The Buckeye Thread

[buffalogal]

Buckeyechicken, I've found there are alot of things that our Grandparents did that if followed today wouldn't be as practical. Sadly, the days of the healthy 25¢ chicks from a hatchery are long gone, at least at the level that most individuals would be purchasing them. Of course, you can still find bargain basement birds at auctions and swap meets and such, but since the health is so often questionable, often as not they are no bargain. For the most part, breeders of heritage fowl want their birds to be self reproducing, they want to eliminate having to start all over every year. In that sense, I think what Knitty was pointing out is that putting a priority on eating eggs over live chicks would be a false economy, especially considering the cost of a dozen eggs vs the price of a dozen chicks.

 

[sahmhomesteader]

Since they want a Buckeye that will gain weight well with a lot of foraging and go broody and raise chicks, that may not be the direction they want to go.

sahmhomesteader- Find a breeder that raises Buckeyes the way you want to. If you want good foragers, birds that gain weight well while pastured, and are good broodies and mothers, then ask specific questions. I have found that some lines just do not compare to others in this regard. Some people only pasture their youngsters, find someone that pastures adults also. If you want good broodies and mothers, you want to find someone that actually raises chicks with broodies so you know that line you get is successful in that area. Some breeders are against broodiness and  try to breed it out. You may get lucky and get one, you may not. Ask about growth rates at different ages. Some lines rate of growth are really slow, they may be a pound behind at the same age as another. Important if you'd like to butcher some at 16 wks instead of waiting til they are 24 wks. They cost more per lb to raise the older they get. Anyways, these are my thoughts on the subject, hope they help you find a good breeder.

Thank you.

 

[buffalogal]

...argue with a telephone pole ...

Why would anyone do that?

 

[007medic]

...my grandpa would feed the chickens every day with a little scratch, layer pellets and oyster shells. He also made sure they had fresh water. The rest of the day they would forage around in the yard, and at night they would go to the coop. Yes the dogs was in the yard running with the chickens. He would worm them once a year if they needed it with a wormer and that is if they slowed down on laying. He never worried about sour crop, bumble foot or anything else, and the chickens had to survive on their own. We always had fresh eggs, and a chicken to eat on Sundays. -edited for brevity

This is largely our approach down here to raising birds with a few tweaks. It should be pointed out that your grandpa practiced what I would call 'responsible husbandry'. Balanced diet, fresh water, plenty of exercise and intervention (ie worming) if necessary. IMO, keeping a clean place, good food, good water, good living conditions -these are THE most important things in preventing disease and hardship with stock.

Of course as good stewards, we do study how to recognize and intervene should disease strike. There's something to be said for respecting the lives that you steward and honoring the responsibility that partners with that stewardship. Here's a for instance: we had both a choice cockerel and a pullet (not designated for freezer camp) go down with Marek's a couple of years back. Study allowed us to able to recognize the symptoms, their probable cause, and avoided unnecessary antibiotics. We provided water and food for these birds daily (they never stopped eating!). Lo and behold, on the eve we were going to give mercy to these two, up they got! The two of them came all the way back from the edge of disaster and went on to be fertile and contribute to the flock. In respecting their lives, those birds were able to fulfill their purpose at our farm. As an added fillip, we've not seen a single case of Marek's since that episode and have made sure to breed from those two hardcore survivor birds to enhance our flock's resistance to disease.

 

[buckeyechicken]

This is largely our approach down here to raising birds with a few tweaks. It should be pointed out that your grandpa practiced what I would call 'responsible husbandry'. Balanced diet, fresh water, plenty of exercise and intervention (ie worming) if necessary. IMO, keeping a clean place, good food, good water, good living conditions -these are THE most important things in preventing disease and hardship with stock.

Of course as good stewards, we do study how to recognize and intervene should disease strike. There's something to be said for respecting the lives that you steward and honoring the responsibility that partners with that stewardship. Here's a for instance: we had both a choice cockerel and a pullet (not designated for freezer camp) go down with Marek's a couple of years back. Study allowed us to able to recognize the symptoms, their probable cause, and avoided unnecessary antibiotics. We provided water and food for these birds daily (they never stopped eating!). Lo and behold, on the eve we were going to give mercy to these two, up they got! The two of them came all the way back from the edge of disaster and went on to be fertile and contribute to the flock. In respecting their lives, those birds were able to fulfill their purpose at our farm. As an added fillip, we've not seen a single case of Marek's since that episode and have made sure to breed from those two hardcore survivor birds to enhance our flock's resistance to disease.

My grandpa lived with us and he was more concerned about the eggs and feeding his family than he was selling chicks so that is why he would buy 100 chicks a year because they were so cheap. He could raise them up and sell them for more than what chicks cost to hatch out or swap them for a turkey for Thanksgiving. He would keep enough hens going and he always rotated his stock every year or two, and he keep good layers, every once in a while he would set a hen just to see what he would get. But he pretty much let the chicks take care of their self with the basic care. That is the way he was with all of his critters.

 

[Marengoite]

Ok. So the Buckeyes are definitely good being housed with other breeds?

I kept Buckeyes and Barred Rocks together all last year and they did fine. Had Silver Spangled Hamburgs running with them too, but they usually flocked separately from the other chickens.

 

[Minniechickmama]

I kept Buckeyes and Barred Rocks together all last year and they did fine. Had Silver Spangled Hamburgs running with them too, but they usually flocked separately from the other chickens.

Birds of a feather. I see it often here with the dozen or so breeds I have. At first they flock in age groups, but eventually I see them gather by breed. It is entertaining to see. But the ones I remember being that way the most were the GP Hamburgs I had.

 

[AinaWGSD]

Yay! We got the coop loaded onto the trailer and down to the farm in one piece!

And as an added bonus, no one even got hurt. Though I did have a not-so-bright moment as the coop was perched somewhat precariously on a slope above me wobbling and I put my hands up. Like somehow I'd catch it and stop it from falling instead of getting squashed flat!

I wish we could have seen all of the faces of other drivers and pedestrians as we drove past on the way down.

It needs some minor repair work, a run, and could really stand a fresh coat of paint. I'm starting to suspect the blue paint we used 3 years ago was indoor paint leftover from another project rather than exterior paint. And all of the paint on the window frames has peeled. Plus we had to take the windows off so they didn't get destroyed in transport. The overly optimistic part of me thinks we could hammer it out and get a breeding pen set up before the new year, but more likely it will be this spring. Which is ok I suppose, since I still don't have a good place to set up my incubator or brood chicks yet.

 

[sahmhomesteader]

Yay!  We got the coop loaded onto the trailer and down to the farm in one piece! And as an added bonus, no one even got hurt.  Though I did have a not-so-bright moment as the coop was perched somewhat precariously on a slope above me wobbling and I put my hands up.  Like somehow I'd catch it and stop it from falling instead of getting squashed flat!   I wish we could have seen all of the faces of other drivers and pedestrians as we drove past on the way down.

Exciting! And oh how funny!

 

[buffalogal]

The Cream Rises at the Ohio National, with 65 Buckeyes in Open and Junior classes.

Dawson Latham - Junior Champion Bantam
Erin Rybinski - Best of Breed and Reserve Junior Large Fowl
Laura Haggarty - Best of Breed Open Class Large Fowl
Daniel Conrad - Reserve Best of Breed Open Class Large fowl
Janis Orndorf - Best of Breed and Reserve Open Bantam


A hearty congratulations to everyone who exhibited so many fine birds.