Surviving Minnesota!

[hmarg06]

Hmarg how do you like your Buckeyes? I have Buckeyes from some great breeding stock and I love them. BUT I am not happy with my babies from this year. I have found some white on the young cockerels and am hoping they grow out of it. If not I guess I will send them to new homes.... I do have some nice pullets though...

Never have had adult wyandottes... Probably never will.

I'll keep you in mind as being a breeder as well. It's nice to know there are plenty of people in the state with nice birds!

As for the Wyandotte's, I love how calm they are for the most part. They are annoyingly broody though and hard to break sometimes, otherwise I'd get more eggs I think. I'm a color person, and end up breeding for color breeds, vs function, like meat/eggs etc. Same reason I got into Nigerian Dwarf goats, much smaller, but come in every color haha. I did pick Wyandotte's for their color, but they are more dual purpose than the Old English Bantams I had by far.

The buckeyes were supposed to be my practical choice. Feisty (spunky?), slower growing, but better quality meat. Also, slightly less to focus on in the color area.

 

[BantyChooks]

I'll keep you in mind as being a breeder as well. It's nice to know there are plenty of people in the state with nice birds!

As for the Wyandotte's, I love how calm they are for the most part. They are annoyingly broody though and hard to break sometimes, otherwise I'd get more eggs I think. I'm a color person, and end up breeding for color breeds, vs function, like meat/eggs etc. Same reason I got into Nigerian Dwarf goats, much smaller, but come in every color haha. I did pick Wyandotte's for their color, but they are more dual purpose than the Old English Bantams I had by far.

The buckeyes were supposed to be my practical choice. Feisty (spunky?), slower growing, but better quality meat. Also, slightly less to focus on in the color area.

Get Chanteclers. They're Canadian so they're better.
Plus, they come in Partridge.

Kidding. Buckeyes look like really useful birds that are good in cold weather.

 

[duluthralphie]

I did send a message to the e-mail on Urch's site, or list, about getting some Buckeyes, but never got a response, and it was probably too late in the year anyway. I just ordered some from Meyer instead. I'd rather have non hatchery stock at some point though, they seem smaller than what I thought they'd be. They are pretty obnoxious really, in an endearing way. I'm always tripping over them, and they seem to want to bite my clothing. It's the cockerels that do it, and it doesn't seem to be aggressive. It's more like they're playing with my pants? They just peck and grab them lightly, more like a nibble, than a peck.

I'm fine with eating the extra Buckeye cockerels, but I haven't been able to eat any of Wyandottes. They come from great blood, and are so pretty, it kills me to think about eating them. I have 2 hens, and 7 roosters/cockerels, it's ridiculous. They really aren't that hard on the hens even oddly. They are all so gentlemen-ly I just can't do it I started with a dozen and had 7 hens and 5 roosters, but somehow every one I lost was a hen. Even more aggravating, everything I hatch turns out to be a cockerel

Getting birds or eggs from Urch can be a Pain. They are quite elderly, and for me to say that, you know they are up there. I personally am right behind EJB in age and he is pushing 100 as I recall....

You have to call them between I think 6-7pm on week nights. They do not have email as far as I know. I keep hearing rumors one of their children are taking over but so far it has not happened. I am a tad worried about his health as he was not at the MPA Show a couple weeks ago. A few of us have his lines, or they were his lines before we messed with them.

I do not have his buckeyes, I tried but with no success Minnie or Holm is your best bet there.

 

[duluthralphie]

Get Chanteclers. They're Canadian so they're better.
Plus, they come in Partridge.

Kidding. Buckeyes look like really useful birds that are good in cold weather.

Them I have!!!!



Today's Freeloader count is HIGH...

I had 1 turkey egg, 1 Dom egg and 1 PC egg... I had a toad egg but it was frozen and cracked open.

I am more convinced than before I have a badly behaving egg eating SS!!

 

[BantyChooks]

Them I have!!!!



Today's Freeloader count is HIGH...

I had 1 turkey egg, 1 Dom egg and 1 PC egg... I had a toad egg but it was frozen and cracked open.

I am more convinced than before I have a badly behaving egg eating SS!!

Chicken soup time.

 

[hmarg06]

When I was younger in 4-H we used to get some birds from him. I think that may be where I got my Mottled Javas from? I ended up with only a pair, we had some kind of illness wipe out the rest. The cockerel had a huge comb and they put him in a too short cage at the fair and he destroyed it. We were too naive to ask for a bigger cage. Of course when it came time for judging they took his destroyed comb into account and he got reserve or something not Grand, otherwise I'm sure he would have won. Just the usual kind of bad luck I have haha. I don't think they lived through the winter. We had some bad luck that year with some of our birds. We used to have bantam Wyandottes that we did very well with in 4-H as well, but I think they were from a fellow named Mort, something like that? My mom remembers all the names, but I never really paid attention to the people much I guess, I was too into the birds haha. I forced all my siblings to do poultry longer than they wanted because we always had some because of me. We never did order from hatcheries for 4-H, I guess there were enough people with good stock around us, we always did ok.

There is an e-mail that I found, but it must not be checked much, or at all. My mom remembered the calling only between certain hours part though!

 

[duluthralphie]

Chicken soup time.

Nope, she will be moving back in the sloped wire floored cage and risking bumblefoot... She is such a good looking bird and it is her and her pullet that took RB and BB. I will let cuddles have his way with her once a week and steal her eggs as they roll away from her until she dies of Staff Infection....and that will teach her sorry butt...

 

[duluthralphie]

And another thing!!!! @holm25 I want my money back on that cat you sold me that split in half....(Grey cat)... I just caught her walking up the driveway with a mouse from the neighbors place! Her job is not to relocate rodents from there to here!!

PAY UP NOW...or I will contact the BBB!

 

[hmarg06]

Get Chanteclers. They're Canadian so they're better.
Plus, they come in Partridge.

Kidding. Buckeyes look like really useful birds that are good in cold weather.

I'm not overly fond of partridge anymore, that's what we used to have for Bantam Wyandotte's and I loved it, we had really nice ones too. I really am into laced colors in general, but not ones that have more than one line of lacing. I doubt that's the correct terminology though, oops. Anything that's cold hardy and small combed is right up my alley though. I hate frozen combs! They would probably hate me for making them live in MN, and I couldn't bear all that resentment! We'll see on these Buckeyes, maybe they'll be wimps since they are hatchery and all.

 

[I Love Layers]

Saw about 12 deer thia afternoon, just scouting.
2 bucks, and 10 does. All of the does are big and fat, same with the bucks. The one buck seemed to be a large 3×3, tomorrow morning we are getting up and going to one of our spots to try and spot some bigger ones early on