Buckeye Breed Thread

[cgmccary]

Quote: Those two pictures are the same male just from different angles. Most of mine are pastured, totally free range. there comes the time I have to pen the males as they get a little out-of-hand.

 

[cgmccary]

Quote:
I appreciate the feedback. Since I only hatch about 50-75 chicks a year and just butcher for my own table, my observations are very limited. I cannot compare myself to the breeders who hatch out so many more, and my choices (in keepers) are more narrow. It becomes even more paramount for me that I select carefully when setting up breeding pens. That is why I also keep an older flock intact & why I get a male from Don from time to time (I picked up another one from him at the Crossroads last year -- he gave me for the two pullets).

It is when you butcher them yourself that you start noticing growth rates, size of breasts, meaty vs. boney, etc. in a real sense.

I thank you for letting us know your observations as it lets me know I am at least on the right track. Up to now, I have not gotten that kind of feedback. I am sure Laura (Pathfinders) appreciates it too. I know I have been selecting by the ALBC assessment methods as well & recommend it for any breed, not just Buckeyes. Also, I like the breast meat so getting a little more up front is important to me. Having butchered some 300 Buckeyes, you can probably tell Laura and I a little more about our birds than we know.

I would also like to know more about your butchering, how you have overcome regulations, & how much your market is paying per pound, etc. The life of rearing and selling certainly appeals to me (much more than what I do for a living now). I am certainly impressed that you have a waiting list for meat. For me, the eggs are always there, and I never have a shortage so I have concentrated on making a better meat bird. When you select exclusively for eggs and the egg output increases significantly past the point of what the breed has traditionally be known for, the bird becomes more boney of course -- the carcass suffers. 200 plus or minus some eggs a year is about the benchmark for a decent carcass.

I am also interested in anything you learned from Mr. Urch. He is a man of few words which I appreciate in this day and age.

Again, thanks.

Chris McCary

 

[Arielle]

Quote:

Those two pictures are the same male just from different angles. Most of mine are pastured, totally free range. there comes the time I have to pen the males as they get a little out-of-hand.

No wonder "she" looked beefy!!! lol

You pen them about 3 months until culling ( selected for breeding,sale, dinner)?

 

[cgmccary]

Quote:
I have done both, penned them & also, raised them out on pasture (only penning them the day before butchering).

 

[Arielle]

Quote:

I have done both, penned them & also, raised them out on pasture (only penning them the day before butchering).

No grain? Really?? Summer pasture with lots of insects??

 

[cgmccary]

Quote:

oh yes, lots of insects & they follow the cows when I am treating them catching anything that hits the ground (like scavengers) -- the lush supply of insects are starting to cycle out so they are eating more feed right now day-by-day (all the more reason to have another slaughter day as some of these get the appropriate age).

I always offer feed in range feeders about the place; the geese and chickens all share the feed (19%). (The geese are mostly grazers but they partake in feed too). I notice that the chickens finish off each day with feed from the range feeders before roosting. I like those that sit down while they are eating before roosting-- those are the real growers.

 

[Arielle]

Quote:

oh yes, lots of insects & they follow the cows when I am treating them catching anything that hits the ground (like scavengers) -- the lush supply of insects are starting to cycle out so they are eating more feed right now day-by-day (all the more reason to have another slaughter day as some of these get the appropriate age).

I always offer feed in range feeders about the place; the geese and chickens all share the feed (19%). (The geese are mostly grazers but they partake in feed too). I notice that the chickens finish off each day with feed from the range feeders before roosting. I like those that sit down while they are eating before roosting-- those are the real growers.

Sorry, I don't understand. Can you explain further?

 

[cgmccary]

Sorry, I don't understand. Can you explain further?

One criteria I look at is a good eater, whether that means hustling for their own food and/ or making sure they fill up at the range feeder. Several years ago (2008), I noticed this one chick and he was always eating. Not only would he eat all the time but he'd sit down at the trough and eat. I banded him and he grew a lot faster than the others. He always got his share. He was the largest that year all the way around. Since then I will take note of the ones that come in after foraging for their food with their manure stained feet and then just plop down and eat. Those always grow the biggest. You want a good eater.

 

[Arielle]

THis is interesting! Can I ask if you feel the crops and compare bird to bird after foraging for the afternoon?

 

[cgmccary]

Quote:
No, but I can see that their crops are full. Buckeyes can really eat compared with some of the other chickens I have had.