Buckeye Breed Thread

[Arielle]

Good to know--she was on my list.

 

[BlackPanther]

Would anyone be able to share John Brown's phone number with me? I would like to contact him about possibly purchasing some Buckeyes.

 

[JoshU]

Would anyone be able to share John Brown's phone number with me? I would like to contact him about possibly purchasing some Buckeyes.

http://americanbuckeyeclub.blogspot.com/p/breeders-directory.html

This Buckeye Breeder Directory doesnt have his number listed but it does have an address. There are also many other breeder contacts here as well.

 

[Marengoite]

I'm going to put this out there and see if anyone can convince me to go with the buckeyes --understand this is meant to be a bit of fun, but also a bit serious. I would like a bird that is a good forager and can hustle; I already like that the comb is small and winterproof. What I would really like to know is is the carcass worth the effort, organic aside. ANd what is the size of the egss and how frequently? I don't mind a bird that hustled it'w own grub to lay less frequently, but would like it to be decent size.

Convince me.

I just butchered some Buckeye cockerels for the first time this weekend. Put one in the crock pot before church and had chicken and noodles for dinner. Two things stood out. One was that the skin and connective tissue was so much yellower than any store bird that there was really no comparison. The fact that they ranged a good bit of their lives before finishing them up in the pen for the last month may have contributed to it. The second was that the breast was much smaller than the Cornish X and the legs and thighs much larger and darker. They were also far more flavorful than anything you get in the store. So, if you like good flavorful meat and are willing to cook it "low and slow" then Buckeyes are hard to beat.

 

[cgmccary]

Quote:
Yes, the free ranging does this to the skin. By comparison, I butchered both free range and penned cockerels -- only the free range birds are yellow like that.

I agree with all your other observations -- they are spot on (smaller breast, larger, dareker thighs, more flavorful). My taste buds have evolved to prefer Buckeye to commercial Cornish X meat & now hard for me to eat the store bought chicken. It is a texture thing.

 

[bobbi-j]

Yes, the free ranging does this to the skin. By comparison, I butchered both free range and penned cockerels -- only the free range birds are yellow like that.

I agree with all your other observations -- they are spot on (smaller breast, larger, dareker thighs, more flavorful). My taste buds have evolved to prefer Buckeye to commercial Cornish X meat & now hard for me to eat the store bought chicken. It is a texture thing.

That's because the commercial chicken doesn't have any texture...

 

[cgmccary]

I took some pictures this morning. One of my young cockerels:

 

[bigredfeather]

I have a number of egg eaters in my Buckeye flock. I know I have read about others having problems with their Buckeyes eating eggs also. Is this caused by diet? (Are they lacking something) Being bored? Other? Is there a good remedy other than culling the guilty?

 

[cgmccary]

Quote:
Increase their calcium by providing a good layer ration (& one with a little higher protein, say 20-22%) AND having crushed oyster shell available free choice. Also, collect eggs more than once each day -- removing their opportunity.

 

[cgmccary]

I often talk/ write about Buckeyes being an active forager. Here are some 13 week old Buckeye Cockerels chasing horseflies around my Dexter cows. Enjoy.