Gresh: Please tell me his weakpoints and strong points. He is about seven months old.
Nice cockerel & especially for 7 months old. I can only tell so much without hands-on (only way to really tell).
Strong points: he carries his wing properly (this I really like seeing); good body depth and overall shape; leg length & leg color are perfect; shank size looks good; tail angle looks right.
Weak points: bird doesn't appear to have many weak points for a 7 month old. He'd be a keeper with me. However, I'd like to feel his heart girth, know his skull width (his head "appears" a little small in comparison to his body but I would need to see it from above -- I like a thick brow above the eye); I'd like to know his weight. His color is decent but I'd never choose on color as I have said many, many times.
Select for
1. Type; 2. Type 3. Type 4. Size (heart girth, weight, skull width) 5. vigor -- these are the things to select in that order. I also never keep a bird that is a man-fighter. As a result, all my cockerels are very gentle.
bobbi-j: Other than personal preference, is there another reason to feed Buckeyes game feed instead of regular chicken feed?
No reason that it should be game feed & not a personal preference for me (just no other choice). The reason I use Purina's Game Bird Chow Startena is because it is the only Chick Starter I can find that has >27% protein consisting of both animal & plant protein (it has 30% protein), and it is unmedicated. There is no reason you can't feed your Buckeye chicks regular 16% Starter; they will be just fine. They will be good birds. However, if you want to achieve optimum growth & size in your Buckeyes, then they need a Starter with a higher protein (at least 28% is best) for about their first 8-12 weeks. After that, protein % needs to be brought down to any other feed levels. For me I feed the Game Bird Chow Conditioner (19%), and it has both animal and plant protein.
Is there a chick starter which is not a game bird feed that has my protein requirement? If you know of one, tell me and I will just as quick to switch if it is cheaper (and has SOME animal protein derivatives), but I have not seen such a Starter. The other chick starters available around me all average 16% & all are medicated which is simply not acceptable for my standards, that's all.
Ga-goat: has feathers on the legs
Ga-goat: Will you send me a PM on here and tell me from whom you got your Buckeyes with this problem? I have heard of "feathers on the legs" from only ONE breeder, and I would like to know if it is the same one (but PLEASE keep the name off the forum, just Private Mssg me)
