I kicked him across the coop. He jumped up and came again. Caught him in mid air and that was it! SNAP! Got teh shovel and dug a hole. His "brother" watched the whole thing. The next afternoon as I was leaving teh coop here he came. i turned just in time to catch him in mid air. SNAP! He went to reside with his brother! Have never liked a leghorn since. Not much for white chickens. Guess I have became a bit more tolerant since my youth.

 

[JoAnn_WI_4-H_Mom]

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I have never meet a mature human friendly leghorn rooster. Too many childhood memories of my own, I will never raise leghorns.

My 5-wk old Spec Sussex cockerels are already having it out in the brooder. The Buckey male from the same hatch is bigger and just tries to keep out of the way. I think those Sussex have some leghorn in them....

 

[knittychickadee]

Broody and babies, 1 week old yesterday.