Buckeye Breed Thread

[punky rooster]

Quote:
Once they start getting hackle & saddle feathers, you will know for sure. My older chicks are about 7 and a half weeks old and I am guessing that I have three males and three females. The males don't have a much redder comb, but their feet are bigger and thicker and their skulls are also thicker.

I had my chicks ranging a little today, they seemed to enjoy it. Wish I had the space to allow them to range all the time.

Buckeyes sure are awesome, inside & out. You got to love 'em.

Mitch

 

[thewobsers]

Hi all i just bought some buckeye chicks, they are 2 weeks old. As this is my dream come true now and i have not had this breed- have/had RIRs, delawares,barred rock,golden laced wyandottes, comets, bantams, black australorps and white javas so i am learning about the buckeyes...
I wondered why the difference in color of the chicks, some are blonder in color maybe even pure yellow, and some are a nice choc brown to light brown. Does it mean some are not true buckeyes? These are the John Brown line by the way. I am so thrilled to finally have some buckeyes and hope you all will give me some of your wisdom and experience. What characteristics should i look for in these as they start to mature for roosters to keep and hens too? I see that some have said that more than one roo isnt a problem is that with everyone or just a few? we arent planning on showing anytime in the near future, these are purely for laying eggs and for our children to enjoy their company. Do we need to feed them differently than our other chickens? We feed game bird feed that we get from the local co-op as well as any bugs we catch or scraps of veggies etc to everyone right now.


Thanks have a wonderful evening.

 

[bigzio]

Evening All...yep the ones with the heavy shanks do have a brighter red comb for the most part, but like you said Chris not 100%.
My flock is also both the dark and lighter color. I'll have to take some picks next week to share. WE have the Wi byc bash this week end, so I'm kinda busy with that. Both roo's that I kept are very man friendly....they fought for months before they would tolerate each other. It was serious at times....they finally do have it figured out...my flock free ranges during the day. That helped some.

I'm going to share 3 pullets and a cockeral with a fellow cheesehead. I'll have 9 left to watch and decide who stays and is added to the flock.

 

[Quirky]

Do we need to feed them differently than our other chickens? We feed game bird feed that we get from the local co-op as well as any bugs we catch or scraps of veggies etc to everyone right now.

I am new to Buckeyes, as well, but my understanding is that they require more protein than other breeds for optimum growth. I feed my Buckeye chicks turkey/pheasant starter with 28% protein. The table scraps are good, too. I watch them, of course, b/c fat hens aren't what I'm after.

Others can speak to your questions about what to look for in a keeper. I just got my copy of the Standard of Perfection, and I have to say the illustrations aren't terribly helpful to a new person. But there are good photos of excellent birds out there. Study those when you can.

 

[wyoDreamer]

I am very interested in the Buckeye breed, as they seem to be the type I am looking for, if I can believe most of why you fanatics say!

- dual purpose, hardy, good foragers, entertaining, personable, pretty ...

One question that I have: how is the carcase when you butcher the extras? do they have a decent meat mass to them?
OK, two questions: at what age could I expect a to get a decent carcase from extra roos?

 

[punky rooster]

Quote:
Yes, males at 16 weeks should present a decent sized carcase. Put it this way, a 16 week old Buckeye cockerel should be between 5 and 6 pounds live weight.

 

[BuckeyeDave]

6 Days without a post????

HOW ABOUT THEM BUCKEYES!!!!!

 

[Quirky]

6 Days without a post????

Well, I'll have a post when I get a few more birds.....

I am still deciding who's a pullet and who isn't in my batch of 7 nine-week-olds. At this point, my eyes are starting to cross looking for signs of cockerel-ness. I'll just have to wait for eggs.​

 

[BeckyBird]

Hi everyone! I wanted to show off my young Buckeyes

These were hatched from eggs I purchased on BYC, from Faykokowv.
I have 4 Buckeyes, and if I like them, I'll probably be looking for more eggs in the future (you know, for breeding and stuff.)

These are some funny pictures of the little Bucks.....they wanted to get back in the cage lol!

 

[punky rooster]

Quote:
What do you mean by "if I like them"? You'll LOVE them! Congrats on your baby Buckeyes.

Mitch