Buckeye Breed Thread

[Sstymie]

Sorry, just trying to start a flock. I have read lots about the Buckeyes and want to raise them for eggs. I can't find a place anywhere to get just pullets. Any help? Looking for 12 for myself and 5 for a neighbor. Thought I found a place to order them and did then a few days later they said they couldn't fill the order for so many.

 

[cgmccary]

I'll PM you the strain.

 

[Stuck in the Coop]

Question for the experts - if I am seeing a white feather tip at about 4 months, is this cause for concern or could it be molted and never return?

 

[Gresh]

Question for the experts - if I am seeing a white feather tip at about 4 months, is this cause for concern or could it be molted and never return?

Hey, my cockerel has what you described, too. He has about four small, pure-white feathers about half an inch behind his comb. He's had that since about four months, and he's like 8-9 months old now. Of course, my cockerel is a hatchery bird. He has good type, so I am told, but he's got some color problems

 

[bigzio]

One or more entirely white feather showing in the plumage are a disqualification...don't know about the molt helping in the bucks though. hope that helps?

bigz

 

[jenjscott]

At four months, I would say wait and see.

 

[poltroon]

This year, I have one of my 3 year old buckeye hens showing some white-tipped feathers. She never had any white before. I am seeing white tipped feathers in a couple of other pens of chickens of different breeds this year, all ages (older and younger), when I've never had any, and I'm wondering if it could be a nutritional issue. I didn't change feeds any more than normal, but of course the feeds change on us all the time, especially when the costs change, and they don't usually jump up and tell us so. In horses, I've definitely seen feed make a difference in white hairs.

 

[poltroon]

Are the Buckeye good layes??duel puropse?? lage eggs?? color of eggs???????weight?????

In addition to what cgmccary wrote, I would say that Buckeyes are a nice egg laying choice for a free range setup. They love to free range and are very friendly, personable birds. If you will be feeding them out of a bag exclusively, and if you are trying to have a large flock for egg production, they will probably not be as economical a choice as another breed. They won't lay as many eggs nor as young as some others.

I quite like ours.

 

[cgmccary]

Quote:
Yes, older birds sometimes will grow a white feather or partly white where it did not have one in years previous. And yes, the humidity of grain in feed can actually effect by causing black specks and other things nutritionally can cause this. Feed makes a difference.

I would not be alarmed by a partly white feather or even a DQ white feather if the bird was of good type, good weight and healthy. I would use the bird one time in breeding if it had particular strong qualities elsewhere or had something else I needed. If the bird with a white adult feather in its first year was average or I had other birds of like quality, then obviously I would cull that bird. If a pullet, it would matter less to me if she had a white feather.

 

[poltroon]

Just came back from APPBA (is that right, I always forget xD) poultry show; it was the first chicken 'show' I have ever went to, even though no birds were showed, I learned a lot. I searched around for Buckeyes, found about three pairs of Buckeye bantams for sale, wasn't sure about them.
For the exhibition, which was rather pitiful, I found only one Buckeye pullet. And she was right next to the RIR's; is that how they're classified? With the RIR's? Buckeyes are nothing like RIR's. I was a disappointed in not finding as much Buckeye's as I had hoped; I guess not many people around here breed them. That's kinda sad. :/

There was only the one lonely Buckeye at Stockton Pacific Poultry Breeder's Assn show - if I had realized that the whole American group was going to be so thinly attended, we might have made the effort to bring some of my daughter's birds. There were only 4 large Wyandottes, too.

Last weekend we attended the APA Junior show at the Cloverdale Fair. My daughter had planned to bring the Buckeye cock that she's been showing, but we had a mishap trimming his toenails and decided it would be better to leave him at home this time, so at the last minute she picked out one of his pullet daughters. The pullet was the only Buckeye at the show, but she ended up Reserve Champion American in a group of about a dozen large fowl. The judge clearly spent some time with his book open and looking at her closely, really thinking out his choice between the Buckeye and my daughter's Wyandotte hen for reserve before choosing the Buckeye. She's a good bird, not brilliant, but obviously nice enough, and we're doing our part here to show off the Buckeye breed.



What I appreciate most about the Buckeyes is that this pullet has been out and about, enjoying the grass and the land, that she's pleasant to be around and is easy to handle, and that she took this whole event in stride and showed well even though all we've done with her is let her be a chicken.